Why are my cookies flat?!
Answers: I have boughten ALL fresh ingredients for my cookies, including my baking soda. I use landolakes butter cold and my eggs cold. I am VERY careful with my measurements and make sure everything is in the dough that needs to be. I let my dough sit in the fridge for a little while before I start to bake and inbetween. I roll the dough into balls, PLUS put a gob of dough on top of the ball of dough. The oven is the correct temperature and is preheated all the way when I start cooking. I have had this problem all my life with cookies and have researched for ideas to make the fluffy and nothing seems to help. Any ideas to help me out? I read on here to put more flour or baking soda in...but how much exactly?
Jetta has the most correct answer. The most critical step in making cookies is creaming the butter and sugar. The leavening in most cookie recipes is a direct result of the creaming of the butter and sugar. As the sugar is whisked thru the butter it cuts tiny forrows that get folded over and air is trapped. If the butter is too cold the sugar cuts a shallow furrow and the butter is not folded over to trap the air. If the butter is too warm the furrows collapse before they are folded over and no air is trapped. The temperature of the butter should be about 70F. If you don't have a thermometer you can test this way: Pick up the stick of butter by one end, if it doesn't squish between your fingers or sag, then the butter is not too warm. Now grasp the other end stick of butter with your other hand and try to bend the stick. If it bends without breaking then it is not too cold.
The eggs perform better in the mixture if they are at room temperature.
When creaming the butter and sugar use med to hi speed, then, as Jetta suggested, use the mixer on lo speed to incorporate the dry ingredients. As one other answerer mentioned, do not over mix the dry ingredients. When adding the dry ingredients to the creamed sugar and butter, and egg mixture; stop mixing as soon as the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
The parchment paper is a nicety not a necessity. Sifting the ingredients is not necessary either but it can make mixing the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a bit easier. It is, as Jetta suggested, best to hand mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Put 1/3 to 1/2 the dry into the wet, stir gently. Repeat until all the dry is incorporated.
Do not roll the dough into balls unless the recipe contains instructions to do so. Even then it should be done gently, so as not to squish the air out of the dough.
Do not pile one gob of dough onto another gob.
Happy cooking
I have never heard of this problem... have you ever tried bringing your ingredients to room temperature?? that might be the problem
sometimes its because you need a little less moisture in the mixture. Try putting in more flour to make them more solid.
The biggest error you have is the cold butter and eggs. You have to let those two get to room temperature before you start mixing them. In addition, I highly recommend ALWAYS sifting your dry ingredients before adding to the mix and lastly, always use the lowest setting on your mixer, if you do not have a wooden spoon to do it by hand. I assure you this will make the difference.
One other thing, never use the cookie sheet when it is hot after removing the cookies. Let it cool and always put your dough on parchment paper - that is on the cookie sheet.
It is fine to refrigerate the dough before baking, but not necessary - except in between baking batches.
Where do you live? I'm guessing at a higher altitude. Check out this site:
http://www.themuffinlady.com/highaltitud...
luck
There are generally three key reasons why a product does not rise sufficiently. If your recipe has worked before and it is a recommended recipe (every man and his/her dog thinks they can cook).
1. Incorrect quantities or unproven recipe (or ratio)
2. Too much butter or liquid
3. Raising agent is missing or old (eggs, baking powder etc)
Too hot and too cold an oven, will spread the mix rather than hold it. Below is a great site on cookies, compare your recipe with the ratio's of others, to see if you have enough raising agent.
I know exactly what the problem is.
Baking soda makes cookies flat. Baking powder makes them puff up. So if you are making, for instance the Toll House recipe for chocolate chip cookies, it calls for 1 tsp. of baking powder. Cut that in half and make it 1/2 tsp. That's what I do. And if you want them to be fluffier too, I would add 1/2 tsp. of baking powder also. So cut the baking soda in half.
Also, in general, real butter makes cookies flatter than shortening will. It is also a good idea to use one stick of butter and half a cup of shortening (1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening).
So, for non-flat cookies use:
-half the required baking soda
-add 1/2 tsp. baking powder
-use 1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening for whatever butter is called for
Hope your cookies turn out perfect!
Im suprised nobody that answered this questioned happened to mention overmixing. thats most likely your problem. I am a chef and i have made plenty of cookies, overmixing, too much butter, oven too low are all reasons for cookies to spread too much