Hi
You made me laugh because I cannot bake a cake for the life of me. I've tried and tried but the cakes have fallen. I am cursed.
Anyway, I bake cookies. I have four things I follow religiously, I use butter, jumbo eggs, real vanilla and I use parchment paper to bake most cookies. I've made some not so great cookies but learned from the mistakes and moved on from there. Kitchen Witch is right about getting an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the correct temperature.
Enjoy baking and have fun!!!!