How to use the online timer
Twelve minutes suits a standard drop biscuit of average thickness in a moderate oven, with chewier styles wanting slightly less and thin, crisp ones slightly more. The dough matters as much as the number: a bowl chilled for even twenty minutes in the fridge spreads far less on the tray, which is the difference between thick, chewy biscuits and thin greasy discs welded to the baking paper.
Biscuits are notorious for looking underdone at exactly the moment they should come out. The edges want to be set and lightly golden while the middle still looks soft and slightly raw, because the middle finishes cooking on the hot tray in the minutes after it leaves the oven. A biscuit that looks perfectly done while still in the oven is already overdone once it has cooled.
Turn the tray around halfway through, since biscuits are thin and quick enough that a hot spot shows up more obviously than in any other bake, and give them space to spread rather than crowding the tray. Leave them on the tray for two or three minutes before moving them, or they will fall apart on the fish slice, then cool them on a wire rack rather than on the tin.
Common questions
My biscuits spread into thin discs. What happened?
The dough was too warm. Chilling it for twenty minutes or more before baking keeps the fat solid for longer in the oven and gives a thicker, chewier result.
They look underdone at twelve minutes. Should I leave them longer?
Usually not. The edges should be set with the middle still soft, because biscuits finish cooking on the hot tray after leaving the oven. One that looks perfect in the oven is generally overdone once cool.
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