Evan Porter

If you Google "chocolate chip cookie recipe," you'll find millions of different recipes and methods for making them at home. All feature slight variations that make them unique. Baking temperature, for example, is one detail many bakers disagree on. Top results recommend baking cookies at 375, 350, or even, in some cases, 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Many of them claim to be the "absolute best" chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Science may have something to say about that, thanks to some delectable new research.

A team of food scientists and researchers from the University of Guelph recently conducted a rigorous examination of the effects of baking temperature on cookies.

In a paper fittingly titled "Morphological changes and color development during cookie baking—Kinetic, heat, and mass transfer considerations," published in the Journal of Food Science, a team led by Maria Corradini presented an impressively detailed study.

The researchers set out to methodically track what happens to cookies during baking. How does color change over time? How do shape, size, moisture level, and thickness evolve at different points in the process? And, crucially, how do all of those factors shift when different baking temperatures are applied?

It's safe to say this may be the most comprehensive scientific examination of desserts ever conducted.

The most delicious experiment ever.Photo credit: Canva

The paper explains what the researchers were looking to uncover and why it matters:

"During baking, several physical and physicochemical changes occur, such as shape expansion/contraction, color development, and the generation of desired flavor compounds. Studying the physical and physicochemical properties of baked goods and the influence of heat and mass transfer on them can provide valuable information to the cereal sector to improve and optimize the baking process, control the quality and safety characteristics of products, and guarantee appropriate handling of this product."

Though the study focused specifically on cookies, many of the findings could also apply to other baked goods, such as bread, crackers, and granola bars, which make up a sizable portion of the average person's diet.

The researchers found that, not surprisingly, temperature had a big impact on how the cookies turned out.

Cookies baked at the highest temperatures set quickly in the oven and ended up the driest after the 12-minute bake. Cookies baked at the lowest temperatures retained the most moisture but tended to spread more and develop less ideal shape and structure.

While everyone has their own preferences for gooey and doughy cookies or crisp and crunchy ones, the team did find one specific temperature that really hit the spot. Food & Wine summed it up this way:

"Within the lab conditions of the study, 205°C (just over 400 F) struck a middle ground — hot enough to promote structure and doneness without excessive drying. That balance may help explain why many experienced bakers gravitate toward slightly higher oven temperatures than individual recipes typically call for."

Veteran bakers across social media have plenty of opinions about the ideal temperature for baking cookies, with many advocating for the higher end of what most recipes suggest. Cookies baked at around 375 degrees Fahrenheit often develop a lightly crisp exterior with an extremely moist center. In the lab, researchers baked each batch for 12 minutes. In a home kitchen, however, baking "until done" at lower temperatures typically requires more time and may actually result in a drier cookie overall.

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What's particularly fascinating about the study is what its findings could mean for future baking research.

In the conclusion of the paper, the authors write, "This study serves as an initial and fundamental step for developing a future comprehensive model that can be used to simulate the baking process for producing cookies with better quality and safety."

Now that the baking process has been modeled in such extreme detail, researchers are one step closer to "virtual cookies," Corradini told the Institute of Food Technologists. She added that, one day, companies may be able to experiment virtually with different recipes and baking methods without wasting food ingredients or energy.

The research could also lead to more efficient food production processes. Corradini has partnered with a team at the University of Foggia in Italy, "who used a very high-resolution biomedical 3D printer to produce biscuit prototypes. They found that they could design a biscuit that needed much less time baking, thereby saving energy."

The findings are of particular interest to commercial bakeries that spend billions on energy. Photo by Juno Jo on Unsplash

Commercial bakeries in the United States spend close to a billion dollars on energy each year, so they're constantly looking for ways to make the process more efficient. One study found, for example, that cutting bread-baking time by 20% did not reduce quality or safety.

Studies like this could help lower those costs, potentially making baked goods more affordable and accessible. And even if they don't, they might inspire us amateur bakers to try a slightly more aggressive baking approach at home on our next batch of snickerdoodles.