[Squidge]

I have a recurring issue with baking oatmeal cookies (or any 'chewy' cookie, in fact). The underside of these cookies occasionally seem slightly underdone, as though they are - in parts - still a little wet, even after they have cooled. Is this just a case of me taking them out of the oven too soon? :dunce:

I follow the temperature guidelines of any recipe I follow, I preheat the oven appropriately and stick to the recommended timings and often I leave them in longer if I fear they will have this uncooked rawness. I can't quite figure out what I am doing wrong . If anyone could help me work this out I would be forever grateful!

 

[krbshappy71]

I have a recurring issue with baking oatmeal cookies (or any 'chewy' cookie, in fact). The underside of these cookies occasionally seem slightly underdone, as though they are - in parts - still a little wet, even after they have cooled. Is this just a case of me taking them out of the oven too soon? :dunce:

I follow the temperature guidelines of any recipe I follow, I preheat the oven appropriately and stick to the recommended timings and often I leave them in longer if I fear they will have this uncooked rawness. I can't quite figure out what I am doing wrong . If anyone could help me work this out I would be forever grateful!

I have not seen this myself, but my initial thought is not enough flour. Even though you are following a recipe, sometimes you have to adjust the recipe to fit your own household. Oven temps vary, humidity and altitudes vary, etc. Keep playing with the recipe and times.

I liked the suggestions on this site: Troubleshooting Your Cookie Problems - Good Housekeeping

 

[ladytoysdream]

What kind of cookie sheet are you using ?

 

[Squidge]

Thanks for the advice

I'm relatively new to baking so I don't yet have a 'feel' for when the dough is ready depending on what the finished product is meant to be like. It may just be a case of trial and error for me, I suppose!

I have also considered investing in an oven thermometer to see if my oven isn't perhaps a little warmer than my dial indicates. Maybe that would help?

 

[Squidge]

What kind of cookie sheet are you using ?

I use a baking tray/dish with non-stick greaseproof/baking paper. There is never an issue with sugar cookie type recipes, I only get this with 'chewy' ones, particularly oatmeal.

 

[ladytoysdream]

Are you going to share the recipe ?
I like oatmeal cookies

 

[Squidge]

Aw, they are really good!

I followed this exactly:

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe | Simply Recipes

I think you could get away with 1/2 tsp salt rather than a full one and I'm sure some people would prefer to do without the nutmeg flavour (not me!), but I think the cookie is yummy

They come out with little bubbly holes for me which made me think there was something funky about my oven temperature, but by looks of the photo they are meant to be like that. I recommend you give them a bash if you enjoy oatmeal :thumb:

ETA: They are kinda crispy and chewy at the same time. I think I've ate about 20 already. :couch:

 

[krbshappy71]

Have you tried it without the paper? I don't use baking paper.

 

[ladytoysdream]

Recipe is now in my email folder copied and pasted
Going to print off a copy tomorrow and try it.

I don't put salt in a lot of recipes.

The raisins....do you put in as is ? Sometimes I presoak them for certain recipes.

And the oatmeal ...
"rolled oats (We use Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned. Do NOT use instant.)" from the recipe list.
I have the quick and the old fashioned here both.
Which did you use ?

 

[ladytoysdream]

Another thing I just thought of....
do you let the eggs warm up a little bit first ?
I was reading somewhere and for some recipes, cold eggs straight from the frig are not a good idea...one thing it affects is yeast in recipes.

 

[Squidge]

Hmmm :scratch: the eggs had been sitting at room temperature for a good bit of time, so I don't think that's it.

I just baked another 4 cookies from the dough as an experiment and left them in the oven for 15 minutes. They are even more 'wet' looking than the ones before! Even on top this time.

It could be I have made them too thick maybe? I'm beginning to think krbshappy71 might be on to something with there not being enough flour in the dough. I have plenty left over so I could add some and see if that helps tomorrow. I'm just not sure exactly how much more :laugh:

Thanks for the help with this.

 

[Squidge]

Recipe is now in my email folder copied and pasted
Going to print off a copy tomorrow and try it.

I don't put salt in a lot of recipes.

The raisins....do you put in as is ? Sometimes I presoak them for certain recipes.

And the oatmeal ...
"rolled oats (We use Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned. Do NOT use instant.)" from the recipe list.
I have the quick and the old fashioned here both.
Which did you use ?

Yeah, I find salt can be a little overpowering so I err on the side of caution with it.

I just bunged the raisins in without soaking them first. Impatience on my part. :laugh: They didn't seem tough though, so I figured they'd be okay? Someone on that site suggested soaking them in the vanilla and the eggs which I'd definitely like to try next time and see what difference there is.

I went for the quick oats since it's all we had in the house. Tastes pretty good!

In fact, I just ate one of the 'wetter' looking ones and they are still lovely..I think I might be addicted to them...

 

[Brat]

I am not a good baker but I have found any time I use raisins or even fresh apples I put them in flour and coat them good before I put them in..There is a lot of moisture really in both of them. I use about a cup to a large box of raisins.

 

[Squidge]

Thanks for the tip, Brat. I'll try that next time I'm cooking with raisins or apples!

 

[druthb00]

I've been baking oatmeal raisin cookies with my mom my entire life and yet for some reason, I ended up accidently buying (and then using, because I didn't feel like going back to the store lol...) the quick oats. I had the problem you're describing now. The texture is just not the same as using regular oats, they're gooey and just don't set up right. Oh, and they ended up with bubbles while cooking. Try regular oats and I bet you won't have a problem.

 

[ladytoysdream]

I made a 1/2 batch today of the oatmeal cookies.
Ended up with 20 cookies. I did use the quick oats and no problem. However they were the next to last ingredient to go in. I put the flour in last. I also used real butter.
I did preheat the oven but only for a few minutes. I was timing them and left them in 16 minutes. I should have had them out quicker. Maybe. I do like how they came out. Bottoms were medium brown in color and taste real good.
My brown sugar was a bit lumpy and hard so I had fun with that. I used the raisins straight from the box.

I think the regular oatmeal would be better also. But I had the quick oats open already. I also used baking powder instead of the baking soda. And no salt.

 

[PaulaMM]

Do you use an insulated baking pan? I had the same issue when I tried using one of those.

I wonder, too, if maybe humidity is an issue? Sugar draws moisture out of the air and that can result in a wetter looking cookie. Too, I think sometimes if I overbeat my sugar with my butter, I end up with a greasier/wetter looking cookie.

 

[Squidge]

I've been baking oatmeal raisin cookies with my mom my entire life and yet for some reason, I ended up accidently buying (and then using, because I didn't feel like going back to the store lol...) the quick oats. I had the problem you're describing now. The texture is just not the same as using regular oats, they're gooey and just don't set up right. Oh, and they ended up with bubbles while cooking. Try regular oats and I bet you won't have a problem.

Ah, so it could be the type of oats causing the bubbling. That would explain a lot - thank you!

I made a 1/2 batch today of the oatmeal cookies.
Ended up with 20 cookies. I did use the quick oats and no problem. However they were the next to last ingredient to go in. I put the flour in last. I also used real butter.
I did preheat the oven but only for a few minutes. I was timing them and left them in 16 minutes. I should have had them out quicker. Maybe. I do like how they came out. Bottoms were medium brown in color and taste real good.
My brown sugar was a bit lumpy and hard so I had fun with that. I used the raisins straight from the box.

I think the regular oatmeal would be better also. But I had the quick oats open already. I also used baking powder instead of the baking soda. And no salt.

Glad you made them :yippee: they are definitely yummy! I think baking time really depends on your taste preference anyway. I agree, I'm going to try the regular oatmeal next time. Reckon the texture will be even better, too :lip:

Do you use an insulated baking pan? I had the same issue when I tried using one of those.

I wonder, too, if maybe humidity is an issue? Sugar draws moisture out of the air and that can result in a wetter looking cookie. Too, I think sometimes if I overbeat my sugar with my butter, I end up with a greasier/wetter looking cookie.

Over the weekend I have been making both oatmeal cookies an Nutella cookies. Today, using the exact same dough as yesterday, I baked another two batches; both of these came out perfectly. The difference being that the dough was chilled overnight. Yet when I then baked the Nutella cookies today this odd 'wet' thing happened to them.

So the culprit is probably not the recipe. The issue is either to do with the temperature of the dough, the temperature of the baking tray/dish (and thus parchement paper) or the type of baking tray being used. If not, it's all of these things :laugh:

I'm in the process of doing an experiment at the minute. I have one pyrex baking dish and one normal baking tray, both of which are cool. Each have one oatmeal cookie (with chilled dough) and one Nutella cookie (not-chilled) on them. Hopefully when they come out I'll be in a better position to figure out what the problem actually is.

1 If they all come out perfect the issue was simply that the baking trays were too warm or that my parchment paper was too warm/greasy.

2 If they all come out 'wet' the problem is probably with the temperature at which they were baked.

3 If the cookies on the pyrex dish come out 'wet', but those on the baking tray are good, the issue is with the type of dish. Vice versa.

4 If the oatmeal cookies remain perfect, but there is an issue with the Nutella cookies, the problem is with the temperature of the dough.

5 If it's anything that I haven't said above, then I have no bloody clue what the heck is going on :laugh:

Will update when I know!

 

[ladytoysdream]

Well you are either a perfectionist or you plan to sell them....which is it ?
Another variable I thought of , might be your elevation.

I use a shiny cookie sheet. I think it is a air one. Like a double thickness one. I have 2 of these. Cookies do better on them than dull cookie sheets. I don't know the name of them. I did look on the bottom. I bought these both used at garage sales.

 

[druthb00]

Well you are either a perfectionist or you plan to sell them....which is it ?
Another variable I thought of , might be your elevation.

I use a shiny cookie sheet. I think it is a air one. Like a double thickness one. I have 2 of these. Cookies do better on them than dull cookie sheets. I don't know the name of them. I did look on the bottom. I bought these both used at garage sales.

Hehehe...I was thinking the same thing!

I've used warm cookie sheets in the past, because the recipe my family uses makes probably 5 sheets or so of the cookies.. and never had an issue before using the quick oats. I also wonder, what kind of fat are you using? Ours calls for margarine and that's what we've always used. I've heard that using real butter or the soft spreads makes baked goods turn out differently.

Oh, and about the quick oats. They did bubble while cooking, but after they had cooled, they didn't have holes in them. Once they were set up, they were almost crusty rather than chewy. Almost like I hadn't used oats at all.