I’ve been there.
- Are your cookies flat greasy puddles?
- Did you just waste an hour of your time?
- Is your cookie recipe a complete flop?
After years of baking cookies– and writing a cookie cookbook— I know exactly what a failed batch of over-spread cookies is like. It’s frustrating, unappetizing, and a waste of money.
Let me help.
I’m sharing my 10 guaranteed tips to prevent flat cookies.
10 Guaranteed Tips for Thicker Cookies
- Chill the cookie dough. Not all cookie dough requires the chilling step– and I normally determine that by how the cookie dough looks and feels. If the cookie dough is particularly sticky, wet, or greasy, chilling is in its best interest. And yours! Chilling cookie dough helps prevent spreading. The colder the dough, the less the cookies will over-spread into greasy puddles. You’ll have thicker, sturdier, and more solid cookies. Whenever I make cookies, I plan ahead and chill the cookie dough overnight. After chilling, let your cookie dough sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes (or more, depending on how long the dough has chilled) before rolling into balls and baking. Your cookie dough may be a solid rock, so letting it slightly loosen up helps.
- Line your baking sheet. Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Coating your baking sheet with nonstick spray or butter creates an overly greasy foundation, causing the cookies to spread. I always recommend a silicone baking mat because they grip onto the bottom of your cookie dough, preventing the cookies from spreading too much. These mats also promote even browning. Mats can get greasy! Here is how to clean your silicone baking mats.
- My tall cookie trick. Roll your cookie dough into tall balls instead of perfectly round spheres. Taller balls of cookie dough ensure thicker cookies. You see this cake batter chocolate chip cookies photo? (Scroll down in the post.) Just like that.
- Cool your baking sheets. Never place cookie dough balls onto a hot baking sheet. Always room temperature baking sheets.
- Quality baking sheets are a MUST. Did you know the color and material of your baking sheets greatly impacts the way your cookies turn out? Dark metal sheets typically over-bake cookies and thin flimsy cookie sheets = burnt bottoms. I’ve tested many brands and my favorite is USA Pan half sheet baking pan. (Not sponsored!) They’re a wonderful size for baking a dozen cookies, have an edge so they’re great for other recipes like toffee, chex mix, and yellow sheet cake. I suggest owning a few. I have 6!
- Cool butter. When butter is too warm, it is too soft. When butter is too soft, your cookies will spread all over the baking sheets. Room temperature butter is actually cool to touch, not warm. When you press it, your finger will make an indent. Your finger won’t sink down into the butter, nor will your finger slide all around. Here’s my trick to soften butter quickly!
- Correctly measure the flour. 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.
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar for only as long as you need to, usually about 1-2 minutes. Don’t begin beating then leave the room with the mixer running. I’m guilty of this too! Whipping too much air into the dough will cause those cookies to collapse when they bake. I guarantee that.
- One batch at a time, on the middle rack. I know that sounds a little crazy, but that’s how I bake every single cookie recipe. Here’s why: you get the best possible results when the oven only concentrates on that 1 batch. If you absolutely need to bake more than one batch at a time, rotate the baking sheets from the top rack to bottom rack a couple times through the baking process to encourage even baking. And turn the sheets around as well. Ovens have hot spots.
- Freeze for 10 minutes. We’re coming full circle back to tip #1! After you roll the cookie dough into tall balls, freeze them for 10 minutes. Here’s how I do it: after I roll cookie dough into balls to bake them, I place the balls on a plate and put the entire plate in the freezer. Then I preheat the oven. This time in the freezer firms up the balls which may have gotten a little soft while handling with our warm hands. Remember: the colder the dough, the thicker the cookie.
How to Save Your Flat Cookies!
Here is the trick I always use when my cookies begin to over-spread as they’re baking. I’ve actually never shared this with you before, so I’m excited to spill the beans. 🙂
- Use a spoon. When you notice your cookies over-spreading, remove your baking sheet from the oven. Use a spoon to push the edges back towards the center of the cookie. A spoon can literally reshape your over-spreading cookies. Place back in the oven. Repeat during bake time if necessary, then repeat one more time when the cookies have finished baking.
Works every time.
What are your guaranteed cookie tips?
Pictured today are my salted caramel pecan chocolate chip cookies and soft-baked monster cookies recipe.
My daughter and 3 of her children are gluten free. I have been making various recipes using cup for cup gluten free flour. Thank you for the amazing recipes. So far what I have made have been such huge hits with them, they have come out perfect. All your tips are just brilliant. I actually feel I can bake now. Scales are really an important gadget to have. Thank you Sally.
Hi Julia,
Should you sift and spoon flour for your recipes or just spoon flour from the bag or container?
Thanks for your help.
Bev
Hi Beverly, You don’t need to sift flour unless a recipe calls for it. If your recipe calls for 1 cup of sifted flour, you sift the flour before measuring. If the recipe calls for one cup of flour, sifted– then you sift it after measuring.
If the word “sifted” is listed before flour, you sift it before measuring. If the word “sifted” is listed after flour, sift it after measuring.
I hope this helps!
I doubled the entire recipe for the thumbprint cookies, chilled it overnight and then realized I didn’t double the flour. Can I just add the required amount of missing flour when the dough becomes room temperature again. I realized this after I baked the first batch and had a big puddle of mess.
Oh no – we’ve all done that before! Honestly it’s going to be difficult to add the flour at this point so it would be best to just start over.
Thank you so much! My best batch of cookies ever!!
Hallo Sally. I am trying now to bake your chocolate chip oatmeal cookies now for a while. I chill them, I added more flour. But they taste like they are not really baked, they have little wholes and after baking becoming flat and pretty dark. You can see every rolled oat and there is no real cookie taste and texture. What am I doing wrong I tried now 5 times. Best wishes Julia from Berlin
Hi Julia, We are happy to help, and this would be easier to troubleshoot over email if you don’t mind! Feel free to send us a note at sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com and we can chat there thanks so much!
My cookies didn’t spread but instead fell when they were cooling after coming out if the oven. Do you know what causes that?
Hi Kimberly, When cookies aren’t spreading, it usually 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.
Cookie dough freezes beautifully. If you aren’t happy with the cookie dough rolls you’ve been buying, just create your own. Freeze it flat if you’re going to scoop it (it defrosts quickly because it’s flat) or make a log to slice (you don’t need to defrost it, just slice and bake). Added benefit, you control the ingredients.
Sally, I used the method you recommend with regards to using a spoon to push the edges back. That worked like a charm! Thank you for always providing the best recipes and tips!
So glad that worked out for you! I use that trick a lot.
Hi Sally,
My cookies look great when they come out of the oven, but as they cool they flatten and spread. Any ideas on how to keep them nice and puffy as they cool? I’ve chilled the cookie dough, spooned my flour (added an extra 2T), followed your tips, checked my oven temp., but no luck keeping them nice and puffy like your photos.
Thank you!
Hi Amanda, which cookie recipe are you making when this happens?
Can using fine granulated sugar instead of regular granulated sugar make a cookie turn out flat? My cookies have been fine until recently and that’s the only change I can think of.
Hi Latisha! The finer the sugar, the more cookies can spread. So that could be the issue!
These always look so good when I pull them out of the oven, but they deflate every time. Any idea what could be causing them to lose their puff?
Oh gosh I am having this exact same problem and I have no idea what I’m doing wrong. Have you solved the mystery?
Not really. I think using fresh baking powder is super important and also making tall dough balls. But they still deflate a bit.
Hi Sally! I’m having the complete OPPOSITE problem! My cookies won’t spread at all, they stay in the same shape I initially put them on the cookie sheet. They were fine and then one day they just became so chubby and puffy. Based on my research, the problem is usually caused by oven temperature but I have an oven thermometer and the temperate is the same as it’s always been. Do you have any idea what might have happened?
Hi Terese, We actually have a blog post with all of Sally’s cookie tips and a section just for this! 5 Cookie Baking Tips to Improve Your Next Batch See “What if cookies aren’t spreading” under tip #2.
Hi! I’ve been trying to make some cookies spread and they stay almost the size as I place them on the cookie sheet. They just deflate a bit. The recipe says that the dough does not need be chilled, so I’m not doing that. What can I donto make them spread???
On the other hand, another cookie recipe spreads and becomes very thin even if its chilled. If I add cornstarch, would the cookies stay thicker?
Hi Claudia, cookies will (or won’t!) spread depending on the ratio of dry to wet ingredients. If there’s too much flour soaking up the fat (usually butter), the cookies won’t spread. Make sure you are spooning and leveling flour instead of scooping it. My How to Properly Measure Baking Ingredients video and guide should help. If your cookies are spreading too much, use some of these tips to help. Cornstarch helps, but a little more flour would as well.
My cookies ALWAYS spread. I tend to use a scoop and not shape by hand. This would make them less compact and more likely to spread correct? Also, can you cut sugar without compromising a recipe. The current chocolate chip one I am making is too sweet. 2 cups packed brown sugar. Can I try 1.5 cups next time?
Hi Kiki, I usually shape cookie dough balls by hand and recommend it for most drop cookies. I use a cookie scoop for oatmeal cookies because the dough is usually sticky and textured. Reducing sugar will affect how the cookies bake (as well as the flavor, of course). You can slightly reduce, but sugar supplies structure so don’t cut too much out. Hope the tips in this post are helpful!
Sally !!!! You are amazing , inspirational and have the beet recipes and tricks . I been baking your soft chocolate chip cookies lately but I wanted to make them thicker and this helps !!!!! They come out amazing already and with these tricks even better .
My cookies were coming out flat no matter what I did. Then I checked my oven temperature with an inexpensive oven gauge.. It was 35 degrees off! Instead of 350 degrees, it was around 315. Cookies never had a chance.
Every oven has a setting to correct this problem, so the owner’s manual should be consulted.
I just love all your cookie recipes. I made many over the holidays for gifts on ceramic plates I made or Christmas plates I purchased at Home Goods. Wrapped them all up and gave them as gifts. Everyone absolutely loved the cookies. I baked about 5 varieties of your cookies so each person would get a really nice sampling of serval cookies and everyone came back to me loving the cookies !! Several folks ever asked for my recipe on how I kept the cookies so thick ! I revealed my secret website – Sally’sBakingAddiction !!
What a thoughtful and special gift! Thank you for making and sharing so many of my recipes, Louise!
Thanks, I did spoon and level. I think I will not add the 2 extra tablespoons next time .
If too much flour is the cause, it may be a simple adjustment.
So happy, I only had to take 3 dozen to the bake off. Have at least an extra dozen for sharing.
Thanks again for you prompt response and easy to u crests day explanation.
Elaine
I have the opposite problem my cookies did not spread when cooked.
If I put the dough in the over as a ball, I got a cooked ball.
I tried flattening the balls but no spread.
Any ideas of adjusting proportions of ingredients.
I am trying to make the chocolate chip, cranberry, almond cookies first posted in 2017
Flavor amazing but dough is not spreading
Hi Elaine, I would double check the way you are measuring your flour. Make sure you spoon and level it instead of packing it into a measuring cup. When there’s too much flour, it absorbs all the wet ingredients preventing cookies from spreading.
Very helpful! I made old fashioned chocolate crinkle cookies that spread so I added a 1/4 cup of flower and 1 tbsp of coco powder per 16 oz of dough and they worked perfectly,
Thank you so much for the great tips! They really helped!
I made flat cookies last week, I know some of my mistakes, melted butter when warming. Recipe called for shortening. Also used gluten free flour which takes some adjusting. I tried to rectify by adding more oatmeal and some oat flour and freezing dough balls. It worked! Tip to pass on- I took cooked completely flat cookies, cooled, rolled into balls and they look like no bake cookies and taste great! The original cookie was chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. Thanks for the suggestions. I can’t find pic of tall cookies though.
This is an excellent post! Great tips and reminders. Thank you so much.
Hi Sally, I totally agree with you about chilling the dough, as well as lining the cookie sheets with either a Silpat or parchment paper. After years of making cookies and through trial and error, I came about those same conclusions myself, but who knew that was the way to go — LOL! Thanks for those tips, as well as some of the other tips that you listed here. Please keep them coming, and have a good day!
Hello! I love the look of your cookies! They are just perfect. I tried to adapt another recipe a brown butter cookie recipe from -another site- (I’ve learned my lesson as you will see to stay with your recipes) and they completely flattened on me :(. I used quality pans. Let the dough chill over night then put it in the freezer in tall balls(they could be taller), and did most of the other things like letting the pan cool etc and using parchment paper (I don’t have silpats). I think they flattened on me for several reasons. I think I over creamed the butter due to the way the recipe was written/ directions. Then I also made my own brown sugar by making in a food processor molasses and granulated sugar. (I could have added possibly too much molasses maybe but it looked like light brown sugar just fresh and soft). Next – this is where I think it failed) The recipe was written in cups not grams (I hate this!!!!! since I always measure in grams (or convert Oz to grams) for every ingredient unless it is like a Tsp etc) – So I used KAF’s written measurement converstion chart on cups to oz to grams. It felt very lacking flour. I know these cookies were naturally going to spread but still I was hoping with all the tricks they would do better. Sadly I believe due to the mistakes I made with the molasses ( again likely higher molasses (I’m guessing bc it browned more by the time it fully cooked) and the likely lower amount of flour I used bc I weighed and measured it instead of how that person probably packed their cups (I know thats not what you are supposed to do but I am guessing that is what they did do), and the creaming issues I got a very flat but tasty yummy cookie. I tried to up the temp in the first 5 min and then lowering the temp to get a spring action which I believe you said to do or someone else did, and that didn’t work either. In all, thank you for your recipes that dont do this to us! lol. Thank you for the tips to try to help us when things go crazy. I know how to approach things better next time!
I’m glad you found this helpful, Lisa!
Spreading cookies is my nemesis! I can’t wait to add the “tall” method as well as the 10 mins in the freezer tip to my next dropped cookie bake. While we’re on the successful cookie baking topic, I made your Coffee Toffee Shortbread Cookies recently. The first pan lost it’s cookie cutter shape. I figured they were too thin so I measured the next batch and the same thing happened. 🙁 They didn’t look anything like the lovely picture in your book. The edges lost their definition it seems because of the melting toffee pieces? Any tips on shortbread?
I’m so glad you tried that recipe, but I’m so sorry they over-spread for you! Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the toffee. Are you using Heath brand toffee “bits o brickle” ? You can find them in the baking aisle next to the chocolate chips. Go a little lighter on them inside the cookie dough. When the cookies cool, dip them in chocolate and sprinkle with LOTS of toffee bits.
I like the tall ball method. I’ve used it once or twice and it was a success every time. Thank you for all these wonderful tips.
Sally, I’d call myself an experienced baker. But I’ve learned more from you over the years than I’d thought possible. Thank you for your detailed instruction and easy to follow tutorials and…humor, lol, all sifted into one. We all have a tendency to skip over some of the “words” at times when following a recipe. But that’s where the “meat and potatoes” are and I’ve acquired so much knowledge just slowing down and absorbing the words before rushing on to the bake-athon hehe. I just wanted to say thank you. P.S. I do have your cookie cookbook and just love it. Just thinking about warm cookies makes me want to whip up a batch stat! Have a sparkling day Sally.
I love the suggestion for tall ballston Over the weekend, I baked triple chocolate (milk, dark & cocoa powder) cookies with caramel chips and pecans. Despite chilling the dough overnight, using parchment and cold pans, the cookies spread excessively. They taste wonderful and look aweful I froze half of the dough, so on the next bake I’m going to use the “tall ball” method. Again, thanks for the great tip.
Fantastic list! 🙂 I love the spoon trick. I’ll definitely be trying that soon.