Can You Bake in an Air Fryer? How to Make Cookies and Muffins

Introduction: Beyond the Fry

When most people unbox their new air fryer, their immediate instinct is to load it up with french fries, chicken wings, and frozen mozzarella sticks. After all, the word “fryer” is right there in the name. It is marketed as a healthier alternative to deep frying, and it excels spectacularly at that job. However, if you limit your air fryer exclusively to savory, crispy snacks, you are ignoring half of its potential. The air fryer harbors a sweet secret: it is an absolutely phenomenal baking machine.

Remember, an air fryer is essentially a miniature, high-powered convection oven. Professional bakers have prized convection ovens for decades because the circulating fan creates a perfectly even ambient temperature, resulting in baked goods that rise higher, brown more evenly, and bake faster. Your air fryer does the exact same thing, but on a smaller scale and without the 15-minute preheat time. In this guide, we will explore the rules of air fryer baking and show you exactly how to make perfect, small-batch cookies and muffins right on your countertop.

The Rules of Air Fryer Baking

Baking is a science, and baking in an air fryer requires a few minor adjustments to your standard oven recipes to account for the intense, circulating heat.

1. The Temperature Adjustment

The high-speed fan in an air fryer transfers heat to the surface of your food much faster than a conventional oven. If you use the standard temperature listed on a box of cake mix or a traditional cookie recipe (usually 350°F), the outside of your baked goods will burn and form a hard crust before the inside has time to cook. The golden rule of air fryer baking is to drop the temperature by 25°F to 30°F. If a recipe calls for 350°F, set your air fryer to 320°F.

2. The Time Adjustment

Even with the temperature lowered, the air fryer will likely bake your treats about 20% faster than a regular oven. You must keep a close eye on your baked goods. If a recipe says to bake cookies for 12 minutes, start checking them at the 8-minute mark.

3. Protect the Batter from the Fan

The fan inside an air fryer is incredibly strong. If you put a lightweight piece of parchment paper in the basket, it will fly up into the heating element. More importantly, if you have a very thin, liquid batter (like a thin cake batter), the sheer force of the wind can actually blow the batter sideways, resulting in lopsided cakes. Always use appropriately sized, sturdy baking pans, silicone molds, or heavy ceramic ramekins.

How to Bake Perfect Air Fryer Cookies

The air fryer is the ultimate solution for when you want warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies but only want to make two or three portions instead of baking an entire batch of two dozen.

The Setup

You cannot put raw cookie dough directly onto the wire grate of the basket; it will melt and ooze through the holes, creating a disaster. You need a barrier.

• The Best Option: Cut a small square of parchment paper just large enough to hold the cookies, but small enough that there is still an inch of space around the edges for air to circulate. Place the dough balls on the parchment to weigh it down so it doesn’t fly up into the fan.
• The Skillet Option: If you have a small (6-inch) cast-iron skillet or an oven-safe ceramic dish that fits in your air fryer, you can press the dough into the bottom to make a giant, deep-dish “pizookie” (pizza cookie).

The Technique

1. Prep the Dough: You can use your favorite homemade recipe or store-bought refrigerated dough (like Toll House). Form them into standard 1-inch balls.
2. Preheat: Preheat the air fryer to 320°F (160°C) for 3 minutes.
3. Bake: Place the parchment paper with the dough balls into the basket. Make sure they are spaced apart, as they will spread. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes.
4. The Secret to Gooey Cookies: The cookies will look slightly puffy and underbaked in the center when you pull them out. Do not overcook them! Let them sit in the hot basket (outside of the machine) for 3 minutes. The residual heat will finish setting the center while keeping them incredibly soft and chewy.

How to Bake Fluffy Air Fryer Muffins and Cupcakes

Standard metal muffin tins will rarely fit inside an air fryer basket. To bake muffins, you will need individual silicone muffin liners (which are fantastic because they stand up on their own) or a small, specialized 4-cup silicone air fryer muffin pan.

The Technique

1. Prep the Batter: Prepare your favorite muffin or cupcake batter. Because the air fryer holds fewer muffins, this is a great time to use “just add water” small-batch mixes, or you can make a full batch and store the remaining batter in the fridge for the next day.
2. Fill the Liners: Fill the silicone liners about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Do not overfill them, or the strong fan will blow the rising batter over the edges, creating a mess.
3. Preheat: Preheat the air fryer to 320°F (160°C).
4. Bake: Carefully place the filled silicone cups into the basket, ensuring they are not touching each other. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
5. The Toothpick Test: Because air fryers heat from the top down, the tops will brown beautifully. Insert a toothpick into the center of the largest muffin. If it comes out clean, they are done. If it comes out wet, but the tops are getting too dark, place a small piece of foil over the muffins for the last 2-3 minutes of baking.
6. Cool: Let them cool in the liners for 5 minutes before popping them out. The silicone makes removal completely effortless.

Conclusion: A Countertop Bakery

Once you realize that your air fryer is essentially a highly efficient convection oven, a whole new world of culinary possibilities opens up. It is the perfect appliance for small-batch baking, satisfying those late-night sweet cravings without the hassle of preheating a massive oven. By simply lowering the temperature, keeping an eye on the cooking time, and using the right silicone accessories, you can turn out perfectly gooey cookies, fluffy muffins, and decadent cakes with absolute ease. Don’t be afraid to experiment—your air fryer is ready to bake!

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