Taste one!!!

A lot of cookies will start to crack when they are finished cooking.

I usually go with the touch method. If it's soft but set in the middle when I poke it, I take it out.

Also by smell, but that's usually a bad indicator...

I touch as well on the first batch & carefully note baking time. I set the timer for the next
round(s). If it's a new recipe I make a note for next time. But I like Brooklynnina's test
method much better:)

IMO, chocolate cookies have a narrower window of acceptability than plain cookies, which get nuttier if they're a little too brown, whereas chocolate cookies just taste burnt.

I usually wait for the aroma, then start tasting a minute or so after that. If the bottom is too brown, I make a note to lower the heat 25 degrees for the next batch.

The touch method doesn't work as well for eggless cookies, which usually puff less.

I wait for the tops to dry out completely - and I can usually tell around the edge, when it's completely set and looks crunchier than the rest. I rely much more on timeframe, too, when I bake dark cookies.

I look at the bottom of the cookie, when it starts to pull away from the pan and round out. Also when you can easily scoot/nudge them on the pan with the spatula, they're probably done.

Yep, touch. Firm around the edge and still soft in the centers.

I always just gently try to move one cookie. Something that is baked and completely raw in the middle will move easily (though a tender cookie may crumble where you touched it, ooops! tasting sample :D).

That doesn't work if you want a really really, basically wet inside, cookie but for everything else it's great. And never fails.