Cooking to indicators instead of time
I see a lot of comments on recipes where people cook to the time indicated and then they complain that the food is either over done or under done. This is a common frustration for both cooks and recipe writers because there are so many variables involved in how long something will take. It will depend on your stove/oven, which kind of pan you are using, what the temperature is in the kitchen, how big or small you chopped things, etc.
The best sorts of recipes will have you cook to a specific indicator.
Heat until oil is shimmering
Cook onions until they are soft and translucent
Mix until just combined, a few traces of flour is okay
Bake until the cake pulls away from the pan slightly and the top bounces back when you touch it
I was baking a gooey butter cake for the first time in a long time, and certainly the first time in the particular pans and oven. I had the recipe split between a 9x13 pan and an 8” round pan (batter roughly the same height in each pan). The recipe said to bake 25-30 minutes, but after 30 minutes, the top was still not as brown as I wanted. I kept checking 5 minutes at a time until the appropriate doneness. Unsurprisingly, the round pan was done first, and the larger 9x13 pan took even more extra time. Had I simply baked it for 30 minutes per the recipe, I would have been pretty disappointed.
Taking the time to understand what each step is doing will help guide you through the cooking process. Getting each step mixed or cooked or baked to the indicators will set you up for success.
More details can be found in Claire Saffitz’s article in Bon Appetit about this exact topic.