Tips for Baking Cookies in a Gas Oven


Kitchen Knowledge Lifestyle | Published December 9, 2023 by Mimi Council

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Cookie season is here! And there’s nothing worse than burnt or flat cookies when you’re trying to bake for loved ones or impress friends and family this holiday season. So I’m sharing my top tips for baking cookies in a gas oven

If you have a gas oven, then you know that sometimes baked goods can be more difficult than they should be. I have had electric ovens most of my life, but I love cooking with gas. So when we built our house I excitedly ordered a gas oven because I just so excited to cook with gas again that the oven part didn’t even register. 

gas stove with a tray of cookies sitting on it

I got my gas oven, installed it, and then realized I should have bought a dual fuel oven, which is gas cooktop and electric oven. See, gas is better for cooking, but electric is better for baking! An electric oven creates a more even heat, so it’s better for baked goods. While gas can have hot spots and create burnt bottoms, flat cookies, and more.

I did eventually replace my brand new gas oven with a dual fuel range, but it took about 13 months as everything was back ordered from Covid. So, in that time, I bought a simple electric oven and plugged it into the car charging port in my garage (yep, not joking) and I tested recipes in both gas and electric and learned how to master the gas oven just in time for my new dual fuel range to arrive, haha! 

So you can bake with confidence in your gas oven, I promise! But there are some crucial tips for baking cookies in a gas oven and I’m sharing them with you just in time for cookie season. If you want more info on this subject, check out my post Tips for Baking with a Gas Oven

coconut milk chocolate chunk cookies

Tips for Baking Cookies in a Gas Oven 

Use an Oven Thermometer

Using an oven thermometer is my top tip for any oven. All ovens are a little different, and irregular oven temperatures don't discriminate. The best thing you can do is buy an oven thermometer and leave it in your oven. I have a brand new oven and I leave my oven thermometer in there all the time, just to be sure!

If a recipe calls for 375°F but when you heat your oven to 375°F it’s really registering 350°F, then cookies will suffer! If this is the case you may have to turn your oven up a little more to get it to register at 375°F. If your oven is registering wrong, you can call a repair man to come and fix it. This is the oven thermometer I have, and it's less than $10!

Chilling cookie dough has so many benefits, it can slow cookie spread, develop more flavor, prevent burnt cookies, and create a thicker and chewier cookie. And, gas ovens tend to cook a little slower than electric ovens. So your cookies can suffer a lot in a gas oven without adjustments. Cookies can turn out flat because gas bakes slower, so they’re baking longer in order to be done and they’re spreading more because of those few extra minutes in the oven. So, that’s why chilling your cookie dough can help prevent flat cookies.

I got in the habit of making cookie dough at night, chilling in the fridge overnight, and baking the following day. You can always test one cookie if the recipe does not call for chill time, see how it bakes, then decide if you want to chill the rest of the dough if you think it needs it.

balls of chocolate chip cookie dough on a sheet pan

Aluminum conducts heat most evenly, so aluminum cookie sheets are ideal. One of my top picks is USA Pan Cookie Sheets as not only are they aluminum but they also have the little ridges and this helps heat evenly, which is ideal for baking cookies in a gas oven. If you have dark metal cookie sheets, they can absorb more heat, therefore cause cookies to burn on the bottom. This is especially true when the heat is uneven in an oven, which can happen with gas ovens. So, replacing your cookie sheets could be a game chamber!

Use Parchment Paper 

Parchment paper not only makes cookie clean up easy. But, it also can help protect the bottom of your cookies if they are growing too much. As mentioned above, dark cookie sheets can conduct more heat and possibly burn cookies. So, using parchment paper can help prevent that! My favorite nontoxic parchment paper is from Kana, use code MIMIBAKES for 10% off your order.

dark chocolate toffee almond cookies

Use a Middle Rack 

Using a middle rack will help you get the most even heat. Sometimes gas ovens can have hot spots and hold more heat at the top or even the bottom or sides. So, keeping cookies in the center can offer you the most even heat. This may mean having to bake cookie sheets one at a time, but be patient!

Rotating cookie sheets will help you avoid hot spots in the oven. So, if you notice you’re always slight burning cookies on the left side of your cookie sheet, if you rotate that half way through baking you could avoid this from happening.

Bake a Little Longer 

Gas ovens can sometimes take a bit longer, this can be due to uneven heat circulating. So don’t be scared to bake another 1 to 2 minutes for cookies if they don’t seem done. Always be sure to check them, and then go from there. But when I was baking consistently in my gas oven, I always had to bake my cookies for a couple extra minutes.

caramel spritz sandwich cookies

1

eggless chocolate chip cookies
Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies
My Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies are one of my top recipes for baking in a gas oven. These cookies require chill time anyways, so you'll have minimal spread and burning. Plus, they are one of my all time favorite soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipes. They are a top recipe on my site, for good reason!
Go to Recipe

2

homemade vanilla oreo cookies
Homemade Vanilla Oreo Cookies
My Homemade Vanilla Oreo Cookies are a nostalgic cookie that is good anytime of year! These simple butter cookies are great in a gas oven. No chill time even required!
Go to Recipe

3

chocolate peanut butter florentines
Chocolate Peanut Butter Florentines
My Chocolate Peanut Butter Florentines are a great cookie for baking in a gas oven. I was actually shocked to learn that Florentines bake up incredibly well in a gas oven! That's because these cookies are already incredibly thin, flat, and the more golden brown they are the better. That makes these perfect for gas ovens!
Go to Recipe

4

cinnamon pecan yiayia cookies, traditional greek cookies
Cinnamon Pecan YiaYia Cookies
These Cinnamon Pecan YiaYia Cookies are a recipe I make every Christmas and Easter! I love these cookies for baking in a gas oven as they do not spread in general, so there's no worry about them spreading too much or becoming flat. You will love these buttery, melt in your mouth cookies that were inspired by my YiaYia.
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5

vegan banana chocolate chip cookies, easy vegan cookie recipe
Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe for Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies is soft and chewy. It also is vegan, so no eggs. That means if you underbake these a little bit, it won't matter! That's why I love this recipe for baking in a gas oven as you can be a little loose with baking time to ensure you don't burn your cookies.
Go to Recipe

6

soft baked snickerdoodle sandwich cookies
Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies
These Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies will be a crowd pleaser for any occasion! This simple recipe is great for baking in your gas oven as these are soft baked cookies, so they bake at a lower temperature for longer. This can be beneficial when baking in a gas oven as gas ovens tend to bake slower, which won't affect these cookies as much as ones that bake higher for a shorter period of time.
Go to Recipe

7

naturally colored strawberry french macarons
Strawberry French Macarons
If you are fan of baking macarons, then these Strawberry French Macarons a great option for baking in your gas oven! I was surprised that baking macarons was fairly easy in my gas oven and they always came out so well. So, if you are proficient in making French macarons, these are a great cookie to bake.
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8

sourdough chocolate shortbread cookies
Sourdough Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
These Sourdough Chocolate Shortbread Cookies are great for a gas oven! I make a cookie dough log and refrigerate this overnight, which makes these cookies really stay shaped perfectly with no spread. Since the cookie dough is already chilled, that makes them a great option for a finicky gas oven!
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9

peanut butter cookie pies
Peanut Butter Cookie Pies
These Peanut Butter Cookie Pies are a soft and chewy cookie filled with peanut butter filling. Peanut butter is a great option to bake in a gas oven because they don't spread that much! Try this recipe next time you're craving peanut butter.
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10

holiday sugar cookies with icing
Holiday Sugar Cookies with Icing
These Holiday Sugar Cookies with Icing are soft, chewy, and perfect for Christmas! I love this recipe for baking in a gas oven as these cookies are not roll out sugar cookies, making them less finicky and much easier to control in your gas oven. Test one without chilling, chill if need be!
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