What are cookies?

What on earth did i do wrong with my cookies?

• so i was supposed to bake a ton of christmas cookies for tomorow and they all turned out bad. my oven smoked up the whole house and set off the fire alarm, even though the cookies themselves didn't burn at all. they almost seem undercooked. my mom told me to make sure i put some parchment paper on the pans before i bake the cookies, which i did. my oven has never smoked like that. i don't know if it was just the parchment paper doing it or what. then another batch of cookies melted into big blobs that practically fused to the parchment paper. i tried getting them off and they either crumbled into mush or had paper stuck all in them. i just made another batch without parchment paper and i haven't tried taking them off the pan yet, but they look a little better. i hate making cookies. why am i so bad at this?

• Answer:

  Check your paper - it sounds like you picked up wax. If there isn't a box, scratch your finger across it and see if it builds up like a crayon would. Do not use paper if you don't know what it is. Don't get frustrated, even the best cooks throw out burned food every now and then. Just check your recipe and make sure you didn't add too much oil/butter. Most cookies do not need paper - it just makes things easier and cleaner. Most cookies do much better if you chill them first. Check your oven temperature - it may be set wrong or it may be on broil.