Flat cookies are frustrating! The good news is, with a little investigating, flat cookies are also easy to fix!
Why Did My Cookies Turn Out Flat?
Flat cookies are frustrating! The good news is they probably still tasted great, right? The other good news is, that’s easy to fix! A few things that can cause cookies to bake flat:
- The butter
- The flour
- Your baking sheet
- Your oven
Butter That’s Too Warm
One of the most common reasons is that the butter was too soft or too warm to start with. A softened butter should still be cool to touch. If you started with warm butter, try refrigerating the cookie dough for 30 minutes before baking.
Too Little Flour
Another reason is too little flour. If your first batch of cookies bakes flat, try adding 1-2 tablespoons of flour to the remaining dough. Then bake a test cookie before baking the rest or adding a bit more flour.
More Tips and Tricks
- Old Fashioned Oats vs Quick Oats: Quick oats, old fashioned oats and steel cut oats: learn the difference and how best to use them.
- Light Brown vs Dark Brown Sugar: Learn the difference between light brown sugar and dark brown sugar and when you can (and can’t) swap them.
- Natural vs Process Peanut Butter: You can substitute natural peanut butter for processed peanut butter in my recipes, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
A Hot or Greasy Baking Sheet
The problem could be your baking sheet. It may have been too hot. Always let your cookie sheets cool before baking the next batch. Alternatively, it may have been over-greased. To prevent over-greasing, I recommend using parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, instead of greasing with butter or oil.
Your Oven isn’t Heating
Finally, your oven temperature could be off. Use an oven thermometer to check that your oven is heating correctly. Use more than one thermometer to see if your oven is heating inconsistently. Warm and cool areas of your oven may be to blame.
If you’re itching to try out this new knowledge, why not give my One Cookie Dough, Seven Possible Flavors a whirl? It’s like choose-you-own-adventure for baking.
Hope this helps! Enjoy! ❤️
xoxo,
