What to Do When Cookie Dough Is Too Sticky (2024)

FAQs

What to Do When Cookie Dough Is Too Sticky? ›

How To Fix Sticky Cookie Dough. Adjust the flour: Add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, to the dough until it reaches a consistency that is easier to handle. Avoid adding too much, making the cookies dry and crumbly.

When cookie dough is too sticky, you may have an imbalance of wet and dry ingredients. You can fix this by adding a teaspoon of flour or cornstarch at a time until your dough is just how you want. The added flour or cornstarch will absorb the excess liquid and reduce the dough's overall stickiness.

Soft – Dough that's “soft” or “runny” can be thickened by adding one or two tablespoons of flour to your mix. This will help keep your batch from “Spreading” and coming out of the oven looking like flat, not-so-cookie-like puddles.

For perfectly shaped cookies, make sure you're using an ungreased non-stick cookie sheet. Greasing your pan will cause your cookies to spread. If the dough is sticking to the bottom of the press instead of adhering to the pan, it might be too soft. Place it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 minutes and try again.

After the first rise, you would normally knead the dough again. However, if you find your dough is too sticky at this point, do not knead it again. Instead, gently press and deflate the dough. You can also use a light coating of flour on your hands and working surface to press and stretch the dough.

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

If your cookie dough is dry and crumbly, there are a few things you can do to fix it. First, try adding more liquid to the dough. This can be milk, water, or even just a little bit of extra oil. If that doesn't work, you can try kneading the dough for a few minutes to help it come together.

Add more liquid

To fix dry and crumbly cookie dough by adding more liquid, start slowly by mixing in one extra teaspoon at a time. Add more of whatever liquid is in the original recipe, be it water, eggs, or milk (for example). Stop before it gets wet or too sticky and rest it before baking.

Oil does as well and is better suited for keeping the dough from sticking to a bowl or rising container than water is. Water is more readily absorbed. Paul Hollywood shows how using oil instead of flour to knead bread, which helps keep the texture of the dough consistent.

The moisture contributed by the milk will also increase spread and hydrate more of the starches in the flour. These hydrated (gelatinized) starches support the structure of the air pocket wall, keeping the cookies from collapsing once cooled. By holding more water, they also help keep the cookies softer over time.

How do you make dough less thick? ›

Solution: The wiser thing to do would be to start with a low amount of yeast (0.5% should be alright to begin with). While less yeast would mean you need to proof it for a longer period, it will aerate your crust and form a light and airy crust with open crumbs.

→ Follow this tip: Chill sugar cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 15 minutes. The dough will be so much easier to work with! It will roll out nicely, and if you're making cut-outs, chilled dough will help you get clean, sharp edges.

To fix this, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of milk or water to the dough. This will make the dough more moist and prevent the cookies from being too dry³. - You overbeat the butter and sugar together. This will incorporate too much air and result in a cakey texture.

You can use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop. But make sure and spray the scoops with unflavored cooking spray to keep dough from sticking and making your cookies a true match in size. If you notice the dough starts sticking again, simply re-spray!

If the dough is too sticky, try refrigerating it for an hour. You may have used too much liquid or egg. Be sure to measure ingredients carefully.