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You’re ready to put some cookies in the oven, but you realize you don’t know what do put between them and the baking sheet. You want to know, “can you bake cookies on aluminum foil?”
And it’s a good question!
Can you? And more importantly, should you?
You can bake cookies on aluminum foil safely, but you shouldn’t because the bottoms may burn and you’ll have an uneven bake.
Learn more about using foil in baking and why cookies in particular don’t mix well with foil.
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Why you shouldn’t bake cookies on foil
Plenty of people use aluminum foil in the oven for all kinds of things.
Covering roast turkeys, as a base for roast vegetables, and even sometimes in baking.
The idea is that it’s not going to smoke or start a fire like wax paper (never put wax paper in the oven), and so it should be perfectly fine to use as a liner for your tray or baking sheet.
But aluminum foil reflects heat, which means it’s going to basically send heat straight into the bottom of your cookies.
And sure, we want to cook the bottom of our cookies, but you don’t need extra help.
You run the risk of burnt cookies and particularly burning the bottoms of your cookies, and then you’d have to check out our guide on how to fix burnt cookies and it’s just not pretty.
What to do instead
So you’re not supposed to use foil to bake your cookies. What should you do instead?
The best substitute is either baking paper (parchment paper) or a silicone baking mat.
These are both going to help your cookies bake evenly without causing the bottoms to overbake.
The materials used in both helps keep the heat even.
If you don’t have parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, you would still be better off using a regular baking sheet with nothing on it rather than covering it in foil.
But my friend said I can bake cookies on tin foil!
Maybe your mom always baked her cookies on foil or your friend does it all of the time.
There are opposing viewpoints with people who say that they use foil and their cookies turn out fine.
While it is possible, it’s not worth the risk if you’re trying to get your cookies right the first time.
If you do have time to experiment, then, sure, use foil and try turning down the temperature in your oven or move the baking sheet further away from the heat source to compensate.
But there’s no getting around the science of it.
Foil is a conductor of heat, which means that the bottom of your cookies are going to get a lot more heat than the other parts of the cookie and lead to uneven baking and possible burning.
It may turn out okay for you, but now you’ll know the reasons why if it doesn’t!
Hey! Want more cookie baking hacks? Check these out!
- Why are my cookies burnt on the bottom (and how to fix them)
- How long do homemade cookies last?
- 7 easy ways to soften hard cookies
- Oops! Burned cookies! Here are 9 ways to fix them
- Help! My cookie dough is crumbly!
- How long does raw cookie dough last?
- Secret hacks to making chewy cookies
- Tips on Avoiding Cakey Cookies
- Exactly how to freeze your cookie dough
- The ultimate guide to chilling cookie dough
- Help! Too much butter in cookies: what to do!
- Exactly how to bake your frozen cookies
- Can you use salted butter in cookies?
- Expert cookie storage tips
- Help! I’m out of butter – can I still make cookies without butter?
- How to make cookies without vanilla extract
- Help! How to make cookies without brown sugar
- How to use cake flour in cookies
- Help! How do I make cookies without eggs?
- Can you make cookies without baking soda?
- Can you use bread flour in cookies?
- Exactly how to make cookies more puffy
- How to make cookies without baking powder
- How to fix wet and sticky cookie dough
