Duff Goldman's Secret For Perfectly Gooey Cookies

The perfect chocolate chip cookies are ... well, it depends on who you ask. Some bakers swear by thin and crispy cookies, while others are all about the chewy ones with an ooey-gooey center. Whichever cookie camp you're in, Duff Goldman — the chef and TV personality known for his inventive, work-of-art baking skills on "Ace of Cakes" — has some expert advice on how to make a perfectly soft cookie. Basically, it largely comes down to the bake.

"I like to take them out of the oven as soon as they start to develop some color," Goldman told Delish. "Then you end up with perfect gooey-in-the-middle cookies." Whether you're making brown butter chocolate chip cookies, crinkle cookies, or oatmeal raisin cookies, the key is not to over-bake them. Instead, for that soft center, you want to look for a golden color developing just around the cookies' edges, then remove them from the oven. The goal is to bake them through just long enough that they are fully cooked, yet still melt-in-your-mouth tender in the middle. 

To master the art of baking cookies that have a crisp exterior and undeniably gooey middle, it's all about checking for color development before removing them from the oven. Duff Goldman cautions against under-baking so you don't "end up with a doughy mess." However, you can bake cookies through and still keep the insides soft by looking for a few appearance markers.

Be sure to look at the edges of the cookies; they should just be starting to turn light golden brown. The edges will also start to firm up. For darker cookies like double-chocolate, where golden color indicators may not be as obvious, you can also test the firmness of the edges. Check if they've started to set by touching them carefully with your fingers or a heat-safe spatula.

Next, take a peek at the top of the cookies. The tops should also be just starting to develop some color, but we're not looking for a completely golden surface here. In fact, the cookies will probably look a tad under-baked and pudgy. But as long as the edges are starting to turn golden and the surface is set (i.e., it doesn't have the glossy sheen of raw cookie dough anymore), you're good to remove your cookies from the oven.

Whether you're baking snickerdoodles or chocolate chip cookies with orange zest, once you learn the tell-tale signs of a fully baked yet gooey cookie, you won't want to look back. In addition to checking that the edges of the cookie are golden brown, you can also take several baking steps to ensure your cookies stay soft in the center. For instance, avoid over-mixing the cookie dough, as this can lead to overworked, flattened cookies. It also helps to chill the dough beforehand to maintain the cookies' form, and to use a cookie dough scoop to create cookies that are equally sized.

In Duff Goldman's recipe for white chocolate gingersnaps, he emphasizes that it's "really important not to over-bake so the middles stay mooshy." He also recommends rotating the cookie tray halfway through the baking time to ensure that the cookies bake evenly. He advises transferring the cookies to a wire rack after they've cooled just slightly for two minutes. Removing the cookies from the hot tray further prevents over-baking of the cookie centers after they've left the oven. In his recipes, Duff Goldman also isn't shy (really, when is he?) about the fact that cookies are best eaten when they're still warm. When it comes to the best time to enjoy a gooey cookie, we certainly won't beg to differ.