Bar & Cookie Baking Tips

Foil-line pans for baking bars. Once bars have cooled, you can lift the foil right out and cut the bars cleanly. There's an added bonus: The pans will need only a quick rinse and dry.

Always bake bars on the middle rack in the oven and cookies on the top rack. If baking more than one pan at a time, place them at different angles on different racks to allow maximum circulation of heat. Alternate their placement on the racks halfway through the baking time.

You should cool cookie sheets between batches to keep unbaked cookies from melting and thinning at the edges before they can be set by the heat of the oven.

Don't have a "baker's" supply of cookie sheets? Spoon cookie dough onto large sheets of greased aluminum foil. When a cookie sheet becomes free, allow to cool, then lay the foil with the cookie dough right on the sheet.

Whirl granulated sugar in a processor or blender until powdery, then roll cut brownie squares in it for a delightful, sparkling white coating.