How To Make Sure Cut-Out Sugar Cookies Hold Their Shape

It has happened to every home baker: You place a pan of beautiful, cut-out sugar cookies into the oven only to have them spread and expand. After seven to 10 minutes, your hearts look like blobs and your snowflakes look like snowballs. With all the images of perfect sugar cookies out there, there has to be a trick to keep this from happening, right? There certainly is, and it all has to do with the type of fat you use (and how you treat it) in your sugar cookie dough. The Takeout reached out to Chef Sofia Schlieben, the corporate pastry chef for JF Restaurants in New York, to see how this baker of beautiful things keeps her sugar cookies in perfect shape.

"The fat in butter helps cookies spread as it melts," she said. "That's why re-chilling cut-out sugar cookies before baking is a crucial step — it solidifies the fat, allowing the cookies to hold their shape better [...] preventing excessive spreading during baking."

Most sugar cookie recipes instruct the baker to chill the dough after it's mixed but before it's rolled out. Schlieben is suggesting to chill the cookies a second time, once the shapes are cut out from the dough. This means that, if you want perfectly shaped cookies, it's important to allow yourself enough time for two chilling periods. However, if you're short on time, there is a fast fix that will keep your cookies from spreading too much during baking.

Classic sugar cookies require minimal ingredients, including butter, granulated sugar (powdered sugar should not be used to make sugar cookies), vanilla, flour, and eggs. Chef Sofia Schlieben added that, when it comes to keeping the shapes of sugar cookies intact, there are other fats you can use besides butter. She said, "Pure fats like coconut oil or shortening can help sugar cookies keep their shape while baking. This is because the lack of water in these fats means there is no steam created to expand the dough, unlike butter, which has water content that steams and causes expansion." If you happen to be out of Crisco or coconut oil (which is a great shortening substitute for vegan bakes), reach for any fat that stays solid at room temperature.

But, as far as flavor goes, she believes you can't beat butter. "I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to sugar cookies and prefer using 100% butter," she said. "Butter gives the cookies a rich flavor and desirable texture, which is why I stick with it for my cut-out sugar cookies." Schlieben also suggested a mix of fats for those want to balance both the shape of the cookie and its flavor, saying, "A blend of both butter and coconut oil can be a good combo for sugar cookies, as it offers a balance between flavor and structure. I wouldn't recommend using more than a 50/50 ratio of coconut oil or shortening to butter, as it could affect the texture."