The Grating Hack That Will Easily Save Those Burnt Cookies

Few things in life are as delightful and satisfying as freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Or oatmeal raisin cookies. Or sugar cookies. Or really any kind of cookies you can dream up. For the same reason, few things in life are as disappointing as eagerly pulling that batch of fresh cookies from the oven, only to find that they've burned on the bottom. There are a number of possible causes for this, from the color of your baking sheet to the position of your oven rack, but even the most prepared baker can still run into this problem.

Fortunately, there's an incredibly simple hack that will rescue your cookies and save the day — whether you're going for decadent chocolate snickerdoodles or light and citrusy orange whipped shortbreads — and it requires nothing more than a few moments and a tool you probably already have in your kitchen drawer. By using a microplane, zester, or even a standard issue box grater to gently scrape off the burnt bits, you can manage to remove the offending char while still keeping the core of your cookie intact.

While this trick can't work total magic with a cookie that's burned all the way through, it is a perfect solution for a very common issue, which is to find the underside of your treat blackened. If you don't a microplane, zester, or box grater on hand, you can also use the side of a knife blade to lightly scratch the burnt layer from the bottom of your cookie. Whichever tool you use for the job, an important part of this hack is to ensure you've given your cookie proper time to cool. If it's too warm and gooey, you could wind up with a totally crumbled confection in the palm of your hand.

If you're an avid baker who occasionally runs into this burning conundrum with other baked goods, keep in mind that the grating hack is the trick to saving a burnt cake, too. It can even work on bagels, toast, and garlic bread in a pinch.

In order to mitigate a burnt cookie disaster, it's helpful to be aware of some common baking pitfalls and strategies to avoid them. One note for any home baker to keep in mind is that every oven is a little different, and each has areas that are hotter than others. This can result in uneven baking and, in turn, some burnt specimens. There are a few ways to navigate a finicky oven. First, rotate your pan of cookies about halfway through the baking time, so each treat is exposed to the same amount of heat. Another good idea is to invest in an oven thermometer so you can be sure the exact internal temperature matches the one for which your recipe calls (home ovens tend to be a little unreliable when it comes to setting that number).

It's also a good idea to use light colored baking sheets, since they suck up less of oven heat than the dark ones and are therefore less likely to cause burnt bottoms. If you've only got the darker ones on hand, reduce your temperature and baking time (starting by shaving off about 25 degrees and checking on your cookies a few minutes before the recipe says they'll be done). Keeping these few simple considerations in mind can help make all the difference to your perfectly baked and always delicious cookie recipe.