5 Mistakes to Avoid When Making Sugar Cookies (2024)

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5 Mistakes to Avoid When Making Sugar Cookies? ›

It holds its shape, and one major trick is that after you make your dough, you'll roll it out, cut out your cookie shapes, and then put them on a lined baking sheet and only then PUT THEM IN THE FREEZER for 10 minutes, then straight into the oven after.

It holds its shape, and one major trick is that after you make your dough, you'll roll it out, cut out your cookie shapes, and then put them on a lined baking sheet and only then PUT THEM IN THE FREEZER for 10 minutes, then straight into the oven after.

But anyone who's ever made cookies has experienced the agony of treat defeat when a batch baked with the highest of hopes just doesn't hit the mark. They could be dry or doughy, tough or crumbly, spread too thin (or hardly spread at all), entirely too sweet or bewilderingly bland, or burnt or underbaked.

Overmixing is exactly what it sounds like: the process by which a dough or batter gets mixed too much, typically yielding dense, tough, or deflated baked goods. Overmixed doughs and batters may have an unappealing look or feel, which remain just as unappealing when they're baked.

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Using ingredients at the wrong temperature

One of the most common baking mistakes is using ingredients that are either too cold or too hot. Room-temperature ingredients are typically best for baking, so if your recipe calls for butter, eggs, or milk at room temperature, make sure to set them out ahead of time.

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.

Transfer the dough, still between the two pieces of parchment paper, to a baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours to allow the dough to firm up, and up to three days ahead. Proceed with the recipe as written - such as my easy sugar cookie recipe.

What does an underbaked sugar cookie look like? ›

Here are some signs to look out for: Colour: Raw or undercooked cookies tend to have a pale appearance, lacking that golden or slightly browned hue that indicates they're fully baked. Watch for cookies that still have a doughy or unbaked look. Texture: Touch the surface of the cookies gently.

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

The type of leavening you use in your cookies doesn't just help them rise while baking, it affects their texture and structure too. Baking soda in cookies yields a denser cookie with craggy tops, while baking powder causes cookies to rise higher during baking for a cakier texture.

Too much flour

Over-measuring flour is a common problem causing baked goods to have an overly dry texture. If you're using measuring cups to measure flour, spoon flour into the cup and level the top instead of packing it in. Otherwise, use a kitchen scale to ensure accurate measurements every time.

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.