How To Fix Cookie Dough That’s Too Wet
Quick Answer
The easiest way to fix wet cookie dough is to add more dry ingredients such as flour or cornstarch to thicken it. If the dough is runny, try adding one tablespoon of flour at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Alternatively, chill or slightly heat the dough to help it firm up.
Read on for more detail
Do you ever make cookie dough only to find that it’s too wet and sticky to work with? Luckily, there are a few ways to fix that.
How to fix cookie dough that’s too wet? The easiest way is to add more dry ingredients like flour or cornstarch to make the dough thicker. However, if you follow the recipe perfectly and the dough is still too wet, you may need to cool or heat the dough to make it thicker.
In this post, we’ll share a few ways to make your cookie dough more manageable. So if you’re having trouble getting your cookies just right, give one of these methods a try!
1. Follow The Recipe
Recipes are recipes for a reason! They have perfected the way to make cookies, so following the recipe to the letter is the best way to get the perfect cookie.
However, sometimes, following the recipe is inconvenient.
For example, some recipes call for room-temperature butter, but you forget to leave the butter out before baking. So, you melt the butter in the microwave to make it easier to mix.
Unfortunately, this is a great way to mess up the recipe and get cookie dough that’s too wet.
Similarly, some recipes call for room-temperature eggs because room-temperature eggs mix better and will increase more in volume when you are ready to mix them.
That’s why it’s important to follow the recipe closely! If the recipe calls for room-temperature eggs and butter, simply leave them on the counter for about an hour before baking to get the perfect consistency for mixing.
2. Add Flour
Wet and runny cookie dough is a clear sign that the ratio between wet and dry ingredients is off; there may be too much liquid compared to dry ingredients, so you may need to add a bit more flour to the mix to fix the ratio.
If you can still pick up the dough and form a ball, you don’t actually need to add too much flour. Instead, simply dust your palm with flour while you form the cookies, and they should become solid enough to bake.
However, if the dough is so wet and runny that you can’t pick it up at all, then you will need to add more dry ingredients. You don’t want the dough to be too dry, so don’t try to mix too much flour into the dough at once.
Instead, add one tablespoon of flour at a time, then mix it well into the dough. Repeat this step until the dough is thick enough to form individual cookies.
3. Add More Dry Ingredients
If you add a lot of flour, you will need to add other dry ingredients as well so that the ratio isn’t completely thrown off.
For example, if you add a lot of flour, you’ll have to add more baking soda to the mix so that the cookies will enjoy enough rise when it’s baked.
Some cookie recipes also call for other dry ingredients, such as sugar, oats, cocoa powder, coconut powder, etc.
If the cookie dough is too runny, you can add other dry ingredients to the mix, along with the flour, to maintain the right ratio that the recipe intended.
You can alternate between flour and other dry ingredients when adding them to the dough so that the desired consistency and texture are maintained.
For example, for every tablespoon of flour, add one tablespoon of oats to maintain the cookies’ chewy texture.
4. Add Cornstarch
Cornstarch is a thickening agent, so it is the perfect way to thicken your cookie dough without having to tweak the proportions in the recipe.
When adding cornstarch, a little bit will go a long way — you shouldn’t add too much cornstarch to the mix unless you want the cookies to turn out super chewy.
Instead, you can add half a tablespoon of cornstarch at a time and mix well into the dough. Repeat until the dough gains the right consistency.
5. Double The Recipe
The recipe always knows best, so following the recipe is a great way to ensure that you always get the perfect cookie dough consistency.
However, it’s quite easy to make mistakes and measure the wrong amount when you try to follow a recipe! If you accidentally measure too much milk or butter, the result may be a dough that’s too wet and runny.
If the measurements are off, the simplest way to fix it and get a guaranteed result is to adjust all of the other ingredients in the recipe to get the right ratio.
Simply double the recipe when you measure everything else, and you should get the perfect cookie dough consistency. You can always freeze any leftover dough!
6. Chill The Dough
Some ingredients in your cookie dough can be sensitive to the surrounding temperature. If you have butter or coconut oil, and the texture is too runny, chances are the temperature is too high for these ingredients to thicken.
This can be a problem if you try to make cookie dough during the summertime and the room temperature is simply too high for the dough to thicken.
Overmixing the dough can also cause these ingredients to heat up, which will make the consistency too wet.
There are a few ways to fix this. If the room temperature is too high, you should turn on the fan or the air conditioning to create the ideal environment for the ingredients.
If you accidentally use melted butter instead of room-temperature butter and end up with runny dough, simply place the entire mix in the refrigerator for a few hours to allow the ingredient to thicken.
Ingredients like butter or coconut oil will become solid when they are cooled down, so you should get a thicker dough after the mix has been in the fridge for a few hours.
7. Heat The Dough
The last-resort option to adjust the consistency of the dough is to let the wet ingredients evaporate from the dough, which will dry it out and allow the dough to thicken.
The fastest way to do this is to heat the dough in the oven to let the wet ingredients evaporate.
This method will take much longer than the chilling method, and you can also accidentally cook the dough if you set the heat too high.
It’s also difficult to control the consistency of the dough using this method, and the texture may not turn out the way that you want if the dough becomes too dry — you may end up with crumbly and brittle cookies.
To dry your cookie dough, set your oven to the lowest heat setting (around 120°F). Then, spread your cookie dough out on a heat-safe pan, and place it in the oven.
Check on the dough every 15 minutes and mix it up to prevent the dough from overdrying or overcooking.
After about one hour, the dry ingredients will have enough time to evaporate, and your cookie dough should be dry enough to form individual cookies.
Related Questions
Now that we’ve learned a variety of ways to fix wet cookie dough, here are some additional questions that we thought you might have.
What is the perfect consistency of cookie dough?
The perfect cookie dough consistency really depends on the recipe. Some recipes call for a stiff, thick dough, while some other cookie dough can be runnier.
You should check the suggestion of the recipe to see if you have achieved the right consistency.
However, most recipes suggest that the dough should not be too wet since you won’t be able to pick it up and form individual cookies.
It also shouldn’t be too stiff or too tough to mix — this is a sign of too many dry ingredients, and your cookies will turn out dry and brittle.
If your cookie dough is too sticky or too gummy, you should coat your palm with a bit of flour while forming the balls so that they don’t stick to your palm, which will make them easier to shape.
Can you overmix cookie dough?
It’s very easy to overmix your cookie dough! Overmixing can cause all kinds of problems, like causing your wet ingredients to overheat and become too runny. Overmixing can also dry out the dough, which can result in crumbly cookies.
If you find that the dough becomes too dry due to overmixing, add one tablespoon of butter or milk to the mixture, and only mix until the mixture is well combined.
The addition of more wet ingredients will prevent the dough from drying out further and create the right cookie dough consistency for baking.
What is the perfect shape to bake cookie dough?
When you are ready to bake, it’s time to shape each cookie and bake them!
Some recipes say that you can just form small balls of dough, and the cookies will automatically flatten as they bake.
In this case, you can just use an ice cream scoop to create small balls on the baking sheet and let the oven form the perfect cookie.
However, if you have added too many dry ingredients to the dough, sometimes the cookies won’t spread on their own.
In that case, you will need to use a spoon to flatten them on the baking sheet to create the perfect cookie shape.
