Kitchen Bootcamp: Guide to Bakeware and How it Affects Your Cookies

After many bad batches of cookies in my life, you start thinking… “Maybe I should do some research or conduct some experiments. Listening to NPR’s Splendid Table, there was a little girl that called up and said she was wondering how using different baking pans affects cookies and how they bake and she was going to do an experiment for the science fair.

Sooo yeah this little girl totally inspired me. I have used ceramic (stone) metal and air pans and I have noticed big unintended differences since I mixed batched on different types of pans… which I do NOT recommend.

So I got a little scientific on you guys and I think you will enjoy this knowledge bomb,

BOOM!

Hypothesis ( I told you I was getting scientific)

Traditional Metal Baking Sheets (Dark Colored, old)

They’re the best heat conductors, so I think they will bake the cookies quicker, giving them a firmer and crisper texture. 

Ceramic / Stoneware Pans

They do not conduct heat as quickly, but retain it. So I think they will not cook as quickly and be more chewy and maybe slightly underdone, so I will also try preheating the stoneware pan to see if this helps.

Air Pan

As for the air pan, I don’t have much experience with them, but many people swear by them. So I am not sure what to expect, but since they are aluminum and lighter in color I think they will bake the cookies pretty evenly, bit not as thoroughly as my darkly colored metal baking sheets.

Control (What didn’t change)

• Recipe and Type of Cookie ( I used my FAVORITE cookie recipe right HERE.)
• Temperature of Oven: 325º
• Baking Time: 15 minutes for each batch
• Size of Cookies: I measured 1 tablespoon sized cookies
• All baked on each pan with a layer of parchment. (These cookies are meant to be chewy, so it is easier to transfer them when they’re on parchment.) 

Variables (What did change)

The kind of bakeware used…

• Air Pan
• Dark Metal (Old) Baking Sheet
• Room Temperature Stoneware Pan
• Preheated Stoneware Pan

The Results (What you wanna know)

Air Pan

This one threw me for a loop, I did not expect the cookies to bake the way they did at all and I wasn’t too happy with the results. The cookies spread more than I expected resulting in a flatter/ thinner cookie. The texture was good though, not too crisp and not underdone at all! I would recommend this for baking lacey cookies and cookies you do not mind spreading a bit. May also be good for spritz cookies.

Dark Metal Baking Sheet

The good ol’ standby we all got at home, especially the old ones that have blackened over time. This produced the most crispy bottoms and spread the least. The metal seems to bake the cookies faster and gives them more crunch, the equivalent to baking in other bakeware longer. So if you don’t want crisp cookies, you may want to decrease the time in the oven.

Room Temperature Stoneware

This produced the most chewy cookies, but maybe just a little underdone. If I did not use parchment, removing the cookies would have been impossible! This bakeware seems to be ideal for cookies you do not wish to get too crisp, however you may want to add another minute or two to the bake time on the recipe.

Preheated Stoneware

This was the goldilocks of cookies to me: not too crisp and chewy but not underdone. I preheated my pan at the temperature the cookies would bake at for 15 minutes. Worked like a charm! But I warn you, these pans are not for those without arm strength, they are quite heavy, but I like a challenge. Probably like 5 pounds. I would recommend this pan and method for any kind of cookie!