Hope you had an awesome weekend!
Besides eating lots of chocolate, I had some time to sit down and respond to a question I’m frequently asked, “Why do my cookies spread so much when I bake them?”
So to answer, and to celebrate the upcoming royal wedding, I made a few of these little cookies:
I knew I wanted them to stay small so that the crowns almost fit on the base, so it was important to me that they didn’t spread too much. (I had made the royal icing transfer crowns first. Cookies are 4.5 cm / approx. 2 inches across).
One thing to mention; the little jewels are inedible; they’re actually Swarovski Elements craft jewels. I just had to add some truly sparkly bling in honor of the royal wedding. 😉 To prevent the whole cookie from being inedible though, I made the crown a royal icing transfer and just barely iced it to the cookie base, so that it could easily be removed. Another point to mention; the cookie design came from here.
Several of these tips are already in my Sugar Cookie Recipe, and a few are new. By communicating with some of you, I’ve realized a few key things which helped me which I hadn’t thought to mention before.
A quick note first, a little bit of spreading is normal (see photo above with cookie cutter and cookie); but there are things you can do to help cookies keep their shape!
*
Tips on Helping Your Cookies Keep their Shape
1. Baking Powder
Whichever recipe you’re using, don’t use baking powder in the dough. I used to take it out only for more detailed cookies, now I omit it all the time.
2. Oven Temperature
Check to make sure your oven really is at the right temperature by using an oven safe thermometer. If your oven isn’t hot enough, the cookies don’t ‘set’ quick enough, and the cookies have more time to spread. Also remember that opening your oven up to peek on the progress of the cookies, will make the oven lose heat and affect ‘cookie spreadage’. If you still notice that your cookies are spreading, another thing you can do to help cookies keep their shape, is increase the heat 10-25 degrees higher than the suggested temperature on the recipe. Every oven is different, so you may need to try this for yours.
3. Incorporating Too Much Air
Be careful not to mix the butter and sugar too long (Usually the first step of making the dough; called creaming). Overmixing the butter and sugar will cause too much air to be incorporated. I usually mix mine just until the ingredients come together.
4. Correct Measurements
Baking is like a science… If your measurements are off it can change the whole recipe. For example, too much sugar will affect your dough. Sugar becomes liquid when melted and more liquid causes spreading. You can’t avoid having some sugar though, after all, we’re talking about cookies. 😉
5. Butter
Speaking of liquid, the amount of water in the butter you buy will affect the spreading factor.
As for how to know which butters have more/less water content, so far I’ve just had to experiment with different brands to see what works best. I haven’t found any indication on packaging mentioning percent of water etc. If anyone has more information on this, I’d love to hear your input!
Generally, I’ve found that the cheaper the butter, the higher the water content seems to be. 🙁
I can’t talk about shortening or other types of fat (sorry!), as I don’t bake cookies with any other fat than butter.
6. Baking Sheets
It may be that I simply like my shiny, new baking sheets, but it seems to me that cookies baked on a thick baking sheet seem to spread less than on a thin one. Here’s a link to the ones I prefer (click here), and, so you can see what I mean, a link to the other ones (click here).
7. Cookie Thickness
How thick are your cookies? The thicker they are, the longer it takes for the heat in your oven to help the cookies ‘set’, and the more time they have to spread. Mine vary depending on how thick I feel like making them, but in general, they’re about 3/4 cm – 1cm thick.
If you would like a thicker cookie, try raising the temperature of your oven a few degrees to bake them. Each oven and recipe are different, so you’ll have to play around with this a bit and see what works best.
7. Parchment Paper
Cover your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpatrather than greasing your pan with any type of oil/fat. Cookies seem to spread/slide more when resting on a greasy surface.
8. Chill the Dough
Once you’ve made the dough and it has rested for at least an hour, cut your cookie shapes out and put them back in the fridge for at least an hour or more before baking.
Regarding re-rolling dough scraps – I’ve noticed that the very first batch of dough which has only been rolled once, spreads the least, even if I’ve chilled them for minimum one hour. I’m wondering if it has something to do with the gluten in the flour being overworked.
Hope these tips help! If you have any more ideas, comments or questions, please feel free to share them here, in the comment section, or on my facebook page here.
Happy baking!
xo,
Marian
Nikki says
Thanks once again for the tips! It seems like you’ve been doing quite a few royal icing transfers. Is that a growing favorite with you? I will have to give it a try. Thanks again! Nikki from Ch
Gail says
Marian, the recipe I use has baking powder in it and my cookies don’t spread. That said, I think the ratio between butter & sugar is key, too.
I accidentally overmixed my butter and sugar the other day to the point of doubling in size and being lighter than air. It absolutely affected the texture of my cookies and they spread just a bit.
Good advice on the chilling, too. Very important!
As always, you’re spot on, Marian! Happy Royal Wedding Day!
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
I so enjoy making cookies, but every once in a while, they do spread and I am left scratching my head in wonder.
Wonderful tips… makes perfect sense!
Marce776 says
Useful tips as always, Marian, thank you so much! My cookies are far from your perfection, so it’s awesome to learn from you.
Angela says
Thank you Marian!!
I was just about to email you on this subject 🙂 I started using your recipe, but was having so much trouble with the cookies spreading that I went to another recipe (but they don’t taste near as good as yours 🙂 Do you notice the cookies to be very greasy after removing them from the oven? Seems to take a full day for that greasy feeling to go away. Is there a certain brand of butter you use? Thanks so much for the tips!!
Serene says
These are some great tips!
I employ a few of the easy ones just based on instinct but never thought of skipping the baking powder or even reducing it. I will give it a shot the next time..thanks Marian!!
Anna @ The Cookie Divas says
First off, just want to thank you for all the wonderfull tips and very usefull tips you have on your blog.
Also I have a question, were you you buy ‘disco dust’?
Thank you,
Anna
Maria Helena Cella says
Thanks Marian… Again you helped us a lot.
Dan says
A really easy ‘repair’ to spreading dough is simply to add more flour. If you’re worried about them tasting a little bland as a result, simply add more vanilla to the dough and ice them thickly!
marian says
Thanks Dan for sharing!
marian says
@ Nikki: I do seem to be making a lot of those lately! Lol. I like it because I can play around with the designs before committing to put it on a cookie! Also, I can make them ahead of time if I need to.
@ Gail: I’m glad you agree; you are definitely a cookie queen I admire and you know your stuff! True about the flour to sugar ratio… Too much sugar/not enough flour = spreading. Thanks for sharing that!
@ Brian @ A Thought For Food, @ Marce776@ Serene, @ Maria Helena Cella: Sweet thanks!
@ Angela: Mine aren’t greasy; I agree, maybe try a different brand of butter.
@ Anna @ The Cookie Divas: The Bonnie Gordon School in Toronto sells some, but I find mine on-line most of the time as I don’t have time to get down there very often. Whenever I mention disco dust and the word is pink, it means that that is a link to where I buy it on Amazon. Also, there’s a site called Sunflower Sugar Art which I love! (They have gorgeous disco dust).
Rowaida Flayhan says
Beautiful royal cookies love
Donna B. says
This is a wonderfully informative post. My favorite recipe was an old Wilton one….I reduced the BP by 1/2 and that has sure improved the spreading issue without compromising the taste or texture of the cookies. Didn’t know about butter and water content. I will watch for that as I make future recipes. See if it makes a difference. I know that I DO like King Arthur Flour and notice a nicer texture since switching to it. Blessings, Donna B.
JennT says
I love following your posts!! I found that cookie sheets seem to be a key. The air bake kind seem to cause more spreading. I recently did cookies for a baby shower using 5″ baby bottle cookie cutters and 3″ onesies. The baby bottles had quite a bit more spreading than the onesies. Would cooking at a little bit higher temp for larger cookies help prevent spreading? I’m anxious to try different butters now as well! Thanks for all your wonderful and creative ideas!! 🙂
Lisa S. says
Thanks for the tips! I have always decreased my bp, but not eliminated will have to try that.
Another tip I picked up was replacing the regular flour with Cake Flour. It holds the cookies together really well and the taste is amazing.
yainea says
Thank you so much! These tips will help me for sure 😉
Anne says
I use equal parts Butter Flavored Crisco and butter in my cookie recipe and they do not spread. And I omit the baking powder because I want flat, not puffy cookies. I also prepare my dough the night before I plan to use it. I roll it out between 2 sheets of parchment then into the fridge to chill overnight.
Nilda says
Hi Marian! Thanks for the tips!
I don’t use BP in my cookies and had no problems with spreading.
I love your crown transfers, and I love the fact that I can make it ahead of time…
Blogs like Sweetopia inspired me to started my own blog, just a month ago, but I’m so happy with it, it’s in spanish, because I’m from Chile…
anyway, I invite you to take a look, even it is so far away to be like yours…
http://www.completamentedulce.blogspot.com
Thank you again. {and please apologize my english :)}
Donna Carroll says
I am not one to experiment on my own, so I appreciate the tips from a pro. Some of your ideas are new to me. I have reduced but not omitted the baking powder. I haven’t thought much about overmixing the butter and sugar, although I have gotten sidetracked while the beaters are running. Water content in cheaper butter is an interesting concept as well. This cookie baking is starting to sound more like a science!
maria says
thank’s for sharing your great idees and wonderful tips in how to bake the perfect cookies. I love your blog….
ML
Anita says
Thank you! I was talking with a girlfriend last week about sugar cookies spreading in the oven.
Kelly K. says
Love your posts! Always so informative and inspires me to turn on the Kitchen Aid and the oven!
Thank you!
marian says
@ Rowaida Flayhan; thank you for your sweet support!
@ Donna B.: Ahh, thanks for the tip (King Arthur Flour); I’ve heard of it but haven’t tried it yet – will definitely add it to my ‘to try’ list!
@ JennT: I agree; baking sheets do make a difference! I mention baking at a higher temperature for thicker cookies, and I’m thinking that the same could be said of larger ones as well. Let me know how it goes!
@ Lisa S.: Cake flour; interesting! Will try. Thanks so much!
@ yainea: Sweet thanks!
@ Anne: Great tips – thank you!
@ Nilda: Your English is fine! I’m so glad to have inspired you to begin your own blog. You’re doing a fabulous job… I’m loving those Easter egg pops! Thanks for adding me to your blog list as well. 🙂
@ Donna Carroll: It sure is! (A science) lol. I’ve even approached science teachers about the issue of bubbles in royal icing.
@ maria, @ Anita, @ Kelly K.: Thank you so much for your sweet comments!
Mensaje en una galleta says
Thank you Marian.
I agree, butter and sugar ratio is one important thing. The other is the temperature of the dough.
I used confectionary sugar, much less air is incorporated because the sugar granules are smaller. I can mix them for a while and this improve the texture of the cookies a lot.
Un beso, Miriam G.
Mensaje en una galleta says
Not used, use. (My english is sufficient awful without mistakes ja, ja, ja)
Torie says
I usually use Challenge Butter and then I took a health class on making Ghee. Ghee is clarified butter and for those of you that don’t know, it’s basically melted butter, with the water cooked out, and simmered until it reaches a golden nutty status. Anyhow, the key is to get all the water out. The class was at Whole Foods and Challenge actually gave them free butter for the class. The funny thing is, we couldn’t get the water to cook out because there was SO much of it, LOL. They recommended Kerrygold Irish Butter, because the water content is so small. I never thought about the effect this could/would have on sugar cookies!
Thanks for so selflessly sharing your knowledge!!!!!!
Marian says
@ Mensaje en una galleta: Another great tip! Thanks so much!
@ Torie: So interesting! I would love to hear, if you ever try, what making sugar cookies with ghee would be like. Thank for sharing!
Renee -Kudos Kitchen says
Really great information Marian! You always write such great and helpful posts. Your crown cookies are so fun. I was wondering what type of edible decoration you used as the jewels (I thought you found something unique) and I had a good chuckle when I read that they were not edible. Knowing me, I would have tried anyway 🙂
Amy G says
Thanks again for some great tips! I will have to try omitting the BP next time, although the only time I ever had real trouble with spreading was when I made witches fingers for Halloween. The knuckles disappeared and the fingers looked like swollen bananas. 🙂
niner from wechooseorganic.com says
Ohhhmygosh these are soo cute, Marian. Loved all your tips, too.. I am sure we all experienced a couple of problems when baking cookies. You helpin’ everyone out here :))
Much love,
niner
Pinky572 says
Great tips! Thanks for posting! I’ve always had spreading problems and can’t wait to test these out, seems like I’ve been doing everything wrong!
marian says
@ Renee -Kudos Kitchen: I WISH they were edible! And if you did btw, a little bit of Swarovski never hurt anyone! (would it?) LOL
@ Amy G: Hahahahaha, thanks for the visual!
@ niner from wechooseorganic.com: Thanks; so sweet of you!
@ Pinky572: Let me know how it goes! 🙂 Btw; love your blog background.
Lorraine Russo says
Thanks so much Marian for your tips. I love your crown cookie – so perfect! I wrote to you awhile back about my splotching problem. I have tried a slightly different sugar cookie recipe and it seemed to have helped this time. I will keep my fingers crossed for next time. I also have taken out the baking powder from all of my favorite cookie recipes – chocolate included!!! Thanks again. Lorraine Russo-Harty – I also have a new FB page: Lorraine’s cookies – I hope you can stop by and “Like” it!
Megan says
Thanks Marian! I often thought the culprit of my spreading cookies was the baking powder as I live at a pretty high elevation, but didn’t know that I could leave it out. Hopefully that does the trick!
Ally Lynn says
I like that the thick baking sheets are less expensive! I received some of the “other ones” as a gift and definitely prefer my thick old cruddy one.
All your tips are great. Wonderful post!
Britt says
Hi, thanks for the helpfull tips!! I have a different trouble. My cookie dough (after the second rolling of the dough) get smaller after baking. REALLY SMALLER!! and a little off shaped…. I will try my dough without BP …. Have any other idea why this is happening?
I also have notice that my dough (after second rolling) becomes difficult to work with, even when I roll it it tends to shrink… How many times do you reroll your dough?? Sometimes i have to reroll it 4 or 5 times, for example when I have to cut big circles and buy the 3rd time my dough is a mess.
paddleattachment says
Thanks so much, Marian, for the useful info. I too, am a “butter only” gal. I’m intrigued by the baking powder and oven temp. tips. I’ll try them immediately!
Marian says
@ Lorraine Russo: Thanks for dropping by! Glad to hear that you’ve found what works for you!
@ Megan: High-elevation baking – something I didn’t consider when writing this post. Hmmm… I know baking is affected by the elevation but am not sure how in the spreading department. Is everything more ‘sensitive’ if I’m remembering correctly? Would love if you would let us know how trying these tips affects your dough and/or what you do to adjust your baking at high altitudes!
@ Britt: That’s a new one! Would you mind sharing the recipe you use so that we can try and help?
@ paddleattachment: Love to hear how it goes. Have fun!
Nicole says
Style of baking sheet definitely makes a HUGE difference. I have nice thick dark Baker’s Secret pans and a thin cheap aluminum one. I did a batch of simple chocolate chip cookies (just dropped with a cookie scoop) and used both sets of pans. The ones on the thick dark pans baked perfectly, just the right golden crisp on the bottom and around the edge and stopped spreading at a perfect thickness. The ones on the cheap thin pan kept spreading, never got that golden glow and as a result tended to fall apart when you picked them up so terrible for transporting.
LIbby says
Marion, lovely tips. I use a sugar cookie recipe that has baking soda as well. As long as my cookies are well chilled, even after cutting them out I never have problems. I just posted a lemon version of the recipe I use. Your tips are marvelous. I am constantly posting links to your site. I tell my aspiring baking friends to check you out all the time!
Have a delicious day!
Angela says
Just stumbled upon your site. I’m a novice baker looking for tips and I think I’ve hit gold with your site. Your work is exquisite, BTW. Love everything you create!
Melinda @ Sugar Fix Bakery says
Thank you Marian!! As always, such good advice. I cut back on my BP but was always afraid to cut it out all together!! I will try it tonight on several batches of cookies that I need to do!
marian says
@ Nicole: Isn’t it funny that the thick old ones are best – I love it 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
@ Angela: Sweeeet thank youuuu!
@ Melinda @ Sugar Fix Bakery: Looking forward to hearing the results if you’d like to share. Happy baking!
marian says
@ Ally Lynn: Oops, just missed your comment.
I KNOW (baking sheets); isn’t it great for once that the cheaper item is better! Love, love, love!
@ LIbby: Why thank you! I’m honored that you would refer your friends to me!
Off to see the lemon version. =)
Jaime says
@ Angela:
I wanted to chime in because I too have tried the sugar cookie recipe that you (Marian) love (from Antonia) and I had a rough time with it.. It was pretty sticky, so I found that if it was super chilled it was easier to work with.. And I had a terrible time of it spreading.. It definitely is yummy, but I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong. The other recipe I use doesn’t spread near as much.. So I guess I’ll just have to stick with that one. But I absolutely love the site and you are a cookie decorating genius. You inspire me everyday!
marian says
Thanks Jaime!
I work with it when it’s chilled too because it is moist/sticky when it’s warm, but love the tenderness and flavour to the recipe. Did any of the tips in the post strike you as something that may help?
Kelley Hart says
The no baking powder idea has me a bit perplexed. My recipe that I’ve use for 40 years (my grandma’s) call for bp. And as you mentioned, I was taught that baking was a science and you needed the exact amount of all of the right ingredients to have good results. Does leaving the baking powder out change the taste or texture? Everyone says my cookies are the best tasting, and I think the texture has something to do with it. I do chill my cut out cookie dough to avoid too much spreading. Very interesting topic!
Marian says
@ Kelley Hart: Interesting I know! If your grandma’s recipe doesn’t spread even with the bp, maybe you’ve got a perfect balance of all the other ingredients, but if it does (spread), try taking it out and see what happens.
Bp as a leavening agent makes the cookies a little ‘lighter’/’fluffier’, puffs them up a wee bit and tends to make the cookie spread.
Generally, all cookie recipes call for bp; it’s just that for cookie decorating, especially when you’ve got an intricate cookie design, having the cookie spread isn’t so desirable.
Would love to hear how your recipe changes (or not), if you experiment!
Sawsan@chef in disguise says
This was really helpful
Thank you so much for posting it
and those cookies are just super cute
Kelly says
Wow these are so cute and quite impressive! I’m so glad I found your blog, I love it!! 🙂
Marianne @ MealMixer says
I made cookies last night but got distracted during the creaming process so the butter/sugar was EXTREMELY light and fluffy. I noticed that it took more flour to make the dough how it usually is. It wasn’t a disaster, but they weren’t as good as they usually are.
Your cookies are so beautiful…mine usually look like a kindergarten art project!
: )
Tina says
Hi! I Love Love Love your site! I’m so glad you addressed spreading cookies, because that used to make me absolutely crazy! I did some research & found additional tips on other websites too than have worked wonderfully for me. I’d like to share, but if I repeat something that anyone has said, please just excute that.
#1.) Roll out cookies between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap. No additional flour needed
#2.) After cutting out shapes, remove ONLY the scraps, do not try to pick up the cookies.
#3.) Pick up the whole sheet of parchment with the cookies, put on a cookie sheet & put in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Then move cookies to another parchment lined baking sheet & bake as directed.
I have to say I’ve only had this cookie decorating obsession for a very short time, but these tips as well as yours have made a huge difference! Thanks for all of your awesome tips, etc.