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.
This is an excellant post; chock full of great and useful tips for making thick cookies (which are the best kind, by far 🙂 ). Love your own personal trick of rolling the cookie dough balls taller than they are wide; I use it a lot of the time when baking cookies! It’s fascinating to watch the mounds slowly sink, and at one point they look like cookie hats!:D Thanks for the great recommendations, Sally!
I love all the information you share. I am 69 years old and you are teaching an “old dog new tricks”. I never realized that I was over beating my dough and causing the cookies to spread. Your tips are wonderful.
I used these tips to make your oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and they came out perfectly! I realized I was making some really basic mistakes. Once I followed your tips here, my cookies were great!
When baking chocolate chip cookies, they always come out really flat. I was told that maybe it was the type of chips I use, milk chocolate vs. semi sweet. Would one cause flat cookies?
The type of chip wouldn’t really be causing the issue especially if it’s just semi-sweet vs milk chocolate. Perhaps there’s too many chips and not enough dough? It depends on the recipe you are using!
Thanks for the tips, I willgive them a try. Regarding pre-chilling the cookie dough – do you then adjust (increase) the bake time due to the lower starting temperature of the dough?
Typically no, though I always recommend using your eyes– not the clock– for baking cookies. All ovens and baking pans are different and when the cookies are lightly browned on the edges, they’re usually done. Hope this helps.
I love these tips as I love a nice, normal, puffy cookie, but my husband loves a flat, spready cookie with crispy edges and a chewy inside. I’m gonna reverse engineer a couple of these to try to make a batch or two to his liking (then back to crowd pleaser cookies… ha!). In particular I think I’ll try cutting the flour by a bit in our favorite chocolate chip recipe.
I love to bake cookies and I always end up coming to your website for inspiration. This article has really helped in my technique. Thank you so much, Sally! Off to baking more cookies now
I’m so glad I clicked on this! A lot of times I’ll see posts like this and I’ve already tried all the tips but I’m so guilty of over whipping the butter and sugar! I thought that was what I was supposed to do and my cookies have been spreading lately so I’m so excited to try this! Thank you, Sally!
These are such great tips, and I can’t wait to try the spoon technique – so smart!
If you tried all the tips and cookies still spread, let them cool slightly then roll them into balls. This has worked for me several times and I rename them cookie truffles! Once they cool, no one is the wiser and great cookie flavor is still there.
I’m amazed. I began reading your tips assuming they would be the same ho-hum suggestions that we’ve all read a hundred times. They were not! You actually presented new ways and methods I’d never heard before! Impressive. Thank you so much. I’ll be trying them during my Christmas cookie marathon.
I adore your blog. I’ve been salivating over your Christmas cookie posts, is it too early to start baking for Christmas?! This post is so helpful, I’ve shared this with friends, thank you!
Thank you so much for these tips!! I would love to see a better visual, either with pictures or videos, that explains how to know when the butter and sugar in cookie recipes are perfectly ‘light and fluffy’ or ‘creamed’. I am still never sure exactly what that means, and most recipe videos move so fast through that part, it all just looks like mush to me. Have you posted something for this? Your pie crust videos are AMAZING and I would love to see more!
I agree about the tip on freezing! That works really well for cut out cookies. I never really thought to try it other ones. Can’t wait to give it a shot for this year’s Cookiepalooza. Thank you again!! 🙂
My cookies became flat while they were on the sheet pan after baking. I assume I overbaked them. I thought my cookies looked perfect when they came out of the oven! Maybe I should slightly underbake them next time! You’re my best trusty teacher as always, Sally!
Great tips!! Spreading is always my biggest issue with cookie baking. I think the most useful tip (that I had already learned from you!) is not using cooking spray on the baking sheets. And refrigerating the dough of course, but I already did that. 🙂 It’s easier if you make the dough and bake it on the next day, plus they allegedly taste better… Also I roll the balls before refrigerating, much easier!
Sally!!! Love these tips! I’ve become a better baker because of you. Thank you. And that secret tip!…I do it all the time if my cookies spread!! I discovered it only last year and it works wonders!! Yay!
I’ve made your Cake Batter Chocolate Chip cookies several times – love them. One time the first batch spread so much (no clue why), I didn’t want to deal with it and spread the rest of the dough in a jelly roll pan and made cookie bars instead 🙂
I made your soft chocolate chip cookies using the tall column method you describe and they turned out perfect! That is also my ‘go to’ chocolate chip cookie recipe now…after 56 years! Thanks!
i made your chewy chocolate chip cookies from your book and they looked great in the oven and nice and puffy, then when i took them out of the oven to cool, they spread thin. So your spoon idea is a great one. I’ll try that next time. Still taste great but i like the puffy look.
Let me know how it goes next time! I literally use that trick all the time!! 🙂
Have you tried using convection oven for cookies? Wondering if you have any tips? I was told you can bake 2 trays at a time since the fan helps keep the oven temperature accurate. The manual recommended adjusting the standard temp to 25’ less for convection feature.
Any advice would be appreciated. You are one of the few bakers I trust. Every recipe of yours I try is absolutely wonderful!
Bev Connelly
Thank you, Bev! I wish I could help but I do not have a convection oven. Though from the experience I have working with convection ovens off-site, I agree that lowering the oven temperature by 25 degrees F is ideal. My mother, also a baker, has a convection oven. She doesn’t rotate her pans. I agree that I don’t find it necessary.
Thanks for the great tips Sally! I will try the tall cookie ball from now on. These are great tips for the upcoming holiday baking season.
Another benefit to freezing individual cookie balls – you can have just one or two fresh-baked for a quick snack!
I find that I almost always have to add between 2-4 tablespoons of flour to any cookie recipe. I don’t if it is because of the humidity where I live or living at a very slight altitude (1500 ft). It doesn’t really matter which recipe- if I add the extra flour they don’t spread. And of course chilling the dough! The longer the better!
Elevation and humidity completely change the cookie dough, I agree. A little extra flour is added insurance!
Thank you for sharing your helpful tips. I have learned so much from you. I look at your site all the time and have made many cookies from your recipes.
I like to keep a batch of cookie dough in my freezer already rolled into balls. So then when I want cookies midweek I just have to pull out a handful and throw them in the oven!
Thank you!! Here’s to perfect cookies all the time!
Tall and frozen are certainly the trick. Love these tips!
Sally, these tips are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m saving this in my bookmarks and will DEFINITELY be remembering these next time