Holiday Baking - What went wrong?

[nancycg56]

Could you have over softened the butter or not creamed it long enough?

Maybe put the dough into the fridge for 15-20 mins after it is combined but before you form and bake. I did this yesterday with a cookie recipe I had had issues with in the past and it fixed it.

I've had this problem, too, with oversoft butter.

 

[Nancy]

I'm baking tomorrow and thanks to this thread I am going and buying new baking soda and baking powder..this thread made me go look at the expiration dates. Yep. Good thing I checked.

 

[Gigi22]

Try refrigerating the dough for an hour or so before you bake the cookies. If I had trouble with flat cookies, refrigeration usually solved it.

 

[disney1990]

Whenever our cookies turn out too flat, we always add a little more flour. Make sure that pans are totally cool when putting the dough on them and refrigerate the dough until right before it is put into the oven.

 

[Saphire]

Looks and sounds like a butter problem to me. My first guess would be too much butter was used. Did the recipe call for one cup (2 sticks) or 1/2 cup (1 stick)? Did you butter the cookie sheet?

 

[Kellydelly]

I never bake with unsalted butter, could that be part of your problem?

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

I've had this problem, too, with oversoft butter.

This.

I never bake with unsalted butter, could that be part of your problem?

This, too.

 

[golfgal]

Using butter instead of shortening will do this every time, especially with chocolate chip cookies.

 

[Imzadi]

I've had this problem, too, with oversoft butter.

Try refrigerating the dough for an hour or so before you bake the cookies. If I had trouble with flat cookies, refrigeration usually solved it.

That reminds me, on episode with Alton Brown, he said that the butter has to be very cold when baking. The contrast of a hot oven with cold butter creates steam in the molecules and the steam causes puffiness.

I would say refrigerate the dough for an hour and make sure the oven is fully preheated will help, along with making sure the baking powder is fresh.

 

[LilyWDW]

I never bake with unsalted butter, could that be part of your problem?

I only use unsalted butter when it calls for it in the recipe... and some baking recipes do call for it. The jam thumbprints I make every christmas actually call for unsalted butter. Just always use what the recipe calls for.

It really looks like the butter was too soft to me. I would try to refrigerate the dough before making the cookies.

 

[muffyn]

I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago when I made chocolate chip cookies. They went totally flat. The batter looked right and tasted great but the cookies were a mess. I threw it out and followed the directions the second time making sure that I combined all of the wet and then the dry ingredients and the cookies came out fine.

oh mi gawd you threw out cookie dough???

we would rather eat the dough than the cookies!

what a *sniff* waste

 

[dairyou]

I had this problems for years and I never did before. Finally I added more flour and that took care of it. I tried putting the dough in the refrigerator, using a different kind of butter, a cool cookie pan, higher heat, ect.

I think a 1/4 cup is all it took. What I do now is bake 1 cookie while I'm preheating and if it falls flat I add more flour and throw another drop off cookie dough on the same sheet.

Good luck. Im baking on Thursday

Deb

 

[Kitty 34]

I always use Crisco shortening now instead of butter as butter always caused my cookies to do the same thing as yours.