Let me help you perfect your cookies! With a video tutorial and in-depth descriptions, these cookie baking tips will help improve your next batch.
It goes without saying that cookies rule all. And cake batter chocolate chip cookies, you take 1st prize in my eyes. (You’re up there too, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies!)
Since launching my website in 2011 and publishing Sally’s Cookie Addiction cookbook years later, I’ve witnessed the undeniable allure of these treats. Cookies are the most popular category on this website, as well as my most requested dessert. I have over 200 cookie recipes published! They’re relatively easy and approachable—most don’t require special equipment or complicated ingredients, either. They’re also an easy treat to eat, share, store, ship, freeze, and make ahead. Not only this, cookies are portable, perfect for gifting, and can be made in large batches for bake sales, parties, etc. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t appreciate a fresh-baked homemade cookie. Have you?
Let me help you perfect your cookies. The following 5 cookie baking tips guarantee a better batch. No more wasted time or ingredients!
5 Cookie Baking Tips
Let’s dive into these cookie baking tips a little further.
1. Chill the Cookie Dough
If there’s one thing you learn from this post, it’s this: chill your cookie dough if a recipe calls for it. Chilling cookie dough in the refrigerator firms it up, which decreases the possibility of over-spreading. It not only ensures a thicker, more solid cookie but an enhanced flavor as well. In these soft chocolate chip cookies, for example, it helps develop a heightened buttery, caramel-y flavor. Cold cookie dough is also easier to handle and shape. After chilling, let your cookie dough sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes (or more, depending how long the dough has chilled) before rolling into balls and baking. Sometimes after refrigeration, cookie dough can be too hard to roll/handle.
- If a recipe calls for chilling the cookie dough, don’t skip that step.
- If a recipe yields super sticky cookie dough, chill it before rolling and baking.
You can also chill the cookie dough after you roll it into individual balls. However, some cookie doughs are too sticky right after you mix the ingredients together. So it’s helpful to chill it first (perhaps for just 1 hour), roll into balls, then continue chilling for the amount of time the recipe requires.
Don’t Have Time? Here are my No Chill Cookie Recipes, including favorites like snickerdoodles, giant chocolate chip cookies, and shortbread cookies.
2. Prevent Excess Spreading
Did your cookie dough turn into greasy puddles? I’ve been there too. Here are a few ways to prevent that from happening again:
- Chill your cookie dough. See tip #1 above.
- Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Coating your baking sheet with nonstick spray or butter creates an overly greasy foundation which leads to excess spread. Instead, I recommend lining your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. I prefer to use the mats—they grip onto the bottom of your cookie dough, preventing the cookies from spreading too much. These mats also promote even browning. They can get greasy overtime, so make sure you wash the mats and wipe them clean between cookie batches. (By the way, here’s how I clean silicone baking mats.)
- Never place cookie dough balls onto a hot baking sheet. When baking in batches, let the baking sheets cool to room temperature first.
- Butter may have been too warm. See tip #3 next.
- Under-measuring the flour. Less flour means there’s less to absorb all the wet ingredients in your cookie dough. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour.
- Don’t over-mix the cookie dough. Cream the butter and sugar for only as long as you need to—a recipe usually specifies the amount of time. Don’t begin beating then leave the room with the mixer running. Whipping too much air into the dough will cause your cookies to collapse as they bake. I guarantee that. Here’s more on how to cream butter and sugar, including lots of helpful photos and a video tutorial.
This tip is so important that I wrote a separate post about it: How to Prevent Your Cookies from Spreading
What if cookies AREN’T spreading? Cookies that resist spreading can also be a problem. When cookies aren’t spreading, it means that there’s too much dry ingredient (flour) soaking up all the liquid. Make sure you are properly measuring your flour. When measuring flour, use the spoon & level method. Do not scoop the flour out of the container/bag. Doing so leaves you with excess flour in the cookie dough. If you’re in the middle of baking a batch and the cookies still aren’t spreading, remove them from the oven, and use a spoon to slightly flatten them out before returning them to the oven. You can also take your big bowl of cookie dough and microwave it for 10-15 seconds to slightly warm it up before scooping/rolling/baking. Warm cookie dough spreads more. (This is what I do when I notice my cookies aren’t spreading!)
3. Temperature is King
This mainly refers to oven temperature, butter temperature, and egg temperature. Cold cookie dough helps too! See tip #1.
- Oven temperature: Unless you have a regularly calibrated oven, your oven’s temperature could be inaccurate. When you set your oven to 350°F, it might not really be 350°F inside. It could be 325°F or 375°F. While this might not seem like a big deal, it poses a huge problem for your cookies such as over-browning, excess spread, underbaking in the centers, and/or uneven baking. Purchase an oven thermometer and place it in the center of your oven. While inexpensive, they’re irreplaceable in a baker’s kitchen. Place it in your oven so you always know the actual temperature.
- Butter and egg temperature: If a cookie recipe calls for room temperature eggs, butter, or any dairy ingredients, make sure you take the time to bring these ingredients to room temperature. Recipes don’t just do that for fun—room temperature ingredients emulsify much easier into batter, which creates a uniform texture. Think of cold, hard butter. It’s impossible to cream cold butter into a soft consistency necessary for cookie dough. Same goes for eggs—they add more volume to the dough when they’re at room temperature. Something to note: room temperature butter is actually cool to the touch, not warm. When you press it, your finger will make a slight indent. To get that perfect consistency and temperature, remove butter from the refrigerator 1 hour prior to beginning.
So yes, temperature is imperative. There’s legitimate science involved!
- Short on time? Use this trick to soften butter quickly!
- Further Reading: Here’s What Room Temperature Butter Really Means
- Further Reading: Why Room Temperature Ingredients Make a Difference
- Further Reading: How to Cream Butter and Sugar
4. Specified Baking Time? Who Cares.
I’m admitting something to you—I never look at recipe times when I bake cookies. Instead, I look at the cookies themselves. This is primarily because all ovens are different and maybe your oven is a convection oven, while the recipe writer’s is a conventional oven. (I bake with conventional. General rule: If you use a convection oven, reduce the oven temperature by 25°F.)
Always go with your instincts. Cookies are done when the edges are set and lightly browned. The top centers can look slightly underbaked if you want a softer cookie. For a crispier cookie, bake the batch a little longer until the centers appear “set.” But always keep in mind that cookies continue to cook for a couple minutes as they cool on the baking sheet.
5. One Batch at a Time
If you’re able and time allows it, I recommend baking 1 batch of cookies at a time on the center rack. Why? You get the best possible results when the oven only concentrates on 1 single batch. If you absolutely need to bake more than one batch at a time for an event, holiday baking, etc., rotate the baking sheets from the top rack to bottom rack once halfway through the baking process. Ovens have hot spots!
When it comes to baking cookies, it pays off to be a perfectionist!
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
I have an in-depth guide for you: How to Freeze Cookie Dough
More Baking Tips
- 10 Cake Baking Tips for Perfect Cakes
- Baking Powder Vs. Baking Soda
- 14 Best Baking Tools Every Baker Needs
- How to Ship Cookies
- 10 Cupcake Baking Tips & How to Fill Cupcakes
- 10 Best Cookie Baking Tools
- Baking with Buttermilk
See all my Baking Tips.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Thank you, Sally for this website! I have learned so much from you. You’re a great instructor! You give so many wonderful tips.
Now I have a question. I just finished rolling and cutting out goose shaped sugar cookies (your recipe, thank you). I placed them in the freezer on parchment & stacked because I have to do things in stages. My question is this: Can I bake them straight from the freezer or should I let them defrost first?
Hi JoAnne, thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes! You can bake sugar cookie from frozen. The bake time may be a slightly longer so keep an eye on them!
Hi Sally and team!
I have a couple of questions and I’m hoping to hear back from you soon. 1. How do you keep the sugar and/flour from flying all over the place when you start to cream sugar and butter together for example? 2. If I crack an egg to use only the white or only the yolk, how long can I keep the unused part in a container in the fridge?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Edina, for your first question, we recommend starting your mixer on low speed and gradually increasing the speed as the ingredients begin to incorporate. And for your second question, leftover egg whites can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Egg yolks are more susceptible to spoilage due to their higher fat content. The USDA recommends storing them in a sealed container in the refrigerator and using them within 1-2 days.
One other thing I learned is to cream my butter and sugar for 5 mins. It makes a big difference in how my cookies turn out. Don’t compromise on the creaming time!! It will affect the texture,etc if you do.
If you get impatient use the time to prepare your pans or finish getting the rest of the ingredients set up. But leave that beater alone until the alarm beeps.
I’m baking your sugar cookies with my four year old grandson tomorrow. I prepped the dough and instead of discs I rolled into logs with the thought of slicing them into rounds and pressing them to the right thickness. I have cookie molds (stencils) in the shape of trucks that I want to let him press into the rounds. Can you give me any tips on whether this will work.
Thanks so much for your website.
As an aside, in addition to my usual vanilla/almond extracts I’ve started using an extract from King Arthur called Flor di Sicilia which has a lemony/vanilla scent and is used by scant dropfuls and really ups the flavor in baked goods.
Hi Marilyn, what a fun idea! You can certainly use my sugar cookie recipe as a slice and bake-style cookie. You can stamp the dough before the cookies are baked, just like we do for the snowflake cookies on top of these cupcakes. Enjoy!
When baking mini cookies, and the directions call for larger cookies, do we deduct the time by one minute? Two minutes? Other?
P.S. I love your recipes! I call you “My Baking Guru!”
Hi Joanna! It will just depend on the cookie – keep an eye on them in the oven. Thank you so much for making our recipes!
Sally, I appreciate your site and your guidance/instruction. Just want to add a tip I read ages ago, so I don’t remember where, sorry…after mixing my drop cookie dough (e.g.: chocolate chip cookies) I scoop them into dough balls first, line them up on parchment lined baking sheet, then I chill them (2-48 hrs). Then they are ready to go, and no wrestling with cold hard dough (I’ve broken a pampered chef cookie scoop trying to do that!!!). I also just bake one dozen at a time, and keep the rest in the freezer for fresh, warm cookies whenever, without much fuss.
Why should I add milk to cookie dough?
Why egg yolk instead of whole egg?
Hi Poppy, milk is generally used to help thin out slightly thick/sticky doughs, like this chocolate cookie dough. An extra egg yolk helps to produce a chewier cookie, like in these chocolate chip cookies.
I absolutely love, love, love the site, emails, the educational tips and notes. I ESPECIALLY LOVE THE RECIPES. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
You have the absolutely best website! I love finding new recipes to try and they are always good and your instructions are a breeze. I also love that you provided us a template to make the Christmas cookies in a jar!!!
Thank you for the positive feedback, Charli!
I followed this recipe exactly, I’m looking for advice because my cookies were basically cookie biscuits, super thick, did not flatten ANY in the oven. It was like a hockey puck but even bigger?
Hi Meghan, how are you measuring your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure just the right amount of flour. Too much flour will soak up the wet ingredients and prevent them from spreading properly. If you notice your cookies aren’t spreading, you can also take them out of the oven and give the pan a gentle bang on the counter to help initiate spread. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Hiii!! I loveee your recipes and have been following them for years! I just have a question about baking cookies. So a lot of times- specifically the chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies- after chilling, I roll the cookies into balls and bake a batch at a time. but by the time the last batch goes in, they have been sitting at room temperature and then each batch comes out a different consistency. I thought about chilling the dough while I wait for each batch to bake, but then some would have been chilled longer and perhaps still leading to inconsistency. what should I do?
Hi Ainsley, chilling the dough will definitely help and is recommended if it’s getting too warm by the time they go into the oven. Chilling the dough will help prevent excess spread. Hope this helps and thanks so much for making and trusting our recipes!
Hi to Sally and the Team. I am a new follower and have already printed almost all of your cookies in the
Cookie Palooza site! I do have a request. The photos of the items are too small to see decorating details for me. Also, although I have checked the large print option, more than half just won’t print in the larger font. I also experience this in other websites, so maybe there is nothing you can do, just wanted to let you know and voice my frustration! Looking forward to making cookies galore for Christmas gifts, and many will be your recipes. But really high on my list is getting your new Palooza recipes in December!!!
Hi Maureen, we’re so glad you’re finding lots of cookie inspiration on our site! Since you experience this on other sites, perhaps it is something in your browser settings or printer settings. Our photos are always larger so that readers can see close details. For a workaround, you could always copy and paste the photos into a separate document, then resize to your needs. Hope this helps and that you enjoy our recipes! PS: If you haven’t already, you can sign up for our free Sally’s Cookie Palooza email list (scroll down just a bit on that page) to be notified when the new recipes are published.
Hi! I live in a tropical country, where temp is usually around 27-32 C and humidity around 80% and I always feel like my dough is too soft/sticky if I follow the recipe as is, which results in my cookies spreading too much. So I’ve learnt to add a couple more Tbps of flour (plus I always chill the dough) and that usually helps.
I’m curious if there’s any other ingredient I should play with besides flour or if just adding a little more flour is the answer in this type of environment (I already follow all the tips mentioned in this post!)
Hi Lou, we typically just recommend adding more flour like you’re already doing!
I really enjoy how many tips you go into, giving us in depth performance guides! Clear and thoughtful!
It was amazing
I read the tutorials but can never find the actual recipe. Can you be more precise and send the complete recipe at the beginning of that the tutorials are more significant. Thank you
Hi Patricia! This post includes tips for baking cookies, but not a cookie recipe. Here are all of our cookie recipes – you can click the “jump to recipe” button at the top of each recipe post to get to the written recipe.
All great tips, my problem is when I take the cookies out of the oven they look perfect. But as they cool they flatten? Have any suggestions?
Hi Dez, cookies will continue to bake as the cool on the sheets, but you can use a spoon to help round the edges and bring them back together a bit if they over spread during this time.
Hi, thank you for all the delicious recipes. I need to make 200+ cookies for Easter donations . I will start soon and freeze, any recommendations for freezing and thawing the cooked cookies?!
Hi Cami! Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the fridge before bringing to room temperature.
What type of tool is best to scoop out cookie dough onto the baking sheet?
Hi Lynn, we love this cookie scoop. The medium size is great for any of our drop cookie recipes that call for about 1.5 Tablespoons (or about 35g) of dough per cookie.
Hello, I love your seriously soft molasses cookie recipe. However, I’ve tried it a few times and never get a chewy cookie. Do you have any recommendations on getting it to be more chewy and less cakey? Thank you!!
Hi Kai-Ning, how are you measuring your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to make sure the flour isn’t over measured, which can cause cookies to become more cakey and less chewy. We’re glad you enjoy them and hope this helps for your next batch!
Thank you so much, I will be sure to try this!
Loved the m&m cookie recipe. Purchased your cookbook. Made lots of the m&m cookies as Christmas gifts for family, friends, and firefighters. Your directions are the BEST! No adjustments needed.
Thank you so much, Cathy!
Thank you so much . You are always so helpful .love all your recipes.
What type of all-purpose flour works best for cookies bleached or unbleached? TY
Hi Helen, we prefer baking with unbleached all-purpose flour, but either works.
What type of salt do you use in your cookie recipes? Most just say ‘salt’
TIA..Paula
Hi Paula! Our recipes always use table salt unless otherwise noted.
Hi…I’m going to bake Sally’s Soft Gingersnap Molasses Cookies soon. I would like to make larger cookies than the 1″ balls indicated in the recipe. I know that will affect the baking time and I’ll have to place them further apart on the cookie sheets, but should they turn out as well as making them smaller? I know some cookie recipes don’t favor changing the size. Thanks!
Hi Judy, it should work just fine making slightly larger cookies with that recipe. Hope they’re a hit!
Do you have an adjustment for high altitude baking on your molasses cookie recipe?
Hi Debbie, we wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I have tried your recipe sugar cookies twice. Today I tried again and used cookie cutters before baking. They came out dry and doughy. I followed exactly, chilled dough, butter and egg at room temperature. All I can think of is I may have mixed it too much but I’m not sure of that either. What am I doing wrong. I have read all your tips and articles. You are very good at your job and everything is so educational. Any ideas?
Hi Barb, we’re happy to help! It sounds like your ratio of dry to wet ingredients is off. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
I absolutely love learning from your site. Your oatmeal scotchies are the best cookie I’ve ever had!
Since you’re an expert baker, I have a weird question maybe you can help me with.
I make chocolate chip cookies a lot using the standard Tollhouse recipe and methods each time. I’ve used the same recipe for years and years. For some reason, there was a period of time last year where my cookies kept spreading out A LOT and were really chewy when done. We actually loved them, especially since I had COVID at the time and no sense of taste lol. I gained a ton of weight just because of the texture of the cookies.
But I haven’t been able to duplicate it since. My thought is one of my ingredients was “off” since I did not change my technique. Any idea which ingredient may have gone “bad” and made my cookies spread to the point where the chips were practically sitting on top of them? Also for reference, I always bake on air bake sheets using parchment paper. Thank you!
Hi Joni, so glad to hear you enjoy our site and recipes! It really is hard to say without making the recipe ourselves, but it sounds like perhaps your leaveners were expired or your butter was a bit too warm. This post on how to prevent cookies from spreading may be helpful to review as well.
I love baking from your recipes. I get emails from you and i get excited. I dont really eat sweets. I bake because it relaxes me. Im disabled and i bake also to keep my mind busy to take it off the pain. Ive had 8 surgeries in 6 years. Im staying positive and will not give up. I just had surgery on June 6th. I remembered your soft and chewy brown sugar cookies. I saved it about a year ago. My family and friends LOVE them. I make bags of them for everyone. I like to watch your tutorials. It makes it easier than just reading. I like to see how whatever you bake or cook comes out. Your the best at what you do.
Shelley, thank you for such a thoughtful message, and for all the kindness and support of my work! It’s so wonderful to hear from you, and that you continue to do something you love that relaxes you and brings you joy.
one question-what level should the rack be for baking cookies?
Hi Rosalyn, we typically bake cookies on the middle rack in the oven.
If a recipe doesn’t call for chilling the dough, would it be good to chill the dough anyways? I have all the measurements right with cookies, and my butter and eggs are at room temperature, yet they go into the spreading zone. Some of them in my batches are great, some spread a little, and other spread too much.
Hi Allison, it really depends on the recipe, but in general you can chill cookie dough even if it doesn’t call for it (again — defer to the recipe you’re working with!). If you do, it may need a little nudge to help spreading, so you can bang the pan on the counter top towards the end of baking if they haven’t spread. This post on 10 tips to prevent cookies from spreading will be helpful too.