What Went Wrong With My Cookies?

Every now and then, even the greatest bakers have a problem with one of their creations.  After all, isn't that how we become better?  So let us help you learn from your mistakes by answering a few of the most commonly occurring problems when baking cookies.  Customers ask our advice all the time and this is what we recommend for each question.

When I took my cookies out of the oven, they had spread way too much, becoming too big and thin.  What went wrong?

There is no silver bullet answer to this problem as it can be caused by a variety of issues.  Retrace your steps to see if any of these might be problem:

• Make sure you didn't set the oven temperature lower than what was called for in the recipe.
• Determine if the cookie sheets may have had too much grease.
• Make sure you did not substitute fructose sugar or another blend of sugars for pure cane sugar.
• Don't use vegetable oil or diet margarine spread instead of stick margarine or real butter.
• Sometimes dark brown sugar can cause problems if light brown is called for.
• The cookie sheet may not have been completely cooled when the dough was placed on it before baking.

My cookies did not spread enough during baking, what happened?

Again, several problems may have caused this kind of outcome.  Review these recommendations for next time:

• Do not mix the dough too much.
• Make sure the dough does not get too cold in the refrigerator during staging.
• Don't set the oven above the recommended temperature.
• Don't substitute butter for solid vegetable oil. this is a test.

My cookies stuck to the cookie sheet, what can I do to avoid this?

• Make sure the cookie sheet is properly cleaned between uses.
• Confirm you are putting enough grease on the sheet if the recipe calls for it.
• Make sure you cook the cookies long enough and that they are not left on the sheet too long after coming out of the oven.
• Make sure the cookie sheet is not too warm before putting on the dough.