Cookie Bars will NOT cook!!

[maringel]

I am trying to make a Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar recipe. It calls for melted butter, slightly cooled, room temperature eggs, and has exact measurements by the gram for ingredients. I follow it EXACTLY, and then put it in the prescribed 8×8 pan (mine is glass) lined with parchment paper. I put it in the oven at 350 as directed, and it's supposed to be done in 30 minutes, and then rest for an hour. I cooked mine for 37 minutes because it wasn't done when I checked, then proceeded to let it rest for an hour, covered with foil because I was hoping it would continue to cook. And still, the very outside was crispy, like maybe 1/8 thick of crust, and the inside is completely raw. Please help me!!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I am trying to make a Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar recipe. It calls for melted butter, slightly cooled, room temperature eggs, and has exact measurements by the gram for ingredients. I follow it EXACTLY, and then put it in the prescribed 8×8 pan (mine is glass) lined with parchment paper. I put it in the oven at 350 as directed, and it's supposed to be done in 30 minutes, and then rest for an hour. I cooked mine for 37 minutes because it wasn't done when I checked, then proceeded to let it rest for an hour, covered with foil because I was hoping it would continue to cook. And still, the very outside was crispy, like maybe 1/8 thick of crust, and the inside is completely raw. Please help me!!

Glass is extremely slow to heat up; lining the glass pan further insulates the baking dish. Stop baking by time.

Baking is not done by time anyway, but by the internal temperature of the dough or batter. It could be 10 minutes that could be 50 minutes. Every oven is different, every pan is different. Do not go by time. Check the temperature of the cookies. Check the internal temperature an instant read thermometer and remove when it is 170°F - 200°F depending on the texture you want.

if you do not have an oven thermometer to check your oven temperature I would suggest you purchase one.

Preheat your oven for a good 30 minutes. One of the biggest mistakes novice bakers make is not using an oven thermometer to check the temperature of their oven before they begin to bake, and not preheating the oven to the proper temperature.

do not cover any baked good with foil as it cools. Foil traps moisture. The moisture will make your baked goods soggy. In addition there is an issue of food poisoning. Bacteria requires moisture and temperature between 40°F – 140°F. You’re just creating a petri dish for the bacteria to thrive in.

 

[maringel]

Glass is extremely slow to heat up; lining the glass pan further insulates the baking dish. Stop baking by time.

Baking is not done by time anyway, but by the internal temperature of the dough or batter. It could be 10 minutes that could be 50 minutes. Every oven is different, every pan is different. Do not go by time. Check the temperature of the cookies. Check the internal temperature an instant read thermometer and remove when it is 170°F - 200°F depending on the texture you want.

if you do not have an oven thermometer to check your oven temperature I would suggest you purchase one.

Preheat your oven for a good 30 minutes. One of the biggest mistakes novice bakers make is not using an oven thermometer to check the temperature of their oven before they begin to bake, and not preheating the oven to the proper temperature.

do not cover any baked good with foil as it cools. Foil traps moisture. The moisture will make your baked goods soggy. In addition there is an issue of food poisoning. Bacteria requires moisture and temperature between 40°F – 140°F. You’re just creating a petri dish for the bacteria to thrive in.

So I do preheat the oven for at least 30 minutes, and the temperature is correct, but I am unsure of how to make the inside cook. If I leave it in the oven long enough to let the inside cook, the outside is a burnt crisp. Should I try a different pan? The recipe insists on lining the pan with parchment paper, but should I simply go without?

I will for sure forego the foil, and I will also get a thermometer to check the internal temp, but don't know how to avoid the outside burning.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

So I do preheat the oven for at least 30 minutes, and the temperature is correct, but I am unsure of how to make the inside cook. If I leave it in the oven long enough to let the inside cook, the outside is a burnt crisp. Should I try a different pan? The recipe insists on lining the pan with parchment paper, but should I simply go without?

I will for sure forego the foil, and I will also get a thermometer to check the internal temp, but don't know how to avoid the outside burning.

If you bake frequently and could use the pan, then yes, I would recommend buying a metal baking pan. Glass is a poor material for baking because it takes so long to heat up. I always recommend a uncoated metal like Nordic Ware Naturals or Chicago Metallic Commercial II Uncoated. Avoid dark metal, anodized aluminum, and most non-stick coatings. Chicago Metallic Commercial II also makes a coated line. That’s the only coated baking pan I would recommend. I am more partial to Chicago Metallic, although I do own some Nordic Ware Naturals.

The dark metal, coated and anodized aluminum pans conducts heat more intensely. In these pans the dough/batter in contact with the pan will bake and set before the center is baked. The result is very unevenly baked goods.The edges and bottoms are dry; tops are domed and cracked; sides are low and the rise is uneven overall. Normally you have to reduce the baking temperature By 25°F when using a dark metal and/or coated pan. But I find most still produce poor results. The only coated pans I will use are the Chicago Metallic. I can still get a perfectly level white cake without a brown side crust or bottom in a Chicago Metallic Commercial II coated cake pan. I’ve used their pans for 20 yrs and keep reaching for them first.

 

[ShuBunny]

hi @maringel

i baked my cookie bar in a parchment paper lined eighth sheet. recipe was for 8x8 pan. filled dough to 2/3 height of pan. baked at 350 for 26-28 mins, had cooked top, cooked fudge centre. (looks raw, but isn't). Sheet pan was light coloured metal.

Good luck

 

[LizaJane]

I made what I’m pretty sure is the exact same recipe as the OP and used a metal pan, and followed recipe EXACTLY. I measured dry ingredients by weight too, instead of by cups. There is definitely something wrong. This recipe does not work! Mine was a gloopy mess.

 

[chassis]

Reduce the amount of batter in the pan.

 

[Beefymom]

The same thing as OP. I've been baking for the last couple of weeks. Making chocolate chip cookies, Snickerdoodles, corn bread - all sorts of things and everything as been so good! I decided to tray these cookie bars and the recipe just did not work. Raw in the center after 35 min which is what the recipe I followed had down for the cooking time. I'm so irritated.

 

[retired baker]

I am trying to make a Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar recipe. It calls for melted butter, slightly cooled, room temperature eggs, and has exact measurements by the gram for ingredients. I follow it EXACTLY, and then put it in the prescribed 8×8 pan (mine is glass) lined with parchment paper. I put it in the oven at 350 as directed, and it's supposed to be done in 30 minutes, and then rest for an hour. I cooked mine for 37 minutes because it wasn't done when I checked, then proceeded to let it rest for an hour, covered with foil because I was hoping it would continue to cook. And still, the very outside was crispy, like maybe 1/8 thick of crust, and the inside is completely raw. Please help me!!

its done, chill it for at least 4 hours.
Parchment paper is not needed.

 

[Krystal J. Gilbert]

I agree with the OP's statement. It has been a couple of weeks since I have been baking. In the past few weeks, I have made chocolate chip cookies, Snickerdoodles, corn bread, and everything has been delicious! In my attempt to tray these cookie bars, I found that the recipe I used just didn't work. After 35 minutes of cooking time, the cake was still raw in the middle, which is what the recipe I followed had laid out for the cooking time. My annoyance levels are at an all-time high.