How to Bake Cookies Without a Convection Oven?

Question

I'm used to bake cookies in a convection oven and they bake well.

However, now I have a normal oven (without convection) and I am unable to cook them well:

The bottom of the cookies is burnt and the top is not enough baked.

I tried to put the plate at the top, the middle and the bottom of the oven and the result is always the same. I also tried to bake the cookies at a lower temperature, but the top of the cookies won't be enough baked.

What can I do to succeed in cooking cookies without a convection oven?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Lots of people bake very good cookies without convection ovens, so it's certainly possible. :)

If the bottoms of your cookies are burning/overbaking, the first thing to try is a lighter-colored cookie sheet. Sometimes, even just using some white parchment paper on a dark cookie sheet can help, but the best is to invest in a shiny, light-colored metal cookie sheet, perhaps even an insulated one (i.e. one with two layers of aluminum with an air core in between).

Also, get a good oven thermometer, and make sure your oven is actually at the temperature suggested by the recipe.

If your oven has the heating element in the bottom (which is most of them), try putting the cookies higher up in the oven - not necessarily way up at the top, but just above the middle rather than just below.