How to Tell When Cookies and Brownies Are Done (2024)

FAQs

How to Tell When Cookies and Brownies Are Done? ›

Brownies and Blondies

To test for doneness with a toothpick, insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies and pull it back out. For fudgy brownies, you'll want to see some moist crumbs attached to the toothpick when you pull it back out. If it looks like it's covered in brownie batter, the brownies will need to bake a bit longer.

Toothpick Test – This is one of the most common ways to check cookie doneness, and it can be used for many other desserts as well. Insert a toothpick into the centre of a cookie. If it comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, the cookies are done.

Open up the oven, pull out the rack a bit, and push the sides of the cookie very lightly with a spatula or your finger. If the edge stays firm and doesn't fall inwards, then your cookies are done. If you leave a noticeable indentation, then your cookies likely need a few minutes more in the oven.

Our Favorite Alternative to Toothpicks

Look at your knife set and find the one with the thinnest blade. Then insert the blade into the center of the cake. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is done. If batter or crumbs stick to the blade, let your cake bake a few minutes more and retest with a clean knife.

Place a toothpick into the brownie halfway between edge and center. A toothpick covered in brownie batter means a wet batter and will need to bake a bit longer. Moist crumbs on the toothpick means the middle of the pan is still gooey.

To avoid overcooking, remember that brownies will firm up A LOT once taken out of the oven; the brownie should still be wobbly in the middle when you take it out of the oven (there is a lot of butter and chocolate in the mix, both of which are basically liquid when hot, but firm when at room temperature).

Texture and colour: If the cookie crumb is still wet, doughy, or appears raw, the cookies need more time in the oven. Fully cooked cookies should have a slightly dry and crumbly texture.

Chocolate chip cookies are done when they have a firm golden edge or bottom and appear slightly set on top. If the edges become dark brown, they are overbaked. If edges aren't golden and tops are soft and shiny, bake a little longer.

While eating slightly underbaked cookies generally isn't dangerous if all the ingredients are safe to consume raw (like pasteurized eggs or egg substitutes), they can be unsatisfying in texture and may have an uncooked flour taste.

What do cookies look like when they're ready? ›

As soon as you see that rich, light, honey-brown coloration, you know they're ready to go. They've started to crack around the edges - A well-cooked cookie will often start to crack or crumble slightly around the edges.

To determine if a cookie is done, lift up gently on the edge of the cookie with your fingers and if the edge seems firm (as in, it doesn't ooze over your finger), the cookie is ready. The center will still be softer than the edge, but it will finish cooking on the tray outside the oven.

The brownies are done when they feel firm to the touch.

You should be able to give a quick tap without any batter sticking to your finger. Cakey brownies might even spring back after you press on the center. If your finger sinks into the brownies when you tap, they're not ready yet!

Put the brownies back in the 300 degree oven and bake until a cooking thermometer reads 195 degrees, or about 30 more minutes. Finally, you'll cool the brownies for 30 minutes in the pan, then for 10 minutes on a cooling rack before slicing with a pizza cutter (my favorite tip) and serving.

They should be golden brown on the edges and slightly darker in the center. Another way to tell is by gently pressing down on the top of a cookie. If it springs back up, it's done. Finally, you can insert a toothpick into the center of a cookie.

There is still a smear of brown color on the toothpick- but NO wet batter- and there are a few moist crumbs sticking to the toothpick after it comes out. These brownies are done!

You can tell your cookie cake is done when it is lightly golden around the edges and set in the center. It will continue to firm up as it cools.