I'm at my wits end...I want to cry and give up but I can't...I promised a good friend some cookies for her shower and I don't want to disappoint her.  I'm using a recipe that I have used for the past year or so since I started decorating cookies and it never gave me a hard time.  Yesterday I made a batch, followed the recipe to a tee and the cookies spread.  Today I decided to make the same recipe except leave out the baking soda and see if that helps but it didn't help much plus the cookies had bumps and bubbles.  I'm not sure what to do...please someone, shed some light on this.  (the weather is not even humid or anything, its been pretty chilly..if that means anything)  

You can put the unbaked pan of cookies in the freezer before baking, I've done that with shortbread type doughs with a high butter content and that helps to stop them from spreading. This might work for you - good luck!

RJ

There's a recipe on this site called No Fail Sugar Cookies. I haven't made them myself but lots of CC'ers swear by them.
 

There is both a fantastic recipe and step by step directions on how to do PERFECT sugar cookies that do not spread.  It talks about cookie pops, but works great for just the cookie too.  I'm guessing you could still use your recipe and would have good results just using her procedure.  Good luck!

http://sweetapolita.com/2011/03/steps-to-making-the-perfect-sugar-cookie-and-cookie-pop/

I always freeze my cookies before baking.  Always.  And I bake them straight from the freezer.  No problems with spreading at all, and I can do the fussy rolling and cut out part weeks before the event!

I second the NFSC recipe on this site, too.  Delicious!

Thank you all for your help and advice!  That must've been one wacky day for cookies because I have since made more cookies using the same recipe and it worked like a charm.  )I always freeze the cut-outs for 10 mins on the baking sheets prior to baking too).  

Hi, thanks for the tip!  I usually freeze my cut-outs for 10 minutes before baking but I've never stored them for longer than that.  Would you mind sharing how you store your cut-outs in the freezer?

I often freeze cut-out cookie dough for longer than a few hours. It's helpful to keep them stacked and stored in a rigid container, with the layers separated by waxed paper or poly wrap. 

Thank you! :)