I get this question more often then not, so I figured why not just share the answer with everyone?
“My cookies spread out… what happened?”
I know that many of us are making sugar cookies for friends and family this time of year, so here are a few tricks that I hope will help ensure you have perfect cookies!
- Use a strong, balanced recipe. I happen to adore my recipe, but Bridget from Bake at 350 has an amazing sugar cookie recipe and so does Marion from Sweetopia. (Those are the recipes that I have personally tried and had success with.)
- Chill your dough. I roll out my dough, cut out my shapes, then place on my cookie sheet. THEN I place it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. If you are doing lots of cookies its easy to just have them in rotation.
- Calibrate your oven. I bought an oven thermometer at Target for under $5 and its been fantastic. Sometimes cookies can spread if your oven temperature is too low.
- Bake on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Some people swear by silpat but I have found parchment works very well and is fairly inexpensive. Not having to grease your cookie sheet also means less potential spreading.
- Use quality baking powder and baking soda. Both are inexpensive even when you buy the best quality. If your baking soda or baking powder is expired it can affect how your cookies rise or spread.
Ugly Sweater Christmas Cookies
Try these great tutorials for all your cookie needs!
Steps to Making the Perfect Sugar Cookie by Sweetapolita
Royal Icing Tutorial by Bake at 350
Coloring and Preparing Royal Icing by Sugarbelle
How to Decorate Cookies with Royal Icing Top 10 by Sweetopia
Outlining and Filling Cookies with Royal Icing by Sugarbelle
Alternative to Royal Icing from University of Cookie
Give It a Shpritz! by One Tough Cookies
If you have any other questions just let me know. Also, if you have any other tips feel free to share!
Fantastic tips!
My problem when I made the cookies was trying to ice them! Of course I didn’t get to start until around midnight. I finally gave up. When I made them again, I just decided to go with the rose design. Worked well and everyone loved them.
Do you have a tutorial on icing the cookies? I’d love to get better at that.
I just added a bunch of links… hope it helps!
I used sweetsugarbelle’s recipe that does not require chilling and have gotten great results! It was also my first time to ever make sugar cookies and they turned out great! No spreading! The parchment is amazing not only for not spreading, but also so the cookies don’t stick and you don’t end up with broken cookies.
I’d like to play around with other recipes and would love to try yours!
great tips!! I’ve recently added the one with putting them in the freezer before the oven too! – really helps!
Thanks for the sweet shout-out, Amanda! Your cookies are always so darling!
These are fabulous tips!
I can’t thank you enough for sharing these helpful hints! I’m a good cook but my baking, well, not so much. I will now be able to create Christmas cookies to be proud of…we may even be able to tell what they are!
So helpful – happy baking, merry christmas!
Great tips! Easy, but completely make a difference.
Great tips for a novice fancy cookie maker like me! Bridget’s recipe always works out for me! Haven’t tried Sweetopia’s yet!
this is like a Christmas present for me!! All the great recipe links, tips in one spot!!! THANKS!
You are so sweet, thank you!
I actually had the same problem with my sugar cookies and I found adding a little shortening (which handles a higher heat than butter) and a little more flour did the trick, don’t even need to chill it.
Oh and don’t overbake!
Great post!
PS: I love the ugly sweater Christmas cookies! They’re amazing!
Oh thank you sweety!
Very helpful! Do you have any opinion on sugar cookies on a baking stone?
From what I hear, they work well, but are somewhat difficult to get the hang of. Of course, that is just hearsay, I dont actually own one. But I would consider purchasing one and trying… they seem really neat!
I have trouble with the icing colors bleeding together…any suggestions??? I don’t usually use royal icing just glaze but have tried both and still have problems…
Thanks for sharing my recipe and top 10 tips Amanda! Those sweater cookies are still one of my all-time favourite Christmas cookies out there!
Love all of these tips darlin’
Great tips! And hilarious ugly sweater cookies. Luv ‘em!!
Chilling the dough helps so much! These are all great tips, now I just need to check on how old my baking soda and baking powder are.
fabulous tips as always! So thankful for you!
xo
This is awesome! You did such a great job on your cookies. That little sweater is adorable, haha.
I’ve been selling cookies and I just flip out when they are not consistent. I’m going to try all of the above and thank you so much for the tips. It’s a crap shoot as to whether or not they spread and it will ruin my night.lol
as always, great advice, Amanda! Cannot wait for your book!
x
Great tips, Amanda!
I haven’t had too many problems with the cookie baking but I had a “first” happen to me this week. I iced some heart-shaped tuxedos for a bridal shower and the butter seeped (leeched?) through the icing on some of the cookies leaving the surface kind of blotchy looking. I took Sugarbelle’s advice and left my baked cookies out for a day before decorating them. I’ve never had this happen and wondered if you know why the butter seeped through the icing on some of them but not on others? Thanks!
Anne
Perfect timing! I’m making 8 doz cookies for a friend and her grandkids to decorate next week….
thanks!!!!
thanks for all these great tips. i will be doing the annual cookie decorating party with my girls and their friends. I think I need to try your recipe. I just have to add I am partial to parchment also. ; )
Ugly sweater cookies…so cute! I’ve made your sugar cookie recipe a few times now, and so far its my favorite of the ones I’ve tried. They are nice and soft, but they maintain their shape well also. :~)
I love this post, and I know so many will find it super helpful! Oh, and thank you so much for the shout-out, sweet girl! I adore those ugly sweater cookies–they are awesome. My sister-in-law has had several ugly-sweater-themed parties, which I think is the funniest. You’re amazing. xo
hahaha – I had a little giggle at ‘ugly sweater cookies’. Amazing!! Must be hard to bite into a little artwork like that. Thanks for the great tips : )
I’ve been having problems with my Royal Icing – lately they’ve not been hardening even if I leave it out to dry for one whole day. I’m thinking it could be the humidity. Do you have any suggestions on how to dry them out? What’s an icing that’s not as sensitive to humidity? I’m getting frustrated
My issue is that I hate the taste of powdered sugar, but buttercream doesn’t “set” well enough. Any suggestions for an alternative icing that doesn’t involve the taste I love to hate?
Thanks for all of the tips, you have no idea how much they help…or maybe you do! I had a problem with some red accents I recently put on some client cookie gifts. The other colors hardened beautifully but the red never did and got crushed from the other cookies. I did add alot of color to get it good and dark (Americolor Tulip Red), do you think the reason it never dried is because it ended up to thin?
I just started baking and icing cookies. To cool them off quickly, I pop it into the freezer and also after icing , I do the same thing. Is cooling in room temperature the right way to harden the icing? Will the “Alternative to Royal Icing” recipe stay hardened when transported ?
Thanx for all all the cookie decorating ideas
Great tips, thanks a lot.
Love the “ugly sweater” cookies…thanks for the links to the tips…I’ve tried Sugarbelle’s cookies and love them so far…I’ve followed some of Sugarbelle’s and Sweetopia’s royal icing tips with success and plan on trying Sweetopia’s cookies.
For me, I learned this the hard way: When the cookie recipe that calls for butter, do not EVER cheat and nuke your butter even for 5 seconds to make it ‘room temp’. Every time I’ve done that, it made the cookies spread too. The freezer trick after cutting them will help that – but might as well do the due diligence and let the butter come to room temp naturally.
I am still fighting the spread, but it has gotten better with the tricks you listed.
Thank you so much for all these tips. The cookies look wonderful. I have a problem usually with the icing being too soft. These tips were very useful! Have you ever made these cookies using “rice flour” or a “gluten free” flour?
Oh my word… I love the ugly Christmas sweater cookies! Genius! :0)
Great tips! But I have a question…recently I’m having trouble with the fat (butter) from my cookie seeping into my icing. I does it about a day or so after I’ve decorated it…it’s great and then all of a sudden I can see the color change where the fat is seeping through the icing. Any tips on what to do about that? Thanks so much and happy holidays!
I am so happy to know the best gals in the cookie making world. I cannot keep up with you ladies, but these tips will sure help! Thanks Amanda
Thanks for that, I really want to get better cookies, the recipe I use isn’t that great so I’m going to try out some of the ones you’ve recommended.
Thanks again.
x
If you are having trouble with the cookie spreading and you are using butter/margerine vs. shortening in your cookies, try using Land O’Lakes brand margerine. Parkay used to work the best but they changed the “formula” and the cookies started spreading. What causes it is too much water in the margerine. Land O’Lakes gives better results than a lot of brands do.
I always have a problem when i made a cookies with white icing, it’s not white anymore the day after i put icing. it becomes off white or almost light yellow. What should i do? I think it’s the butter that is absorbed by the icing. I made a thick icing but still it has spots of yellow? what will be the best cookie recipe for this. is it really the cookies or my icing? please help me. and also how can i make my cookies very hard. I want it very hard so that it will last longer because i will use it for my birthday giveaways. Thanks.