Why You Shouldn't Reuse Hot Cookie Sheets

It's never a mistake to bake cookies, nor is there a bad type of cookie to make. Whether you prefer snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms, or a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe, those warm, round discs of heaven make for the perfect snack at any time day. It also doesn't hurt that baking the mouthwatering treats fills the house with a sweet, nostalgia-inducing aroma, either – though beware, as one study found that the smell can also lead to impulse purchases, specifically for women's sweaters (via Science Daily). You may want to hide your wallet (or clear some space in your closet) before popping those suckers in the oven.

Aside from potential shopping urges, the only other downside we can think of to whipping up a fresh batch of cookies is that, eventually, all of those yummy baked goods will be gone. Keeping a strict baking schedule is one way to try to create the illusion of a never-ending supply of treats in your home. However, if that doesn't sound plausible, doubling or even tripling your recipe to make a massive number of cookies in one fell swoop is another route you can go.

To do this, you'll, of course, want to make sure you're stocked with all the necessary ingredients before getting busy in the kitchen, but eggs, flour, and butter aren't the only things you'll want to have in abundance. Per Food & Wine, a few extra cookie sheets may be helpful for your batch-bake, as well.

Owning five cookie sheets may seem excessive – that is until you have to make 100 cookies. Not only does having extra trays make batch-baking more convenient but using a fresh cookie sheet for each round of baking will also yield better treats than if you were to use the same pan back-to-back.

As pastry chef Alessandra Altieri explained to Food & Wine, immediately reusing a cookie sheet after it's already been in the oven can give your cookies "fried edges" due to the butter in your dough starting to melt the second it hits the hot pan. Moreover, an experiment conducted by Cooks Illustrated found that using the same sheet without allowing for any cooling time can lead to your cookies overspreading, ultimately causing the edges to "fuse" together.

Altieri asserts that purchasing additional cookie sheets will be "worth the few extra dollars," but the dream of batch-baking isn't lost if you only have space or funds for one. Per The Kitchn, setting your pan on a wire rack, or any other space where it can get airflow, and allowing it to cool down to room temperature in between bakes will also help you avoid the problems that can come from reusing a hot cookie sheet. Sure, this will make your time in the kitchen a little longer, but it will be worth it when that third batch of cookies comes out as perfect as the first.