Looking at underdone cookies makes about every baker disappointed. That moment when you put your hands, ready to taste that pretty little cookie you have spent so much effort making and the time waited to cool it only to realize it’s underbaked, is indescribable.

Today I will be sharing tips with you how to save these under baked cookies and salvage whatever effort you have put in! A word of warning is that the texture of the cookie might be slightly different. From my experience while testing the cookie time for the cookie recipes I develop, I noticed that the taste is more or less similar, if not the same. The texture will be slightly drier however, due to the increased amount of time available for water evaporation out of the cookie dough. That’s perfectly fine for me however, because I love crunchy cookies.

Another note is that the extra time and temperature when you re-bake your cookies again by placing it back in the oven will vary from recipe to recipe and I can only give you a general guideline. This is especially so when there’s different extents to which your cookie is possibly under baked or underdone.

An important disclaimer will be that since I do not have experience in trying out every single recipe, try the method I suggest for your under baked or underdone cookies simply because you want to attempt a last resort to salvage all the efforts you have placed in.

I am going out on a limb against popular opinions by saying, YES, it’s okay to place your under baked or underdone cookies back into the oven for a second bake. But here’s the condition: you would need to adjust the baking time and temperature.

I have done it before multiple times and I strongly advocate it’s possibility to save these underdone cookies. My motivation stems from my desire to prevent and minimize food wastage in the kitchen. Wastage in the kitchen can severely impact the environment too, indirectly. A small digression here, if you would like to know about simple and easy ways I implement to make my kitchen more environmentally friendly, you can read this other baking tip I have written here: Baking Tip: Easy Ways to be Environmentally Friendly as a Baker

Here are some general guidelines that I have tried with 160 degrees C, 170 degrees C and 180 degrees C.

In all scenarios, keep a constant lookout for the doneness of your cookies ( not too brown etc, signs of overcooked or burnt cookies should be constantly looked out for ). You might also want to rotate your trays.

Scenario 1: 160 degrees C
My cookies was underdone / under baked after a bake for about 7-8 minutes.

To save these cookies, I let them completely cool, and then bake them again in 160 degrees C for about 5 minutes, and then leave it in the oven after I turn it off. The remaining trapped heat in the oven will continue to cook the cookies.

Scenario 2: 170 degrees C
My cookies were underdone after a bake of 7 minutes.

To save these cookies, I did what I did to save the 160 degrees C, also letting them completely cool and then baking them in 160 degrees C for about 5 minutes. Turn the oven off, let the trapped heat cook the cookies.

Scenario 3: 180 degrees C
My cookies were underdone after a bake of 7 minutes.

To save these cookies, I let them completely cool first. Then continue baking them at 180 degrees C for 5 minutes. After which, turn off the oven, and again leave them in and let the trapped heat continue cooking them.

Do note that other factors will affect your bake time as well, such as size of the cookie batter used and the power of your oven. Alongside, although the ingredients of your cookie will also affect it slightly.

The best way to tell and iron down all these variables will be to diligently check constantly for signs of well done cookies, such as browning around the edges or the cookies being nicely golden brown. Yes, it will be tiring and requires extra effort. But when you taste success, pun intended, you will not regret it!

If your eggs come from a dubious source or have the possibility of introducing diseases such as salmonella, or if you are uncomfortable with the possibility of eating raw eggs please do not even attempt to sample the cookies. In such cases, you would have to just throw away these cookies unfortunately for the greater good of your health, for the sake of food hygiene. There’s really no incentive to have the risk of ending up in the emergency room for a batch of well done cookies.

Do try these methods out with the notes I have included and let me know if you are able to achieve success as well! Do include other recommendations for me too if you feel that this article isn’t comprehensive or if you do not agree with the article.

Hope it helps,
– Bakeomaniac, Javier Tan!