Bake The Gooey Cookies Of Your Dreams With This Quick Tip

There are two types of people in this world — those who prefer their cookies solid and with a bit of crunch, and those who prefer biscuits that are soft and gooey in the center. If you fall into the latter category, there's a quick trick you can implement to get the perfect soft center, regardless of whether you're making a classic chocolate chip cookie or another style.

One easy trick to get extra gooey cookies is raising the oven temperature while lowering the time you leave your treats to bake. The hotter oven gives you that golden, crispy exterior and edges on your treats. However, since you're not baking the cookies as long, the centers don't thoroughly cook. When you bite into your cookie, it leaves you with a yummy, melty, gooey interior.

Of course, you don't want to overheat your oven, either. Even just adjusting the temperature by a few degrees and reducing the bake time by a couple of minutes can yield the soft results you're looking for without scorching your cookies or leaving them totally raw. 

If you're going to make your oven a bit hotter, it's important to know that a little can go a long way. While most recipes say to bake them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, bumping up the temperature to 375 or 400 can help get you golden, crispy outsides on your cookies while ensuring the center remains underbaked and, thus, gooey when you bite into it. Mastering this temperature control is the key to achieving the perfect gooey-centered cookies.

You'll also want to remember to adjust the baking time. Many cookie recipes list a range, such as 25 to 30 minutes. Stick to the lower end of the timeframe to get a softer cookie with a gooier center.

There's a simple rule of thumb you can follow: For every 25 degrees you increase your oven's temperature, reduce the amount of time you bake the treats by around 2 minutes. Remember, this is just a guide, so check on your cookies throughout the baking process.

Alright, so you know how to get cookies with a gooey center. But how can you actually tell if they're done or not? One TikTok user says the key is to touch the edges of the cookies. If the edges don't offer resistance and bend as you apply pressure, you have a cookie with a gooey center. Similarly, you can see if your cookies are gooey by testing the center of them. Just press down lightly on the middle of the cookie. A cookie that gives means it's got a gooey middle, while one that springs back has a soft center. Remember, gooey cookies should be slightly underbaked, but only slightly. The exterior should still be somewhat firm, and the cookie shouldn't feel excessively moist or soft.

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Besides the texture, another thing to look for is the glossiness of the cookies. Cookies with a sheen aren't ready to come out of the oven yet. You want to pay attention to their appearance, and as soon as you notice the treats have a dull look, they're ready to come out.

And, if you overshoot and get crispier cookies than you bargained for, you can always use an easy, wet paper towel hack to make your cookies soft again. With these tips, say goodbye to overly crunchy cookies and take a bite of super soft, melty treats.