Need to know how to make cookie dough less sticky? If so, you’re in the right place. In today’s article, we’ll be revealing the secret behind making your cookie dough less sticky, as well as uncovering the reason stickiness happens in the first place. So, if you’re ready, let’s dive into all there is to know about how to make cookie dough less sticky.
Table of Contents
- Why Is My Cookie Dough Sticky?
- How to Fix a Sticky Cookie Dough
- What Happens When You Bake Sticky Dough?
- How Do You Fix Wet Cookie Dough?
- How to Stop My Cookie Dough From Being Too Sticky?
- How to Make Cookie Dough Less Sticky? Try These Methods!
- How to Make Cookie Dough Less Sticky FAQs
Why Is My Cookie Dough Sticky?
First things first, and that’s why your cookie dough is too sticky in the first place.
Cookie dough can be sticky for a variety of reasons. Because your average cookie recipe is made up of both dry and wet ingredients, you can bet that a lot of the stickiness you encounter is due to extra moisture in the dough.
Why Is My Cookie Dough Too Sticky?
Cookie dough that isn’t the desired consistency may have the following issues going on:
- Too little flour: Having too little flour in the recipe is a surefire way to create an extremely sticky dough.
- Too much butter: Yes, cookies call for a lot of butter, but too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Just like having too much butter in cake, a lot of butter in cookies batter has an effect. In this way, adding more butter than is called for will leave your dough in a very sticky state!
- Too much egg: Yep, too many eggs can cause a stickier dough. Though many like to add an extra egg for chewiness, they often forget that doing so may affect the overall consistency of the cookie recipe.
- Forgetting to chill the dough: Yes, it takes longer, but chilling your cookie dough is an absolute must when it comes to getting cookie dough to stop sticking to your hands.
Wondering how this works? Oftentimes, the reason that cookie dough is too sticky is that the butter in the dough has become too soft. By refrigerating the dough, the butter becomes hard. This makes the dough firmer and easier to handle.
What Are the Causes of Sticky Cookie Dough?
Sticky cookie dough is usually caused by a lack of enough all purpose flour or not enough dry ingredients. But also, remember that it is most often caused by butter that is too soft.
How to Fix a Sticky Cookie Dough
There are many ways to fix cookie dough that is still too sticky after you’ve followed recipe instructions.
Try the following:
- Chill the dough: As mentioned before, chilling your cookie dough is one of the most common remedies for runny cookie dough. To chill your dough, simply place it in a bowl and place plastic wrap over it. Pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. Conversely, you can follow the same steps and pop it in the freezer for half the time. Score!
- Add more flour: Adding more flour works because the flour absorbs moisture from the dough quickly. The problem? If you’ve already added the recommended amount of flour and continue to add more, you risk altering the taste and texture of your dough significantly. In fact, you could eventually render our cookies dry and tasteless. Thus, this is only the best fix when used sparingly or when you’ve accidentally used less flour than what was called for.
- Add cornstarch: This is often thought to be the best-kept secret when it comes to fixing sticky cookie dough. Not only does adding a teaspoon or two of cornstarch make the dough less sticky, but it also makes your cookies soft. This is undoubtedly a win-win situation for bakers. Just be aware that exceeding 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch could have negative effects on your dough.
- Assess the kind of dough you’re using: Some types of cookie dough are sticky by nature. These include drop cookies, cookies that involve peanut butter and eggs, and other cookie types. When this is the case, you don’t have to worry about making the cookies less sticky. Instead, simply use an ice cream scoop to scoop up dough in order to drop it neatly onto your cookie sheet.
How Do You Make Cookie Dough Less Sticky Without Cornstarch?
We’ve already mentioned quite a few ways to make your cookie dough less sticky without having to add cornstarch, but there is one additional ingredient you can use.
If you’re making certain doughs like sugar cookie dough, crinkle cookie dough, or chocolate cookie dough, you may wish to use powdered sugar instead of cornstarch.
By rolling your dough in powdered sugar, you give an aesthetically pleasing touch to your baked cookies while also making the dough easier to handle.
What Happens When You Bake Sticky Dough?
Typically, if your dough is too sticky, the cookies will turn out just fine. However, too much moisture in the cookies may cause them to taste raw in the middle or take longer to cook.
Can I Bake With Too Sticky Cookie Dough?
Yes, you can! But it’s very important to figure out why your cookie dough is too sticky. If you’ve made an error in your recipe, it will show up in the texture and taste of the final product.
Can I Bake With a Sticky Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough?
Yes, you can, assuming that you have the right ratio of wet and dry ingredients. However, if you’ve got too many wet ingredients in the mix, you may find the resulting cookie to be mushy.
How Do You Fix Wet Cookie Dough?
To fix wet cookie dough, try chilling the dough, adding a bit of cornstarch, or rolling the dough in powdered sugar when appropriate.
How to Stop My Cookie Dough From Being Too Sticky?
To stop your cookie dough from being too sticky, make sure you’ve added enough flour. If you have, try chilling your dough or adding 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch.
How to Make Cookie Dough Less Sticky? Try These Methods!
Ultimately, cookie dough that is too sticky can happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, the dough is supposed to be that way (i.e. drop cookies) however, sometimes it can be for other reasons.
Remember that butter that is too soft is often the cause of dough that is too sticky. Try chilling your dough after making it to help make the dough less sticky. If that doesn’t work, try adding a teaspoon or two of cornstarch. You can also add a touch more flour, but be careful not to add too much, as this will yield a bland cookie.
Hope this answers the question! Have you ever experienced cookie dough that was too sticky? What did you do to make it better?
See you next time!
How to Make Cookie Dough Less Sticky FAQs
How do you make dough less sticky?
Try refrigerating your dough to make it a bit less sticky.
How do you make dough less sticky and wet?
Try adding a teaspoon or so of cornstarch to help with stickiness.
Why is my homemade dough so sticky?
Sticky dough can be a result of too little flour or other issues. Try the methods above to remediate the issue.
How do you fix cookie dough consistency?
That depends on what’s wrong! Double-check your recipe and adjust as needed. Sometimes the dough is too dry – that’s easy to fix too!
What can I use to bind cookie dough?
More flour helps. Just be careful not to go overboard.
What caused too sticky cookie dough?
Too many wet ingredients or not chilling the dough are the most common causes.
How to make cookie dough less sticky without flour?
Adding a bit of cornstarch or freezing the dough can help.
Cookie dough is too sticky to roll!
Try adding a light dusting of flour or use a bit of cornstarch to make it easier to handle.
How to make cookie dough not stick to your hands?
Dust your hands with flour before handling your dough.
Cookie dough is too wet and sticky!
Try chilling for at least 30 minutes to one hour before handling.
Is it okay if my cookie dough is sticky?
As long as you’ve followed the recipe, it is okay if your cookie dough is a bit sticky.
What happens if you bake sticky cookie dough?
That depends on why your dough is sticky! If you’ve omitted important ingredients, it may taste funny or have a weird texture.
Why is my sugar cookie dough sticky?
Sugar cookie dough can be sticky because it needs to be chilled. You may also add a bit of powdered sugar or a bit of extra flour to help this kind of cookie dough bind together better.
How to fix sticky cookie dough?
Use any of the aforementioned tips and tricks involving adding more dry ingredients to help you achieve the right consistency for your cookie dough.
