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    Home » Christmas » Christmas Cookies » How to Make Sugar Cookies Keep Their Shape?

    How to Make Sugar Cookies Keep Their Shape?

    Published: Dec 14, 2019 · Modified: Dec 14, 2021 by Eric Samuelson

    Wondering why your sugar cookies spread so much they look as flat as a pancake? Or do you have awesome cookie cutters but your cookies never look as cool as your cutters? Let's troubleshoot together and help you create cutout cookies that hold their shape.

    We also discuss how to keep your chocolate chip cookies from spreading too.

    Small cut out ginger cookies in shapes lie trees, candy canes, stockings, stars, bells, and a dinosaur. The cookies are frosted with different colored chocolate frostings and are sitting on a white tile countertop.

    This post includes affiliate links. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. These are products and services I recommend because I use or trust them. Cookies will be used to track the affiliate links you click.

    Imagine this - you are super excited about your sugar cookies. You have them all cut out and ready to go in the oven.

    But when they come out, they don't look right.

    What should be an array of Christmas trees, reindeer, Santa Claus helpers, look more like the single cell amoeba than any of those things.

    For many of us we don't have to imagine that, because we have lived it.

    Or maybe you are here right now because your cookies in your kitchen are suffering through an identity crisis.

    Don't worry. We are here to help. I can't fix the mistakes already made but we can navigate you away from making those same mistakes again.

    Jump to:
    • ⭐ Simple Cookie Cutters
    • 🧈 Why Do My Cookies Spread?
    • 🛑 How to Keep Them From Spreading
    • 🍪 Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • 📚 Cookie Recipes
    Decorated Snowman sugar cookie on a white towel
    This snowman cookie has a simple shape but with creativity decorations it really comes to life!

    ⭐ Simple Cookie Cutters

    One of the easiest solutions to help your sugar cookie keep their shape is by choosing simple cookie cutters. If your cookie cutter has a lot of details in it then it's hard to have it come out looking right.

    Let's say you have a cookie cutter that is shaped like a reindeer, antlers and all. It might look cute, however the shape is too complex. Your cookies are more likely to have the appearance of an amoeba than a reindeer.

    Simple shapes like circles, simple stars, candy canes, stockings, and trees are usually reliable. Let your creativity run wild with the decorations on the cookies and keep the shapes simple for best results.

    💡 Tip - If you do have a reindeer antler cookie cutter or other cookie cutter with lots of details, you might be better off using it to make fudge. Either try to use out the fudge with the cookie cutter or pour the fudge into the cookie cutter before it cools.

    The biggest problem I think people have with trying to get their cookies to keep their shape is that they spread too much. So let's look into why that is.

    🧈 Why Do My Cookies Spread?

    The number one reason that sugar cookies spread has to do with the fat. When fat usually butter, heats up, it's going to melt, and thus spread.

    In order to minimize that spreading, we need that fat to be cold. Keeping your dough cold will help that, which is one reason I always chill my dough before rolling out and cutting.

    You also can put the cookies back in the fridge or freeze once they have been cut.

    Circle shaped sugar cookies on a parchment lined sheet pan.
    Place your sugar cookies on a parchment lined sheet pan. If you instead spray oil on a pan that oil could make the cookies spread more.

    🛑 How to Keep Them From Spreading

    Here are some other methods for keeping your cookies from spreading that will help them better keep the shape of the cookie cutter.

    1. Add cream of tartar to the dough to give them a vertical lift
    2. Use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar
    3. Never place cookies on a hot baking sheet pan
    4. Line your sheet pans with parchment paper, not a pan sprayed with oil
    5. Choose a recipe that weights the ingredients (too little flour could lead to spreading)

    These are all simple fixes that will give you a leg up.

    I think the biggest skill you need is patience - I know how boring! Patience to keep the dough cold and patience to only bake on a cooled pan. Your patience will be rewarded 🙂

    Close up of a circle shaped sugar cookies that contains pink peppercorns
    Try making these Pink Peppercorn Sugar Cookies that are super SOFT!

    🍪 Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Maybe your aren't making a cut out cookie. Maybe you want your chocolate chip cookies to hold their shape better and not spread flat on the cookie sheet.

    The tip above about freezing the batter should also be applied with chocolate chip cookies.

    Watch for recipes that have a lot of baking powder in them. It can cause cookies to puff more. Yes we do want some leaving in our cookies so they aren't dense but we have to watch it with the baking powder. My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe (Alton Brown's the Chewy) only uses baking soda.

    You can consider recipes that use shortening instead of butter. Shortening melts slower, so your cookies are less likely to spread. However, the flavor of butter is so key to a good cookie I just can't recommend shortening.

    📚 Cookie Recipes

    Here are some of our favorite recipes from the blog.

    • Alton Brown's Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
    • Pink Peppercorn Sugar Cookies
    • Paula Deen's Sugar Cookies
    • Sumo Citrus Sugar Cookies
    « Pink Peppercorn Sugar Cookies
    Where to Buy Cosmic Crisp Apples »

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    Nice to Meet You,

    Hi! I'm Eric : Father of 4, living just south of Ann Arbor, MI. I'm a reformed picky eater finding a new way to not conform. Eating what's in season is my jam (I also make it!)

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