Cookie Sheet Experiment

[deleted-599939]

I would like to do a science experiment about which type of cookie sheet will bake cookies the most evenly. I am having trouble thinking through my variables and controls. If my type of cookie sheet is my independent variable and my dependent variables are the hardness of cookie, how high they rose, and how burnt they are, what would be my control group?
Thank you!

[SciB]

Yum! Sounds like a wonderful project--I vote for choc chip!

I think your control would have to be a standard set of conditions that you define. I use a non-stick steel baking sheet that is about 14 x 20 inches and I bake the cookies at 400 degrees F for 9 minutes and they rise nicely and are NOT burned on the bottom. Check your oven with a thermometer each time you bake to make sure it is preheating to the correct temperature and keep the baking sheets in exactly the same location in the oven. These will be your control conditions.

Just out of curiosity, what different baking sheets are you testing? I have only seen the silvery steel kind and the Teflon-coated ones. What other kinds are there?

Sybee

[deleted-599939]

Thank you for your reply. I have researched non-stick, insulated,and black steel cookie sheets in addition to the basic aluminum. There are also cooking stones like the ones Pampered Chef produces. How many different kinds should I use for my experiment?
Would an aluminum pan with all the conditions you stated in your reply be my "control group" since that is what is commonly used and then the other types I choose be my independent variable that I change?
Thanks!

[SciB]

You are welcome!

I think your aluminum pan will be just right for a control. Just try it once or twice first to make sure your baking conditions are correct--you can't have too many cookies! Use as many different kinds of baking pan as you can get. Is your oven a convection type or regular?

What will you use for your cookie dough? I make mine from scratch but you probably should use a simple commercial one that will give the same results each time.

Since I bake I am really curious about your results so please be sure to post later and tell us which pan type worked best and why.

Good luck!

Sybee

[deleted-599939]

Yes, I was planning to use commercial cookie dough so the recipe would be the same for every test. I have a regular oven. I will definitely post how it goes.
Thank you!

[SciB]

You're welcome...

Good luck with your experiment! I'll wait to buy a new cookie sheet until I know your results.

Sybee

[deleted-473898]

Hi!

Sounds yummy! Just wondering, do you have a way to quantify your dependent variables? I know you mentioned how burnt they are and how hard they are, but that might be hard to measure. Are you planning on making a "blackness" scale for how burnt they are and another scale for hardness? I'm interested to see how the experiment goes!

Elena

[deleted-599939]

Hi!

Sounds yummy! Just wondering, do you have a way to quantify your dependent variables? I know you mentioned how burnt they are and how hard they are, but that might be hard to measure. Are you planning on making a "blackness" scale for how burnt they are and another scale for hardness? I'm interested to see how the experiment goes!

Elena

Thanks for posting. This is homeschool mom posting this now to help my daughter think through the dependent variables and data analysis- As we think though this experiment, we are actually having trouble with how to gauge an evenly baked cookie. An evenly baked cookie has an even moisture content throughout that is not so crisp as to be burnt or not so soft as to have uncooked dough. So we have to decide on some form of standard measurement. I was thinking we could measure the height and diameter of each cookie, the percentage of the cookie that is burnt (defined as hard, flaky, and dark brown to black) or/and the percentage of the cookie that is doughy (moist, uncooked dough). We also thought about buying a moisture meter like they use to measure moisture in floors and walls (we would have to test if this would even work in a cookie) and also a food thermometer for temperature in the cookie. If we use the control cookie on an aluminum pan as the standard we can measure the other cookies from different pans off of the control cookie standard in terms of temperature and moisture. I am not quite sure how to create a burn scale or dough scale.
Am I on the right path to how to quantify results? Any suggestions would be helpful.

[SciB]

Hi,

As Elena said, and I was thinking too, how will you measure the cookies for comparison. When I make cookies I use the proportions of flour, baking powder, sugar and butter, egg and milk and the oven temperature and time that makes a cookie I like, but others will have different preferences.

The dependent variables you talked about are all good to try. I would take lots of photos of the cookies--just before you put them in the oven, just after you take them out, and turn some over to photograph the bottom. Be sure to use the same camera, distances and lighting for all the photos and LABEL them!

We can make the coffee and have that ready for you when the cookies are done! You could invite some friends over for a taste test. Don't tell them which baking sheet you used, just let them decide which cookies they like best and tell you why. You could ask them to rate them on a 0 to 5 scale.

Do let us know how this comes out. We are all curious--as well as hungry!

Sybee

[deleted-473898]

Hi,

It definitely looks like you're on the right track. If you're going to measure the percentage of the cookie that is burnt, you need to make sure that you put all the cookies in the oven for the same amount of time (avoid the temptation to pull them out only when they're nice and golden brown! ). Although it might be hard to determine what percentage of the cookie is moist, go ahead and try the moisture meter and the thermometer. Since you're not sure exactly what factors will be different, it's good to collect lots of data. Also, as Sybee suggested, take lots of photos and do an overall taste test -- taste tests can be somewhat subjective, but it's important to get an "overall quality" rating for the cookies. The more friends you can survey, the better! (I'm sure there will be plenty who are willing.) Best of luck and I hope they are all delicious!

Elena

[deleted-599939]

Thank you all so much. This is encouraging and helpful. Yes! Our controls will include same oven, same temp (using oven thermometer), same cook time (based on control cookie time which will be based on the package instructions for pre-made commercial recipe), same rest time out of oven, same recipe, same amount of dough per cookie (weighed for accuracy) , same rack in the oven.

Thank you for the suggestion of the taste test. There is some subjectivity to “what tastes good” and we will get lots of volunteers for data.

We will let you know how it goes and how our data analysis works out.