Cookies are by far one of the most delicious treats you can bake, but it’s a total bummer when the cookies don’t turn out or get stuck to the pan - what a complete waste of Doughp, am I right? Some factors that make cookies more likely to stick to the cookie sheet include: high protein recipes (lots of eggs), low-fat recipes, and baking at high altitudes.
Keep these tips in your apron to prevent cookies from sticking:
Follow your recipe exactly
Cookies can become too crumbly to remove from the baking sheet if you’ve used too little flour or too much sugar. Use the specified type of fat in the recipe (butter, oil, or shortening). Exchanging butter for shortening or shortening for oil changes the consistency of the cookie and yields unpredictable results. You can substitute high-fat margarine for butter, but make sure it is high fat, or it will give you the same inconsistent results. Unless otherwise specified, always use large eggs in a recipe that calls for eggs. For non-stick recipes, check out Doughp!
Grease the pan
Although some recipes call for ungreased cookie sheets because there is enough fat in the cookie, greasing the pan is the best way to go. Cookies adhere to tiny imperfections in the metal. Smoothing those imperfections over with some oil, butter, or shortening will give your cookies a smoother surface to be scooped from. Apply a little bit of your greasing method of choice to a paper towel and apply a thin layer to your baking sheet, making sure to get into corners and crevices.
Line your pan or cookie sheet
This is the most sure-fire way to ensure that your cookies do not stick to the pan. Line your pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet for quick and effortless removal. IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE WAX PAPER TO LINE YOUR BAKING SHEET. Wax paper melts and burns in the oven and will almost assuredly stick to your cookies. Make sure you use parchment paper or a reusable silicone baking sheet for the best results.
Preheat your oven and rotate the tray
Preheating your oven ensures that there are no patches of heat or cooler places in the oven. Similarly, turning the baking tray halfway through guards against temperature fluctuations allows for an even bake. \
Allow your cookies to cool just long enough
You’ll want your cookies to cool a bit on the baking tray so that the heat doesn’t cause them to adhere to the baking tray, but you don’t want them to cool too long before moving them, or they absorb the heat, causing the same problem. Try moving the baking tray to a cooling rack and letting the cookies cool for the time allowed in the recipe before transferring the cookies to their cooling rack to finish off.
Always wash off your tray before starting the next batch
Washing off the tray prepares it for being regreased and removes any crumbs you might have from your first batch that your second batch of cookies could latch on to.
To remove stuck cookies from a baking tray…
….try using a metal spatula and sliding it under the cookies at a shallow angle to reduce the damage to the cookie.
What if there’s left over cookie crumbs?
Try using them in:
If you’re looking for recipes or cookies to try these new non-stick methods with, check out Doughp – legit cookie dough making the world a little bit sweeter by reducing stigmas around mental health and addiction recovery.
