Butter cookies spread and lose their shape when baking
I bake cookies using a classic recipe: butter, eggs, flour, sugar. The dough holds its shape in the fridge, but in the oven the cookies spread and lose their definition. What am I doing wrong?
2 answers
★ Best answer
It's most likely that your dough has too much butter or too little flour - that's what keeps it together when it's cold, but once it starts melting in the oven, the cookies spread. Try cutting back on the butter a bit or adding more flour, and check the consistency: the dough should be dense, almost like clay, not crumbly. Also make sure your cookies are cold enough before they go in the oven - if you put warm dough straight from the counter in, it'll start spreading right away.
Try chilling the dough not just in the fridge, but after shaping the cookies too! Lay out the cut pieces on a baking sheet and pop them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes right before baking - the butter won't melt so fast, and the cookies will set in their shape before they start to spread. This works even if your proportions are spot on!
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