Why oh why oh WHY did my beautiful sheet of chocolate chip cookies turn into a big, ugly blob as they baked?

Well, there are several reasons cookies spread.

A touch too much sugar, for one – sugar is hygroscopic; it absorbs liquid. When you're preparing your dough, it may LOOK just fine (as the sugar is holding onto the liquid); but once it bakes, and the sugar releases that liquid it had been hoarding, watch out for those puddles!

Another less common reason is scooping cookie dough onto a hot baking sheet, or one that's overly greased. The dough hits the hot/slick surface, and starts to spread immediately; the additional, planned-for spread in the oven is exacerbated by this head start.

Frank, our veteran chef and test kitchen baker, recently sent me photos from an experiment on cookie spread he'd just conducted.

Says Frank, "We're working on different aspects of cookie baking, and thought you might enjoy these test results. The primary difference between these two trays [photos below] is the baking temperature.

IMG_0655

One reason cookies spread: oven temperature

"The failed tray baked at 350°F for 14 minutes.

IMG_0656

"For this practically perfect tray, we dropped the temperature to 300°F, and extended the baking time: 22 minutes for chewy, 30 minutes for crisp.

"This is a good example of showing temperature as ingredient."

Because the fat in cookies is a big part of their structure, prior to baking. Scoop the dough onto the baking sheet, and the fat is at least partially responsible for them holding their shape.

Once those cookies hit the oven, though, the fat starts to soften and melt. And the hotter the oven, the more quickly it melts. If the oven's hot enough, the fat melts before the cookies set. And since their flour/liquid matrix hasn't yet had a chance to harden, the cookies spread – becoming those dreaded cookie blobs.

This also might be one answer to a common question we hear on our baker's hotline: “Grandma gave me the recipe herself; why don’t my cookies look like hers?”

The quirkiness of different ovens, especially those from different generations of bakers, notes Frank, is "one of the many dangers of believing that a handwritten heirloom recipe must be correct."

Do you have a favorite cookie recipe that spreads too much? Try lowering the temperature, and baking the cookies longer; this trick just may give you the perfect treat you're after.

Want more tips and tricks for cookie baking? See all of our cookie skills blog posts. 

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About PJ Hamel

PJ Hamel grew up in New England, graduated from Brown University, and was an award-winning Maine journalist (favorite topics: sports and food) before joining King Arthur Flour in 1990. Hired to write the newly launched Baker’s Catalogue, PJ became the small but growing company’s sixth employee. PJ w...
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Comments

Tammy

December 15, 2016 at 1:09am

I've baked the same cookies as Christmas gifts for at least the last 10 years. Over the past several years I have had issues with spritz cookies not holding their shape like they should as well as Mexican wedding cookies flattening slighty and spreading slightly at the edges. Could it be unbleached flour causing the problem? I've always used butter. Sometimes salted, sometimes unsalted. Your input would be greatly appreciated!
The Baker's Hotline

December 16, 2016 at 4:01pm

It sounds less like flour, Tammy, and more like some of the issues mentioned here. Perhaps your oven doesn't calibrate quite as well as it used to and the cookies are baking a little too hot? Checking your oven's temp against the automatic reading should help rule this factor in or out pretty quickly. Are you using Grade AA butter or European style butter or does that change from batch to batch? As you can read in our companion blog article, this can also make a difference. Last, but not least, we'd consider how warm the butter and the overall dough are before baking. Refrigerating your shaped cookies for 30 minutes before baking can also help cookies to hold their shape a little better if this is a problem. Hope this helps get you headed in the right direction! Feel free to give our Baker's Hotline a call at 855-371-BAKE if we can help troubleshoot further. Mollie@KAF
Kathy

December 6, 2016 at 6:26pm

I started baking my cookies and they were coming out flat, I realized that the baking soda and baking powder was not good. What can I do with cookie dough that is already made, can I add it to the dough, will this work?
The Baker's Hotline

December 7, 2016 at 12:50pm

It's difficult to evenly incorporate small amounts of leavener (baking soda or baking powder) to prepared dough since it will require quite a lot of extra mixing, which in turn can make your cookies tough. Instead, use the prepared dough you have to make cookie bars. The support of the side of the pans will help give the cookies structure, and they'll still taste delicious. Try using an 8" or 9" square pan for best results. Good luck! Kye@KAF
Efrain Vargas

November 27, 2016 at 1:05am

Hello, I have a problem with my cookies spreading too. I never had this problem only with this recipe, Mocha brownie sandwich cookies. I made them twice and the first time they were airy and flat the second time just flat and chewy not edible. I threw them away. What went wrong? Recipe calls for baking chocolate and bittersweet chocolate and milk chocolate and cocoa powder. Maybe too much chocolate? I thought perhaps using baking soda vs baking powder was the problem.
The Baker's Hotline

November 27, 2016 at 12:47pm

Efrain, there are a number of other factors (other than temperature) that might lead your cookies to spread. The more sugar used in a recipe, the more cookies tend to spread; and higher moisture ingredients like brown sugar (instead of white) or butter (instead of shortening) can also lead to a chewier, flatter cookie. Hopefully your recipe is written with the correct leavening agent in mind, so we wouldn't recommend changing that unless you are also changing other ingredients (like the type of cocoa and/or melted chocolate called for in the recipe as this would also change the overall PH balance of your dough). It's difficult to know which factor is to blame without being more familiar with your recipe and process, so it may take some experimentation for you to get them right. Our blog articles on Cookie Chemistry (http://bit.ly/2fFs8Yk and http://bit.ly/2gzud77) can help guide you, and the bakers on our hotline are here to help if you'd like to troubleshoot further: 855-371-BAKE. Best of luck! Mollie@KAF
Dave Breuer

November 8, 2016 at 6:00pm

We have a generations-old ginger snap recipe that yields chewy, cracked-top cookies - until Crisco reformulated to delete trans fats. Now the cookies spread out into flat puddles and are crispy instead of chewy. Can this recipe be saved? Would a high-ratio shortening be an answer? (One batch calls for one cup of Crisco, a fairly significant ingredient). Anything you can suggest would be most appreciated!
The Baker's Hotline

November 9, 2016 at 7:06pm

If you can get your hands on high-ratio shortening, that would be a great option to choose. Otherwise, be sure you're using all shortening instead of combination of shortening and butter, and consider adding additional flour next time to make a stiffer dough. Also, if the recipe calls for brown sugar, try using regular sugar to reduce the amount of moisture in the cookie. Additionally, chill the scooped cookies for at least 30 minutes before they go into the oven. This should help give you the chewy cookies you're looking for. If not, compare it to our recipe for Gingersnaps and maybe give it a try. Kye@KAF
The Baker's Hotline

November 9, 2016 at 7:06pm

If you can get your hands on high-ratio shortening, that would be a great option to choose. Otherwise, be sure you're using all shortening instead of combination of shortening and butter, and consider adding additional flour next time to make a stiffer dough. Also, if the recipe calls for brown sugar, try using regular sugar to reduce the amount of moisture in the cookie. Additionally, chill the scooped cookies for at least 30 minutes before they go into the oven. This should help give you the chewy cookies you're looking for. If not, compare it to our recipe for Gingersnaps and maybe give it a try. Kye@KAF
Mindy

September 19, 2016 at 4:10pm

My mom is the queen of home-baked goods. Me, not so much, though I do love to cook. She mentioned a lot of people now use power mixers to mix the cookie dough whereas she still mixes with a wooden spoon. Her cookies never spread; they are perfectly "puffed", crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

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