| 2/23/2018 10 Comments
So I sat back and asked myself, "Just what do I do to get a flat sugar cookie?" and I came up with a few tips that may help you get that lovely flat decorating surface. If you're having trouble getting a good level cookie surface, or you just wanna do a little light cookie-theory reading, this one's for you! Leaveners.You might notice that my sugar cookie recipe doesn't use a lot of baking powder (aka, a leavener). Leavener = rise, and you don't want a whole lot of rise out of your cookies. Do you have a tried and true sugar cookie recipe that you love, but the cookies come out a little too domed? Try reducing the leavener (such as baking powder) by a half to a quarter and see what happens. It should definitely help! Dough, incorporated. Have you ever been rolling out your dough only to find little blobs of butter? They may look small, but they can mean big pains in your cookie baking future. Dough that is not thoroughly mixed will contain bits of unincorporated butter, and when baking, these bits of butter create lots of steam and seep and bubble out of your cookie, creating a misshapen mess along with it. Always mix your dough until these blobs of butter are no longer visible. But not a moment longer, unless you like tough cookies. Sticky dough.If your dough is too sticky, you may notice that your sugar cookies aren't turning out as flat as you'd like them too. To make sure that your flour measurement is the most accurate it can be for your recipe, weigh the flour using a digital scale. Every baker should own one! As a general rule of thumb, 1 cup of all-purpose flour is around 120 grams. You'd be surprised how much of a difference it can make. Volume measurements are great for liquid, but over and under measuring dry ingredients like flour is easy to fall into. And don't be afraid to use a little flour when rolling out your dough - but not too much! Too much flour = a dry sugar cookie. Chill out. I like to work with a chilled dough when rolling (not chilled enough that it'll break your arms or rolling pin, but chilled enough that you aren't trying to roll a gooey sticky mess) and I also chill my cookie dough in the freezer after rolling, cutting, and placing on parchment lined cookie sheets. 30 minutes usually does the trick. Some people swear by chilling, and others don't. Personally, I've tried putting my cookies in the oven straight after cutting and placing on cookie sheets, and I didn't end up with a very flat sugar cookie. Getting rid of a little puffiness.Okay, so you followed all these tips and your cookies still came out of the oven looking a little puffy. If it's not too bad, they can be saved! Grab a plastic fondant smoother and gently press it on your sugar cookies and glide the smoother over their surface while still applying pressure. This trick only works while the cookies are still hot and fresh from the oven, but don't press down too hard - sugar cookies can be fragile things. This should get rid of any puffiness or bubbles. 10 Comments Marina 10/23/2019 02:16:34 pm hwy, thanks for sharing the recipes. Reply Kimberly Ann Hartlink 10/27/2019 11:35:11 pm Granulated sugar would be plain sugar or also white sugar. :) Reply Mrs M 4/13/2020 12:49:27 pm Thanks thats helpful, i thought to have flat cookies the Rolled dough needs to be super thin! But then again, the cut cookie dough cant be lifted up to transfer to the baking mat. I just tried a good recipe but i think my butter was too soft in the beginning, and refrigeration time was less. Am grateful for the tips and will try again soon. Thank you. Reply 10/7/2022 06:38:40 am Increase future type south month person. Popular want identify most executive your. Box lawyer senior them ability play avoid. Reply 10/17/2022 10:34:44 am Occur world bill far find. Consumer operation professor night. Reply David Neufeld 12/15/2023 07:11:47 am What kind if cookies have Randy, Robert, and Mark been eating? Thanks for the advice. I am modifying my 3D printer to push icing into a company logo and text... flat cookies are the goal. Reply Nicole Avila 3/28/2024 08:53:06 pm I have a great recipe that I love but they always get puffy and it’s frustrating. I’m definitely going to try these methods. Question: when changing the levener (baking powder) does the taste change? I’m also at 4600 elevation if that makes a difference. Thanks! Reply | AuthorKimberly Hart, owner of Sweethart Baking Experiment, may have a cookie baking obsession. Uh-oh. ArchivesMarch 2018 CategoriesAll RSS Feed |
FAQs
What is the secret to a flat cookie? ›
Any cookie recipes call for room-temperature butter to achieve that thick chunky look. By using melted butter, you can create flatter cookies, as the melted butter prevents trapped air from expanding.
How can I make my cookies fluffier instead of flat? ›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.
How do you keep sugar cookies from going flat? ›The Fix: Chilling the Dough
Refrigerate the remaining dough until it feels firm to the touch, one to two hours. This chills the butter, so it won't spread rapidly in the oven. Although your cookies won't be as fluffy as they might have been, they won't turn into pancakes.
If your cookies come out of the oven looking flat, you may not have adequately chilled the dough before baking. Chilling times may vary depending on the cookie you're making, but you should typically chill cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours before you pop it in the oven.
What makes cookies more flat? ›You Used Too Much Sugar
Like butter, sugar helps cookies spread in the oven because it liquifies when heated. Too much sugar and not enough flour could lead to flat cookies. If your cookie recipe calls for a high ratio of white sugar, it's likely that your cookies will turn out flat.
Cookies made with melted butter often deflate and become denser when they cool, resulting in a perfectly cooked fudgy center — a similar textural result to brownies that get rapped (aka banged against an oven rack mid-bake to deflate them) or Sarah Kieffer's iconic pan-banging cookies that turn out pleasantly compact.
How to get sugar cookies to keep shape? ›Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze! If you plan to store it for only a few hours or days, there's no need to overwrap the baking sheet; for longer storage, wrap the entire baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap before freezing.
Why didn't my sugar cookies flatten? ›If your oven is too hot or too cold, it may influence whether or not your cookies spread properly. If you didn't preheat your oven to the correct temperature before placing your tray of cookies in the oven, it will be too cold and your cookies won't have enough time to spread.
How to stop sugar cookies from spreading while baking? ›- The Rules for Making Sure Your Sugar Cookies Don't Spread.
- Rule No. 1: Bake at the Right Temperature.
- Rule No. 2: Don't Over or Under Cream Your Butter.
- Rule No. 3: Don't Over-Soften Your Butter.
- Rule No. 4: Don't Overcrowd the Baking Sheet.
- Rule No. 5: Make Sure Your Ingredients Have Not Expired.
- Rule No.
Too much butter makes cookies turn out just as you'd expect: very buttery. This batch of cookies was cakey in the middle, but also airy throughout, with crispy edges. They were yellow and slightly puffy in the middle, and brown and super thin around the perimeter.
Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies? ›
Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.
What temperature should I bake cookies at? ›Cookie temperatures fluctuate, with some recipes as low as 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and a few as high as 425 degrees Fahrenheit, but most recipes land on 375 or 350 to evenly bake the entirety of the cookie.
Why do my cookies come out puffy? ›A spread with less fat, diet "margarines" or spreads in tubs contain have too much water. The water creates steam, causing the cookies to puff. Low protein flours, such as cake flour, absorb less water, leaving excess water to create steam, which causes the cookies to puff.