4 Common Sugar Cookie Mistakes (2024)

FAQs

4 Common Sugar Cookie Mistakes? ›

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.

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.

But when cookies go bad, they give out a pungent smell that is often hard to ignore. This is one of the telling signs that the cookie in hand is bad.

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Chilling cookie dough is a golden rule to be sure, but there are exceptions. If you're going for a thin cookie that spreads out or you have a delicate dough like macron or madeleine, those are the instances where you'll want to bake your cookies at room temperature instead.

Over-creamed butter and sugar

Because it's too aerated, it can result in dense, gummy streaks in your cake when baking.

"Overmixing your dough will result in flatter, crispier cookies," Cowan said. If you overmix, you will end up aerating (adding air to) the dough, which causes the cookies to rise and then fall, leaving you with flat cookies.

Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.

Should sugar cookies be hard or soft? ›

The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer. Once the dry ingredients are added, less mixing equals more tender cookies.

The holes trick

There's also a new technique going around when preventing craters in a second layer of icing: poke holes in the base flood (under the area you'll cover with a second layer of icing). You can even do this when the first layer flood has completely dried!

Bad dough is usually the result of a dough recipe not followed, the introduction of too much cold, heat or water during preparation or problematic mixing. To avoid such issues, get the ratio of dry ingredients to wet ingredients correct.

Eggs in Raw Cookie Dough

Eggshells can also become contaminated with salmonella bacteria when they're laid. Eggs that contain salmonella look just like normal eggs.

You may notice visible pockets of flour, streaks of butter, or uneven coloration. When overmixed, though, cookie dough will feel dense, greasy, heavy, and warm. It may be tough to roll out or work with, just like overmixed pie dough.