Range & Wall Oven - Common Biscuit and Cookie Baking Problems and Solutions

The following is a list of common baking problems and possible solutions:

 

Cookies are pale or brown too lightly (light centers with dark edges):

• Baking cookies in pans with sides, such as a jelly roll pan, can cause insufficient browning. Cookie sheets without sides are recommended.

• Baking with two cookie sheets on two different racks at the same time can limit air circulation and inhibit good browning.

 

Food is not done when the estimated cooking time is finished:

• The oven door was opened too frequently.

• The oven was too crowded. There needs to be adequate air flow around the pans.

• The oven temperature was too low.

 

Food is too brown on the bottom (for example, cookies and biscuits):

• The baking utensils are too dark (a non-stick finish or darkened by age) or are glass. Dark pans absorb more heat and can cause over browning. Try lowering the oven temperature 25 degrees for these types of utensils or use a pan with a shiny finish.

• The baking utensil is too large for the recipe.

• The oven was not preheated. We recommend preheating the oven until the preheat tone sounds or the preheat light goes out. If the oven does not have a tone or light, preheat for 10 to 15 minutes.

• The pans are too close to each other or the oven walls. We recommend allowing 1 to 1 1/2 inches between pans and oven walls.

• The cookie sheet may be too large for the oven and not allowing sufficient heat circulation. The heat is trapped under the pan and the cookies will burn on the bottom before the tops are brown. We recommend at least 1 to 1 1/2 inches around the cookie sheet.

• The oven door may have been opened too often. Opening the door frequently during baking causes the lower element to cycle on and provide too much intense heat.

• The rack position used was too low. The use of the second or third rack position is recommended.