Pan Banging Is the Secret to Perfectly Chewy and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everybody has their version of the greatest chocolate chip cookie recipe, but have you ever heard of the greatest cookie-baking method? Well, here it is. Cookie expert Sarah Keiffer of thevanillabeanblog.com came up with an ingenious tactic for nailing crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside cookies every time: pan banging. Yes, we mean, quite literally, banging the cookie sheet on the counter (or oven rack) by picking it up and dropping it for a hard smack.

Tapping a cookie pan isn't a totally new technique, but banging the entire pan will give you a very different baking result. The impact from banging deflates and spreads the puffed up cookies, creating ripples along the edges and soft stretches of dough in the center. When you repeat this step every 1-2 minutes, you'll end up with very thin, very delightfully textured cookies.

Not only does pan-banging create incredible-tasting (and incredibly gorgeous) cookies, but the unusual and slightly chaotic trick adds a little excitement to your average baking day. Just imagine the delight on your kids' faces as they take turns smacking the pan on the countertop.

And just in case you were wondering, this method will work with almost any drop cookie dough. The more butter and sugar in the recipe, the better (for spreadability's sake), but even a log of store-bought dough will pan-bang if you really want it to.

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