Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies

A large part of your success in baking chocolate chip cookies comes from the actual...well, baking.This final step in making chocolate chip cookies has five important factors.

Oven temperature: Buy an inexpensive yet accurate oven thermometer to ensure the oven is operating correctly. Sometimes an oven indicates it has reached the set temperature when it has not. Ovens can be very temperamental and inaccurate. A reliable oven thermometer takes out the guess work. When the oven has cycled and reached the correct temperature, it is time for baking chocolate chip cookies. Temperature is crucial to a desirable outcome. Pre-heat the oven to the temperature indicated in the recipe.

Cookie Sheet: There are several varieties of cookie sheets , however, your favorite one will be sufficient. The most important factor is to not overcrowd the cookie sheet. Dough should not be any closer than 2" apart from each other. This is so that the cookies do not run into each other and so that heat can better circulate around the dough while baking chocolate chip cookies. One sheet at a time in the oven and on the center rack.
Parchment Paper: This is a must have in any home and professional baker's kitchen. You can buy it in rolls or boxes of sheets. It is a silicone based product that makes your cookie bottoms smooth and golden and slide right off the cookie sheet. For those who are earth conscious and don't want the waste or the repeated cost of parchment paper, than a Silpat® reusable mat will serve the same purpose.

Time in oven: Taking the cookie out of the oven at the right time is paramount to good chocolate chip cookies and takes a little practice to get down. But, if you know your oven real well and have a great sniffer than you should have it down in no time at all. Set your timer for the lowest suggested time from the recipe. (It is always easier to add minutes but you cannot take them away.) When the time is up, the cookie should be light brown around the edges only and NOT all over. Even if it looks slightly undercooked it is time to take them out. A second good indicator it is getting close to time, is the smell. Just when it starts to smell like cookies it is time to check those cookie edges. Do not open the oven too soon while baking chocolate chip cookies. You can actually reduce your oven temperature up to 25° every time the door opens!

Time on the cookie sheet: When the edges are nice and golden and the centers are puffy and slightly undercooked, take them out of the oven and leave them on the cookie sheet. This is a vital step to the baking process. The residual heat from the cookie sheet will continue to cook the cookie. Leave them there for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. A good physical indicator is when the cookie center has fallen and there is a golden brown rim around the cookie.