Back to forecast
Can You Bake Cookies in a Hot Car?
August 2, 2022 at 07:58 PM EDT
By WeatherBug's Ali Husain
Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! In celebration, let’s combine weather and cookies to bring you some facts about baking cookies in hot cars.
First, let’s go over some important information. In order for your car to heat up, you need to utilize something you may have heard of before: the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect, in conjunction with increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, has contributed to unprecedented climate change on a global scale. The greenhouse effect can take hold on other planets, such as Venus, which has surface temperatures around 460 degrees Celsius as a result of an atmosphere primarily composed of carbon dioxide. On a hyperlocal scale, however, the greenhouse effect is just a normal, every day reaction that provides the heat necessary to bake cookies in your car.
On a sunny day, light enters your car through glass windows. Some of the light reflects back out of the car in the same form it entered: visible light. But some of the light is absorbed by the interior of the cabin, and then reradiated in longer infrared wavelengths, also known as heat. The heat is trapped in the cabin by the windows, causing air temperatures inside the cabin to rise. As the sun continues to beat down, the temperatures continue to rise.
In order for the cookies to bake, the temperatures in your car must reach 165 degrees or more. To get temperatures this high, your car will need to be in direct sunlight during the hottest hours of the day. All your windows will need to be up, so the sun’s rays can enter the car and remain trapped inside. If you have a sunroof, open the shade but don’t open the roof itself to allow as much sun as possible to enter the vehicle. Remove anything from the car that could lend its odor to the cookies: air fresheners, trash, fast food, etc.
Make sure you have a thermometer that can read temperatures at least to 165 degrees. Roll your cookie dough (preferably without eggs, to avoid the risk of food poisoning) into small balls, then flatten slightly onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Place a towel on your dashboard (to avoid burn marks) then place the baking sheet on top of the towel. Without opening the doors to allow heat to escape, monitor the cookies and thermometer from outside the car for several hours.
If the thermometer doesn’t register a temperature above 165, the cookies will only be warm, half-cooked dough. Don’t sit in the car with the cookies, as temperatures in the car could surpass 200 degrees on the hottest days. Wait until the cookies are done to get that fresh-baked cookie smell.
It could take anywhere from three to five hours for the cookies to finish baking. The final product won’t look like normal cookies; while they should still be firm enough to remove from the paper without becoming a gooey mess, the cookies won’t be as brown as they get in the oven because temperatures in your car won’t be hot enough to caramelize the sugar in the dough.
Sources: US News, NASA, ESA, New York Times
-----
Story Image via Pixabay
First, let’s go over some important information. In order for your car to heat up, you need to utilize something you may have heard of before: the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect, in conjunction with increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, has contributed to unprecedented climate change on a global scale. The greenhouse effect can take hold on other planets, such as Venus, which has surface temperatures around 460 degrees Celsius as a result of an atmosphere primarily composed of carbon dioxide. On a hyperlocal scale, however, the greenhouse effect is just a normal, every day reaction that provides the heat necessary to bake cookies in your car.
On a sunny day, light enters your car through glass windows. Some of the light reflects back out of the car in the same form it entered: visible light. But some of the light is absorbed by the interior of the cabin, and then reradiated in longer infrared wavelengths, also known as heat. The heat is trapped in the cabin by the windows, causing air temperatures inside the cabin to rise. As the sun continues to beat down, the temperatures continue to rise.
In order for the cookies to bake, the temperatures in your car must reach 165 degrees or more. To get temperatures this high, your car will need to be in direct sunlight during the hottest hours of the day. All your windows will need to be up, so the sun’s rays can enter the car and remain trapped inside. If you have a sunroof, open the shade but don’t open the roof itself to allow as much sun as possible to enter the vehicle. Remove anything from the car that could lend its odor to the cookies: air fresheners, trash, fast food, etc.
Make sure you have a thermometer that can read temperatures at least to 165 degrees. Roll your cookie dough (preferably without eggs, to avoid the risk of food poisoning) into small balls, then flatten slightly onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Place a towel on your dashboard (to avoid burn marks) then place the baking sheet on top of the towel. Without opening the doors to allow heat to escape, monitor the cookies and thermometer from outside the car for several hours.
If the thermometer doesn’t register a temperature above 165, the cookies will only be warm, half-cooked dough. Don’t sit in the car with the cookies, as temperatures in the car could surpass 200 degrees on the hottest days. Wait until the cookies are done to get that fresh-baked cookie smell.
It could take anywhere from three to five hours for the cookies to finish baking. The final product won’t look like normal cookies; while they should still be firm enough to remove from the paper without becoming a gooey mess, the cookies won’t be as brown as they get in the oven because temperatures in your car won’t be hot enough to caramelize the sugar in the dough.
Sources: US News, NASA, ESA, New York Times
-----
Story Image via Pixabay