Flat cookies commonly result from several baking issues including:
- Over-creaming the butter and sugar, which breaks down the emulsion and causes excess spreading.
- Using butter that is too soft or warm, causing it to melt too quickly in the oven.
- Insufficient flour in the dough, reducing structure and allowing excessive spreading.
- Too much sugar, as sugar liquefies during baking and leads to flattening.
- Not chilling the dough before baking, which helps the butter stay firm longer and cookies set better.
- Baking at too low an oven temperature, resulting in more spread as cookies take longer to set.
- Using greased or hot baking sheets instead of parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Overmixing the dough, which develops gluten and makes the cookies tough and prone to flattening.
- Using expired leavening agents or the wrong kind of fat.
To prevent flat cookies, cream butter and sugar just until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes), measure ingredients accurately especially flour and sugar, chill dough at least 30 minutes before baking, bake on parchment or silicone mats, and make sure oven temperature is correct with an oven thermometer. Also, try slightly reducing sugar or adding a thickening agent like Instant ClearJel if flatness persists.
These adjustments will help cookies hold their shape better and prevent them from becoming flat.
