Do you often end up with cookies that come out of the oven too thick and cakey? Are you trying to make crispy chocolate chip cookies or peanut butter cookies and end up with a cakey cookie every time? Don’t worry; you are not alone. Tons of cookies end up that way for a variety of reasons.
The most common reasons for cakey cookies are mismeasured ingredients, hard butter, cold cake batter, and too much mixing.
Sometimes sticking to the recipe isn’t always the best advice when baking. If your cookies are coming out too fluffy, it’s time to switch things up.
What Makes Cookies Too Cakey?
Are you tired of your cookies coming out with a cakey texture? Here are a few great methods for how to make cookies more chewy.
Be Careful with Your Mixing: Don’t Overbeat the Ingredients
Most of the time, people under-beat the batter, causing the cookie dough to go flat, but not many consider the dangers of doing the opposite.
Overbeating your cookie dough, especially the sugar and butter, can cause the batter to fill with air pockets, leading to a cakey cookie.
How to fix cakey cookies caused by over-beating: When mixing your cookie recipe, stir it just enough to mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Refrain from whipping it until it becomes thin.
Hard Butter: Go Melted, Not Room Temp
Many of the most common cookie troubles out there have a lot to do with butter. In this case, your butter might be too hard.
While most cases reflect issues arising from butter that is too soft, cakey cookie batters might need extra soft or even melted butter to correct the texture and make the perfect cookie.
How to fix cakey cookies caused by hard butter: Instead of using room temperature butter, place it in the microwave for a few seconds to start melting.
Too Much Baking Powder: Take it Down a Notch
You can’t keep the baking powder out of the cookie recipe altogether, or your cookies will go completely flat. However, if your batter seems to create cakey cookies, reducing the amount of baking powder you use is an excellent way to even it out.
How to fix cakey cookies caused by too much baking powder: Reduce the baking powder by ¼ tsp in your next batch; if it is still too cakey, eliminate a little more.
Too Much Flour: Less Flour Can Lead to Chewier Cookies
Like the baking powder, too much flour can create a cakey texture in cookie dough recipes. If you struggle to keep your cookies from becoming too fluffy and thick, consider reducing the amount of flour you put into the mix for chewy cookies.
How to fix cakey cookies caused by too much flour: Reduce the amount of flour in your recipe by ¼ cup. If there is still too much fluff, take away another ¼ cup.
Keep Your Cookie Dough at Room Temperature: Avoid Refrigerating
If you always get flat cookies, placing the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours is a great way to fluff them up, whether you’re making your favorite sugar cookie or chocolate chip cookie recipe. If your cookies come out too cakey, avoid the fridge. The cold dough tends to keep the batter firm, so it is less likely for it to spread out enough to be a thinner shape.
How to fix cakey cookies caused by cold dough: Keep your dough at room temperature. If you have store-bought dough, take it out of the freezer and let it sit for a few hours before baking.
Too Many Eggs: Just Add the Egg Yolk
If you ever had scrambled eggs, you already know how fluffy they can get. While this fluff is perfect for a breakfast meal with toast, it isn’t practical when you want chewy cookies that are not cakey.
For dense, thin baked cookies without the cakey texture, eliminate some of the eggs called for in the recipe.
How to fix cakey cookies caused by too many eggs– Reduce the number of eggs you use by ¼ to ½. Consider leaving out the egg whites and using only the egg yolk if the recipe only calls for one egg.
How to Fix Cakey Cookies: At a Glance
Here is a quick recap of all the ways you can fix cakey cookies. (Plus, a few bonus tips and tricks not mentioned above.)
| Add more baking powder. |
| Reduce the flour you use. |
| Keep the cookie dough at room temperature. |
| Use butter, not shortening. Shortening is notorious for making homemade cookies fluffy. |
| Reduce the amount of egg. |
| Add a little baking soda; baking soda makes cookie dough dense and flat. |
| Use melted butter. |
| Never overbeat the batter. |
| Eliminate air pockets in the dough. You can do this by dropping the baking sheet on the table after removing the baked cookies from the oven. |
Summing Things Up
Don’t get frustrated if your cookies come out cakey all too often. Instead, take a quick look at the tips listed above to get an idea of how to tweak your recipe and get the chewier cookie texture you desire.
