How to Bake Cookies in an Air Fryer

Last reviewed on 8 June 2026.

Cookies are one of the easiest things to bake in an air fryer — a small batch is ready in under ten minutes with no need to heat a full oven. The main adjustments are a lower temperature than your oven recipe, a flat surface that lets air circulate, and small batches so they cook evenly. Here is the full method.

Can You Bake Cookies in an Air Fryer?

Yes — and for small batches, an air fryer is arguably better than a conventional oven. You can have a fresh batch of cookies ready in under 10 minutes without ever preheating a full-size oven, which saves both time and energy.

Air fryers work well with virtually every common drop and shaped cookie style:

• Chocolate chip drop cookies — the classic, and probably the most popular air fryer cookie
• Sugar cookies — both drop and cut-out styles (though cut-outs need a flat tray)
• Oatmeal cookies — the denser dough handles airflow well
• Refrigerated/break-and-bake dough — straight from the tube with no extra prep
• Frozen cookie dough balls — bake directly from frozen, no thawing needed

The one real limitation is batch size — most air fryer baskets only fit 3–6 cookies at a time. If you are feeding a crowd, you will be running multiple rounds. But for everyday small-batch baking, the air fryer is surprisingly capable. For a broader look at what the air fryer can bake, see our complete air fryer baking guide.

Air Fryer Cookie Temperature

The right temperature for most air fryer cookies is 150–160°C (300–320°F). This is lower than typical oven cookie recipes, and understanding why helps you adapt any recipe correctly.

Why You Need to Lower the Temperature

An air fryer circulates hot air at high speed directly around the food. That constant airflow browns the edges and bottoms of cookies much faster than a conventional oven does with radiant heat alone. If you use the same temperature your oven recipe calls for, the edges will over-brown — or even burn — before the centre has had a chance to set.

The practical rule is simple: lower your oven recipe temperature by approximately 20°C (25°F) when converting to air fryer. So:

• Oven recipe at 180°C/350°F → air fryer at 160°C/320°F
• Oven recipe at 175°C/345°F → air fryer at 155°C/310°F
• Oven recipe at 190°C/375°F → air fryer at 170°C/340°F

If you want to convert other temperatures precisely, use our temperature conversion tool. For a full walkthrough on adapting conventional recipes for the air fryer — including time and quantity adjustments — see our guide to converting recipes for the air fryer.

Equipment and Setup

You do not need any special equipment to bake cookies in an air fryer, but the right setup makes a noticeable difference in results and ease of cleanup.

Lining the Basket

The best option is a perforated parchment liner cut or sized to fit your basket. The holes allow air to circulate underneath the cookies so they bake evenly rather than steam on the bottom. Pre-cut perforated liners are widely available and are worth keeping on hand if you bake regularly.

If you use a plain sheet of parchment cut to size, make sure it has holes — either buy perforated or punch a few holes yourself with a skewer. More importantly: never place parchment in the basket without cookies or food weighing it down. Lightweight parchment can lift in the airflow and contact the heating element, which is a fire hazard. Always add the dough balls before sliding the basket in.

Small Trays and Cake Tins

For cut-out sugar cookies or any cookie that needs a flat surface, a small metal tray or shallow cake tin that fits inside your basket works well. Leave a gap of at least 1–2 cm around the edges of any tray so air can still circulate. Avoid covering the entire base of the basket with a solid surface — blocked airflow is the most common cause of uneven results.

For a detailed look at which bakeware fits which air fryer models — and what materials to choose — visit our guide to air fryer bakeware.

How to Bake Cookies in an Air Fryer: Step by Step

Follow these steps for consistent results regardless of cookie type.

Step 1 — Preheat the Air Fryer

Run the air fryer at your target temperature (150–160°C / 300–320°F) for 2–3 minutes before adding cookies. Most models do not have a dedicated preheat button — simply set the temperature and let it run empty. Skipping preheat leads to uneven baking and unpredictable spread.

Step 2 — Line the Basket

Place your perforated parchment liner in the basket. Do not put the liner in before the machine is warm — add it just before you add the dough, so it cannot lift in airflow during the preheat.

Step 3 — Portion the Dough

Roll or scoop dough into uniform balls. Consistent size means consistent baking — one large ball next to a small one will produce one overbaked and one underbaked cookie. A cookie scoop (or two spoons) makes this quick.

Step 4 — Load in a Single Layer With Space

Place 3–6 cookies maximum in a single layer, with at least 4–5 cm (about 2 inches) between each. Cookies spread as they bake — if they start touching they will merge. Do not stack or overlap. One even layer is the rule.

Step 5 — Bake

Slide the basket in and bake for the time indicated in the table below (typically 6–10 minutes depending on type). Do not open the basket repeatedly — each peek drops the temperature and extends the bake time.

Step 6 — They Will Look Underdone — That Is Normal

This is the step that catches most first-timers out. When you pull the cookies, they will look soft, puffy, and slightly underset in the centre. Do not put them back in. Cookies continue to cook and firm up on residual heat after they leave the oven — this is true in a conventional oven too, but it is more pronounced with air fryer cookies because of the intense surface heat.

Step 7 — Cool on a Rack

Lift the parchment liner out of the basket and transfer the cookies (still on the liner) to a wire rack. Leave them for 3–5 minutes before touching them. They will firm up to a proper texture as they cool. Trying to move them while still hot often causes them to break or deform.

Air Fryer Cookie Times and Temperatures

Use this table as your starting point. Air fryer models vary — check 1–2 minutes early on your first batch and adjust from there. All cookies will feel soft when they come out; allow 3–5 minutes of cooling time before judging the final texture.

Cookie Type	Temperature	Time	Notes
Chocolate chip drop cookies	150°C / 300°F	7–9 min	Check at 7 min; edges should be just set, centre still soft
Sugar cookies	150°C / 300°F	6–8 min	Will look very pale when done — that is correct; they colour as they cool
Oatmeal cookies	160°C / 320°F	8–10 min	Denser dough tolerates slightly higher heat; check at 8 min
Refrigerated / break-and-bake dough	160°C / 320°F	6–8 min	Follow packet temp as a guide then drop by 20°C/25°F; no thaw needed
Frozen cookie dough balls	150°C / 300°F	8–11 min	Bake straight from frozen; add 1–2 extra minutes versus fresh dough

Troubleshooting Common Cookie Problems

Cookies Spread Too Thin or Melted Together

This usually means the dough was too warm when it went in. Butter-based doughs are sensitive to temperature — if the butter has already softened from handling, the cookies collapse in the heat before they can set. Chill the portioned dough balls for 20–30 minutes in the fridge before baking. Also check that you are leaving enough space between cookies (at least 4–5 cm) and that you are not crowding more than 5–6 into the basket at once.

Burnt Edges But Raw Middle

The temperature is too high. The fast-moving hot air is over-browning the exposed edges before the heat has penetrated to the centre. Drop the temperature to 150°C (300°F) and add 1–2 minutes to the baking time. Lower and slower gives the heat time to reach the middle before the surface burns. If this keeps happening, check whether your air fryer runs hot — many do, and it is worth calibrating with an oven thermometer.

Uneven Results — Some Done, Some Not

Air fryers have hotspots, and the area directly above the heating element (often the back or centre) will run hotter. If you notice consistently uneven results, rotate the basket halfway through baking (at around the 4-minute mark). Alternatively, reduce batch size — 3–4 cookies at a time, placed toward the centre of the basket, bake more evenly than 6 pushed to the edges.

Cookies Came Out Too Hard

They were overbaked. Remember that cookies continue to firm up as they cool — what feels slightly underdone coming out of the air fryer will be perfectly set after 3–5 minutes on a rack. If you wait until they feel done in the machine, they will be hard once cooled. Pull them when the edges are set and the centre still looks soft. Reduce your baking time by 1–2 minutes on the next batch.

Tips for Perfect Air Fryer Cookies

These small habits make a consistent difference across all cookie types.

• Chill your dough. This is the single most effective tip for better air fryer cookies. Cold dough spreads more slowly, giving the structure time to set before the fat fully melts. Even 20 minutes in the fridge after portioning makes a visible difference — especially in a warm kitchen.
• Keep sizes uniform. Use a cookie scoop if you have one. When all balls are the same size, they all finish at the same time. Mixed sizes always mean some are over and some are under.
• Do not overcrowd the basket. Three to six cookies with space between them will bake better than eight squeezed in. The extra batches take only a few more minutes and the results are far more consistent.
• Use perforated parchment. Solid parchment traps steam under the cookies and softens the bottoms. Perforated liners let air circulate underneath for a better texture on both sides.
• Work in assembly-line batches. Because each batch is so fast (6–10 minutes), it is easy to keep the momentum going. While one batch cools on the rack, the next batch is already in. Pre-portion all your dough balls before you start so there is no downtime between batches.
• Let the basket cool slightly between batches if it overheats. If you notice later batches browning faster than earlier ones, the basket is accumulating heat. A 1–2 minute rest between rounds prevents this.
• Add mix-ins last. For chocolate chip or nut cookies, fold in the chunky mix-ins at the end of mixing so they stay evenly distributed when you scoop.

Air fryer cookies are one of the most satisfying quick bakes you can do — genuinely faster and more convenient than an oven for small quantities. Once you have the temperature dialled in for your specific machine, results are reliably good. For more air fryer baking ideas, see our guides to baking cakes in an air fryer and the full air fryer baking guide.