Cant Get My Cookies To Look Right

Baking By faitheve Updated 5 Mar 2007 , 6:35pm by crolfes83

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faitheve Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 6:00pm
post #1 of 25

I have not made many cookies so far, but I am wondering how you guys make your cookies look so wonderful. Once I cut out the dough and bake them, they dont look clean cut. They rise a little and loose some of their shape. So far the only way I have iced them is with fondant, but when I cut out the shape with the icing, the cookie is much bigger than the fondant cut out, so you see a lot of cookie on the edge. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong?[/img]
LL

24 replies
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mitsel8 Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 6:03pm
post #2 of 25

What recipe do you use? The NFSC recipe is good and there is little or no spreading.
I love your cake, the colors are great.

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tayesmama Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 6:06pm
post #3 of 25

It could be the recipe you're using. An excellent one to try for cookies w/ no spreading or rising is the NFSC:

http://www.kitchengifts.com/nofailsugarcookies.html
(You can halve the recipe if need be)

Good luck!
The cake looks great by the way!~

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faitheve Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 6:06pm
post #4 of 25

what is the name of that recipe? is it on here? I have just been using a regular sugar cookie recipe... that is prob my problem!icon_smile.gif

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mitsel8 Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 6:09pm
post #5 of 25

It's on this site, listed as No Fail Sugar Cookies.

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faitheve Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 6:09pm
post #6 of 25

thank you thank you!!!

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ladyonzlake Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 6:21pm
post #7 of 25

I am not a NFSC fan. I use Martha Stewarts sugar cookie recipe but I use 1/2 almond extract and 1/2 pure vanilla extract. Some things I've learned to take the pain out of making sugar cookies are:

-Butter should be room tempturature but not too soft
-Divide your dough into 3 parts
-Use 2 layers of wax or parchment paper to roll your dough then you don't have to use more flour which will make a tough cookie
-I purchase 2 square dowels that are the thickness I want my cookies and use them with my rolling pin to get the perfect thickness of my dough. This helps if you are inserting sticks for cookie bouquets too.
-Refrigerate your dough after rolling. You can refrigerate overnight or for an hour or two.
-As you are cutting your dough I reroll the scraps and pop my dough back in the frig. to keep in cold and move onto my next rolled out dough. By the time I get back to the first rerolled dough it's chilled again.
-After I place my cookies on the cookie sheet (I use silpat liners) I refrigerate again for 15 minutes. By refrigerating your cookies they will not become distorted or spread. Then bake and Wolha...perfect cookies and a lot less mess!
Jacqui

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IloveYorkies85 Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 6:29pm
post #8 of 25

I usually use NFSC, but how long can I keep it in the fridge before using it? I did something wrong this time, and not only did they look uneven on top, but most of them broke when I took them off the cookie sheet? (Very disappointed..... ) icon_redface.gif
Did I leave them in the fridge too long? Or maybe like someone said in the post before... I may have messed up the butter ? I dont know......

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ladyonzlake Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 6:33pm
post #9 of 25

You can never leave cookie dough in the frig. too long. Did you take them off the sheet before they cooled? Or maybe you needed to bake them longer?
Jacqui

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IloveYorkies85 Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 7:53pm
post #10 of 25

As you can see I am a "newbie"........ I made the dough Monday.. I thought I could bake them at anytime... lol.
I did let them cool, they are supposed to cool before taking them off the cookie sheet right?

Thanks, I guess I will be making another batch tonight! lol. Can I leave it in the fridge over night??

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MaisieBake Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 8:27pm
post #11 of 25

Yes, it's fine to leave the dough in the fridge overnight.

The cookies don't need to cool all the way on the sheets, on racks is fine. Be careful getting them from sheet to rack.

The sheets need to be cool (room temperature) when they go into the oven. Are they?

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jen1977 Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 8:39pm
post #12 of 25

I use three cookie sheets when I'm making cookies to decorate. After I take the first pan out of the oven, I let it cool for about 5 minutes on teh counter, then put it in the freezer. I always have one pan cooking on the stove/counter, one in the freezer getting very cold, and one in the fridege with the cutout cookies on it. I also cut out a bunch of cookies and put them in the fridge on sheet pans, then transfer thenm to the cold cookie pan before they go in the oven. I rotate the cookie dough from bottom to top, so that the top rack is the coldest and the bottom rack in my fridge is the newest dough in the fridge. I have a side by side fridge, so I can get lots of sheets in since there are several shelves.

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IloveYorkies85 Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 8:44pm
post #13 of 25

Ha ha, the cookie sheets were more than likely very cold when I put them in the oven because.....I had an idea that I thought would make it easier. icon_rolleyes.gif I guess I didn't LOL!
Oh well, practice makes perfect !

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MichelleM77 Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 9:46pm
post #14 of 25

My cookie sheets are always cold when I put them in the oven and I've had no problem with my cookies. Hmm.

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MaisieBake Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 9:49pm
post #15 of 25

Cool or cold should be okay. Hot isn't.

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IloveYorkies85 Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 10:34pm
post #16 of 25

Well I'm glad they can be cold..... that makes it a lot easier. Thanks you guys!!! icon_biggrin.gif

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mkolmar Posted 4 Mar 2007 , 11:58pm
post #17 of 25

to help with getting the cookies off the pan make sure to use parchment paper. It really does help so the cookies won't stick. I forgot to on one pan and I had some cookies crack because of trying to scrape them off before they cooled too much. The pans with the parchment came out perfect, every single one of them.

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tayesmama Posted 5 Mar 2007 , 9:18am
post #18 of 25

To help with getting them off the sheet:

I use cookie pans with no walls so when i take them out of the oven, I slide the parchment paper w/the cookies on it onto my table or countertop to let them cool down. Works great; no burnt fingertips and no broken cookies thumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gif

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crolfes83 Posted 5 Mar 2007 , 12:03pm
post #19 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by tayesmama

To help with getting them off the sheet:

I use cookie pans with no walls so when i take them out of the oven, I slide the parchment paper w/the cookies on it onto my table or countertop to let them cool down. Works great; no burnt fingertips and no broken cookies thumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gif





I do this too!!! Plus, I think the cookies continue to bake on the hot pan. I could be wrong- it wouldn't be the first time icon_lol.gif

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IloveYorkies85 Posted 5 Mar 2007 , 3:11pm
post #20 of 25

Ok, please nobody laugh.... is parchment paper the same thing as wax paper? Or do i need to go buy this wonderful stuff??

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MichelleM77 Posted 5 Mar 2007 , 3:21pm
post #21 of 25

I have never had a problem with my cookies sticking to the sheet. Could it be the different types of cookie sheets? They are just regular old from WalMart, nothing special.

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crolfes83 Posted 5 Mar 2007 , 3:40pm
post #22 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by IloveYorkies85

Ok, please nobody laugh.... is parchment paper the same thing as wax paper? Or do i need to go buy this wonderful stuff??




No, it is not the same. Parchment paper doesn't have a wax coating.
I couldn't live without my parchment paper. I roll my cookie dough between it, and bake on it.
I buy my in large quantities from www.kitchengifts.com I love this online store! Their rolled chocolate cookie recipe tastes great. Also, they have several how to videos you can watch.
I own their rolling pin too. I LOVE it!

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IloveYorkies85 Posted 5 Mar 2007 , 4:15pm
post #23 of 25

Oh thanks!!! ill check it out!!! icon_lol.gif

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tayesmama Posted 5 Mar 2007 , 6:10pm
post #24 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by crolfes83

I buy my in large quantities from www.kitchengifts.com I love this online store!... I own their rolling pin too. I LOVE it!




Heehee, I have their rolling pin AND I order my parchment in bulk from them too!! Aren't they just a great company! And sooo many cutters to choose from as well.

When I first started out, I really enjoyed watching those how-to videos. I think it's just great that they took the time to do that.

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crolfes83 Posted 5 Mar 2007 , 6:35pm
post #25 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by tayesmama


Heehee, I have their rolling pin AND I order my parchment in bulk from them too!! Aren't they just a great company! And sooo many cutters to choose from as well.

When I first started out, I really enjoyed watching those how-to videos. I think it's just great that they took the time to do that.




They do have a wonderful selection of cutters!
I like how their parchment paper comes in pre-cut sheets vs buying it in rolls. It is so much easier. It's just there to grab when you need it- No guess work.

I sound like a infomercial! icon_lol.gif

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