How to Save a Bad Batch of Cookies

Baking cookies is a science.  The right measurements for ingredients determine how your cookies will turn out: flat, puffy, too soft, too dry, or hard.  It can be difficult to fix your cookie dough, especially if you’ve added too much of one ingredient or didn’t add enough of another. Here are a few solutions to common baking mishaps:

Problem: The cookie dough is too sticky.

Solution: Place your cookie dough into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit in the refrigerator for up to one hour.  Take out the dough and roll out on a floured surface.  Dust the rolling pin with flour if it’s still sticky.

Problem: The dough is too soft and keeps spreading.

Solution: Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it chill for up to one hour.  Remove the dough and add 1 tbsp of flour at a time, if the dough is still too soft to handle. Knead the flour into the dough until it’s the right consistency.

Problem: The dough is too dry and crumbly.

Solution: Place a dampened cloth (of lukewarm water) over the dough and let it sit for 30 minutes.  If the dough is still too dry, add 1 tbsp of milk.  Knead the added milk into the dough with your hands.  Add more milk, 1 tbsp at a time, if the dough is still at the wrong consistency and until it is no longer crumbly.

Problem: The cookie dough has too much sugar in it.

Solution: This depends on how much extra sugar you added.  If it was a small amount, if won’t matter as much as if you added 2 cups instead of 1 cup.  If you added much more than the amount the recipe called for, then add equal proportions of the other ingredients to the dough.  You may end up with more cookie dough, but you can always freeze the extra dough to pull out later on to make fresh cookies.

Problem: You don’t have baking soda to add to the cookie dough.

Solution: Baking soda makes the cookies rise, and they will come out flat if you bake them.  If you don’t have baking soda, use twice as much baking powder as the recipe calls for baking soda.  If it calls for 1 tsp of baking soda, use 2 tsp of baking powder.

These are just a few problems that can come with baking cookies.  As long as you follow the recipe and use the correct measurements, you will have tasty cookies.