The edges of a cookie bake before the middle because they meet heat from three directions and become thinner as the dough spreads; the center is heated only from below and above and stays thicker. This difference is not a flaw; it is the result most recipes aim for. You can adjust the balance to your liking by changing thickness, oven time, and baking sheet color.
When a cookie is placed on a baking sheet, its edges receive heat from above, below, and the sides, while the center heats from only two surfaces. As the dough spreads in the oven, the edges also become even thinner. Together, these two effects make the edges dry out and turn crisp quickly while the center remains moist. You can see the same difference on a single baking sheet: cookies near the edge brown noticeably sooner than those in the middle. For the same reason, small cookies show almost none of this difference; as each piece gets smaller, the distance between its center and edge narrows, and both bake at the same time.
This difference is intentional in many recipes. A cookie with a soft center and crisp edge offers two textures at once, and it is a widely preferred result. For an entirely crisp cookie, roll the dough thinner and bake it longer. For an entirely soft result, leave the dough thick, shorten the baking time, and take the cookies out a little earlier. The ingredients also change the result; chocolate chips or nuts keep the moisture in the center longer and extend its softness.
Three things determine the balance. First is thickness: the center of a thick cookie stays soft much longer. Second is baking time, the strongest adjustment on its own. Third is the baking sheet: dark sheets absorb more heat and brown the bottoms sooner, while light-colored sheets give a gentler result. Using a double baking sheet, with another sheet underneath, also protects the bottoms from excessive heat. Parchment paper on the baking sheet provides slight insulation; dough placed directly on greased metal browns noticeably faster on the bottom.
Cookies continue baking after they come out of the oven because the baking sheet is still hot. So take them out while the center still looks a little soft; a few minutes on the sheet will finish them. Leaving them in the oven until they look fully baked will leave you with a hard cookie once they cool. Let the cookies rest on the sheet for two to three minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely, because the bottoms of cookies left on the sheet become damp. Decide when to take them out by looking at the edges; at this stage, it is normal for the center to look shiny and slightly moist, and this is not a flaw.
A few details help cookies on the same baking sheet bake evenly. Measure the dough portions to the same weight; differently sized pieces scooped with a spoon bake for different lengths of time. Leave enough space between them to spread. Rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking because no oven heats every spot equally. If you are baking on two sheets at once, switch their rack positions as well. Check the oven temperature with a separate thermometer, too, because many home ovens differ from the temperature they display, and that difference becomes more significant during short bakes.
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