Lightbulb!

Josh and I have been baking - A LOT - lately. While we both participate in the project, every time we bake something new one of us takes the lead. Neither one of us is a better baker than the other, yet for some, previously unknown reason to us, I have been much more successful in my baking endeavors. We both use the same supplies, follow the same recipes, and use the same oven. And yet, when I bake, the product is perfect and when Josh bakes, we sometimes have issues with overcooking and/or burning.

Until now we could not figure it out. Then, Josh came across this tip from Paula Shoyer in our The Kosher Baker cookbook.

"I prefer the lighter-colored stainless steel or aluminum cookie sheets. Cookies baked on the darker, often non-stick, cookie sheets will bake faster because the darker sheets retain heat better. If you are using a dark sheet, check the cookies one or two minutes earlier."

And it all makes perfect sense(especially for Josh who is really excited because it connects perfectly to one of his science lessons). Whenever I bake, I gravitate to our old pans, ones that were my grandmothers that I took borrowed from my mom when I first moved out. (notice a pattern?)  These pans are very old, very beat up, and produce the perfect brownie, cookie, or tasty treat.

Josh likes to use the nice shiny, new, pretty pans we got for our wedding.

 

Now we know, when using the old pans, follow the recipe. When using the new pans, bake for 2 minutes less than the recipe calls for. Such a good tip!