Things bakers know: The secret to cut-out cookies that hold their shape (2024)
There’s nothing I love more than learning some simple trick that makes a task easier.
I have always made my dough for butter cookies, gingerbread, and other cut-out cookies well in advance of holiday baking, tightly wrapping the disks of dough in plastic wrap and stashing them in the freezer until I was ready to bake and decorate.
And while do-ahead is a great practice for busy bakers, I never remembered to pull those rock-hard dough blocks from the freezer far enough in advance that they’d have time to thaw properly. Many were the years that I found myself pounding on a semi-frozen brick of gingerbread dough with a rolling pin, my impatient children looking on.
And then, of course, there’s the other problem: If you’re trying to make nice, clean cut-out cookies (using your favorite holiday cookie cutters, of course), the temperature of the dough matters. By the time it’s soft enough to roll easily, it’s often so sticky that when you attempt to lift a gingerbread person off the work surfaceit loses a limb.
So here’s the trick I recently learned: Right after you’ve mixed up your batch of butter cookie or gingerbread dough (or these chocolate cut-outs, eggnog cookies, or spice cookies), immediately plunk it onto a sheet of parchment paper. (If you have a large quantity of dough, divide it between a few sheets of parchment.) Top with a second sheet of parchment, then roll the dough to the specified thickness. (This special rolling pin can help get it even.) Pull off the top sheet of parchment, then slide the sheet of dough onto a baking sheet, then pop it in the freezer. (You can stack as many sheets of dough onto one baking sheet as you’d like.)
Photography by Mark Weinberg; Food styling by Liz Neily
If you plan to store it for only a few hours or days, there’s no need to overwrap the baking sheet; for longer storage, wrap the entire baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap before freezing. The dough can hang out in the freezer for weeks; when you’re ready to bake your cookies, remove as many sheets of dough from the freezer as you’d like, let the dough stand at room temperature for five minutes, then use your favorite cutters to stamp out cookies; they’ll be easy to cut, will hold their shape, and won’t stick. Plus, your well-chilled cookies are less likely to spread in the oven while they bake. It’s a (minor) holiday miracle.
Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze! If you plan to store it for only a few hours or days, there's no need to overwrap the baking sheet; for longer storage, wrap the entire baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap before freezing.
I can't wait to read through all of the great ideas posted there! To help cookies keep their shape, freeze them! I freeze each batch of cut-out cookies for 5 to 10 minutes before baking.
I keep a little salad plate of flour right by my rolling area and dip my cookie cutter in it between cuts. This keeps the cutter from sticking to the dough and stretching or tearing the shape.
Here's how I do it: after I roll cookie dough into balls to bake them, I place the balls on a plate and put the entire plate in the freezer. Then I preheat the oven. This time in the freezer firms up the balls which may have gotten a little soft while handling with our warm hands.
The dough can hang out in the freezer for weeks; when you're ready to bake your cookies, remove as many sheets of dough from the freezer as you'd like, let the dough stand at room temperature for five minutes, then use your favorite cutters to stamp out cookies; they'll be easy to cut, will hold their shape, and won't ...
In general, metal cookie cutters are sharper than plastic and will give you better results. Whichever type of cookie cutter you choose, flour it and then set it on the rolled-out dough and press straight down. Try not to jiggle or twist the cookie cutter as you use it.
adjective [usu ADJ n] If you describe something as having a cookie-cutter approach or style, you mean that the same approach or style is always used and not enough attention is paid to individual differences.
Refrigerating the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and helps to make the cookie dough firmer. Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies.
If your butter is under mixed, it won't have the air pockets to hold it's shape. If it's over-mixed, the air pockets decrease in size and are unable to hold their shape in the oven—causing your cookies to spread. It's best to cream butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
Roll out your dough, place the paper guide onto the dough and cut around it with a knife. Improvise with what you've got. If you're really hoping for a perfectly round cookie, you can also roll out your dough and use a drinking glass or mason jar lid as a makeshift cookie cutter.
If you still notice that your cookies are spreading, another thing you can do to help cookies keep their shape, is increase the heat 10-25 degrees higher than the suggested temperature on the recipe. Every oven is different, so you may need to try this for yours.
If your cookies are spreading out too much and not holding their shape, place the entire cookie sheet of cut cookies into the fridge or freezer for a bit, maybe 5 minutes, before baking. Cool on the pan for 1 minute before removing onto a cooling rack. Letting the cookies cool allows them to firm up a bit.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. I like to decorate cookies directly on baking sheets so I can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help set the icing. So place the cooled cookies back on baking sheets.
Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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