6 Reasons Why Your Cookies are Spreading (2024)

Description

Even if you have a recipe that's always worked for you, humidity, room temperature, or even switching ingredient brands can alter how your cookies behave in the oven. Here, our test kitchen cooks share the reasons our cookies sometimes misbehave.

  1. Room Temperature Butter

    If it's too soft, it will melt faster in the oven and ultimately spread out. Next time, allow the butter to soften at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes or until it gives slightly when pressed with a spoon.

  2. Excess Sugar and Fat

    Measuring is key in baking. If your cookie contains excess sugar or fat, it will spread while baking. If your first batch of cookies spreads, try adding a few tablespoons of flour to help thicken the remaining dough.

  3. Mixing Butter & Sugar

    Creaming is the act of mixing butter and sugar to incorporate air bubbles into the butter, creating a light and fluffy cookie. If your butter is under mixed, it won't have the air pockets to hold it's shape. If it's over-mixed, the air pockets decrease in size and are unable to hold their shape in the oven—causing your cookies to spread. It's best to cream butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.

  4. Dough is Too Warm

    Storing your dough in the fridge helps to harden the fat and prevent your cookies from spreading. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

  5. Greased Cookie Sheets

    Most cookie doughs have enough fat in them to prevent them from sticking to the pan. Adding grease to the pan can cause them to spread even more. However, if you're concerned about cookies sticking to the sheet, try the baking spray that contains flour.

  6. Warm Cookie Sheets

    6 Reasons Why Your Cookies are Spreading (1)

    If you're batch baking your cookies, make sure you're placing cookie dough on cooled cookie sheets. If the cookie sheets are too warm, they can cause the cookies to spread.

  7. Oven Temperature

    Oven temperature is crucial to perfectly baked cookies. If your oven temperature is too low, it can cause your cookies to spread, yielding thin, tough cookies.

  8. The Test Cookie

    If you're worried about your cookies spreading, don't be afraid to do a test cookie. Just bake one at first. This helps to ensure that your cookies will turn out just the way you want them.

6 Reasons Why Your Cookies are Spreading (2024)

FAQs

6 Reasons Why Your Cookies are Spreading? ›

Cookies spread because the fat in the cookie dough melts in the oven. If there isn't enough flour to hold that melted fat, the cookies will over-spread. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour. If your cookies are still spreading, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough.

What causes cookies to spread? ›

Cookies spread because the fat in the cookie dough melts in the oven. If there isn't enough flour to hold that melted fat, the cookies will over-spread. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour. If your cookies are still spreading, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough.

What are 6 factors that determine the spread of a cookie? ›

What are the 6 factors that determine the spread of a cookie? Flour, sugar, liquid, baking soda, type of fat, and baking temperature.

How do you fix a cookie that spreads? ›

If the cookies spread too much, you can usually fix the problem by adding more flour or oatmeal, or less liquid. If you notice it when the first batch goes into / comes out of the oven, a tablespoon of flour added may make the rest of the batch just right.

What keeps cut out cookies from spreading? ›

Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze!

Does white sugar make cookies spread? ›

White sugar, with its neutral pH, interferes with gluten development, allowing the dough to spread more before it sets. The result is cookies that are thin and tender/crisp.

How does sugar affect the spread of cookies? ›

The lower the amount of sugar in the cookie, the less it will spread. The lower the amount of sugar, the drier and more crumbly the cookie will be.

What are the 6 categories of cookies? ›

What are the different types of cookies?
  • Drop cookies.
  • Rolled or cutout cookies.
  • Sandwich cookies.
  • Filled cookies.
  • Cookie bars.
  • Molded cookies.
  • No bake cookies.
  • Pressed cookies.
Dec 31, 2023

What are the 6 methods for making cookies? ›

There are many varieties of classifications for cookies. This refers to the way in which the cookie is prepared after the dough has been made. For example, there are drop, icebox, bar, sheet, cut out, pressed, rolled, molded or wafer. Let's take a minute to look at these methods.

What is spread factor in cookies? ›

The spread factor of the cookie was calculated by dividing the diameter of the baked cookie (D) by the height of the cookie (H).

Why don't my cookies get flat? ›

Too much flour causes the dough to become dry and crumbly, which prevents it from flattening out during baking. As a result, your cookies will stay in their original shape instead of spreading out into nice circles.

What do you do with cookie spread? ›

Use cookie butter like you would other spreads. Serve it on toast, waffles or pancakes at breakfast, or use it as a dip for sliced apples, bananas, graham crackers or pretzels. Cookie butter can also be used in baked goods such as banana bread, muffins and cookies, like these 3-Ingredient Cookie Butter Cookies.

Does baking soda make cookies spread? ›

Baking soda also serves another important purpose when it comes to cookies: It encourages spreading by raising the mixture's pH, which slows protein coagulation. This gives the dough more time to set before the eggs set, which results in a more evenly baked cookie.

What allows cookies to spread? ›

Fats like butter and margarine tend to melt during baking, causing the cookies to spread. Higher fat content will spread more, while lower fat content will yield less spread. Sugar content: The sugar content in your cookie dough also affects the spread.

How to prevent cookies from spreading on Reddit? ›

Try adding less baking soda and maybe add a little more flour to the mix (like 2 tablespoons), pre-heat the oven maybe like 30 min before. If that doesn't work chill the batter for like an hour and immediately scoop it in the baking tray and put it in the oven.

Does cornstarch keep cookies from spreading? ›

1. Cookies. Cornstarch does kind of incredible things to cookies. I mean not only does it give them soft centers, prevents them from spreading, and makes them somewhat thick (in a good way), but it also contributes to the chewiness factor, which, in my opinion, is the most important cookie attribute.

How to fix flat cookies? ›

Adjust leavening agents: Baking powder and baking soda are responsible for the rise and structure of cookies. If your cookies are too flat, try slightly increasing these leavening agents. Conversely, if your cookies are overly puffy and then collapse into flatness, it could be due to using too much leavening agent.

Why do cookies increase in size and volume during baking? ›

They rise.

As the butter melts, the cookie's structure loosens, so that the water in the dough is able to combine with the baking soda, dissolving it. The baking soda then reacts to the acidic components present in brown sugar, creating gases that cause the cookie to rise.

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