Fresh baked cookies in the car

We’re at the end of the summer but record-breaking heat is still baking many, especially in the West. It can be tough to pass the time when the heat bears down, so why not make a yummy experiment out of it?

Almost everyone can enjoy a fresh baked cookie right out of the oven, but did you know you can bake cookies in the car if it’s hot enough? Yes, you can! But there are some main instructions to follow.

It must be at least 95 degrees outside to achieve the correct baking temperature in the car. This is not a hard step to achieve across the West right now. Take a look at the TemperatureRadar.

The car must be sitting in sunlight with all windows closed for at least 15 minutes to “preheat the oven,” before you place the cookies inside. Follow the instructions on the pre-made cookie dough package and place the cookie dough on your baking sheet.

Place the towel on your dashboard and put the baking sheet full of cookie dough right on top.

Now we wait. While the package will likely say up to 12 minutes for the baking time, it’s important to remember the car can’t achieve the directed oven temperature, especially not that quick. It can take up to 5 hours for your cookies to bake, so patience is key here.

Cars sitting in at least 95-degree heat can reach up to 140 degrees within an hour. Tomorrow, Redding, Calif., has a high temperature forecast of 112 F. this means a car sitting in direct sunlight for only an hour would be around 155 F! This is perfect for baking cookies but is very dangerous to sit in. Make sure when doing your experiment that you’re in and out of the car quickly and safely.