Help! I made my first batch of no fail sugar cookies so that I could make a cookie bouquet for my mom (late mother's day gift) and it went horribly wrong.

I followed the recipe correctly.
Then I took the dough out from my KA mixer and kneaded it.
As I was kneading it, it just kept falling apart and crumbling.
I let it sit in the fridge for 2 hours (wrapped in saran)

I took it out and tried to roll it out... NO LUCK... it all just kept breaking apart and crumbling.

I managed to get a couple cookies cut. Put them on the cookie sheet and baked for 8-10 minutes.

I took them out. Waited. The cookies tasted HORRIBLE and were hard as a rock!...

This was my first time. So I wasn't even sure what to look for or what I was looking for! I didn't even get a chance to ice them, that's how bad they were.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

I haven't tried them either. I'm eyeing the recipes on Karenscookies.com They all look SO good. Maybe one of these will work for you.

When I first tried NFSC, I failed, as well. However, I found it is a great recipe now that I know how to make it work for me. I mix in KA, then pull it out and slightly knead (just to get the bottom scrapings of bowl incorporated), I then triple wrap in plastic wrap. I then place in fridge for a few hours. The dough is "hard as a rock." I slice off a small amount and knead in my hands for not even a minute. The heat of my hands makes the dough the perfect consistency-I then roll out to about 1/4" -1/2" (depending on what I'm designing) and cut. I bake on parchment paper for 7 minutes for one tray 9 minutes for two (my convection oven~your times may differ). I then let cool for a couple of minutes and then move to a cooling rack. Cookies always turned out great once I did this method...Cookies haven't failed me since...HTH.

Sometimes, depending on the humidity and such, I add a bit of water while it is mixing if it is too crumbly. Also, it seems to go through a crumbly stage and if you keep mixing a bit longer, it seems to magically come together.

Sorry this happened--it really is a nice recipe(if it works). I also add a bit of lemon zest to give it a bit more flavor.

Hi There:
I make the No Fail Cookies most of the time, but I have altered the recipe from 6 cups of flour to 7 cups, and that seem to make the trick. When I made them the first time, the dough was very sticky, so with more flour the problem was fixed.
Hopefully it will also work for you.
Greetings
Rosita Fresita

Hi There:
I make the No Fail Cookies most of the time, but I have altered the recipe from 6 cups of flour to 7 cups, and that seem to make the trick. When I made them the first time, the dough was very sticky, so with more flour the problem was fixed.
Hopefully it will also work for you.
Greetings
Rosita Fresita

If you add the flour all at one time it tends to be crumbly. Be sure to add the flour a cup at a time. That might help.

As far as taste goes, do you use vanilla? Or did you use almond? I think two teaspoons of almond is way too overpowering. If you want to use the almond, I'd go 2 1/2 vanilla with 1/2 almond. That's my personal preference. You might like almond more than me.

How thick did you roll your cookies? I roll mine 3/8" and bake for about 11 minutes. Tiniest bit of browning around the edges and firm but not crunchy or hard. HTH!

And I only add 2 tsp. of baking powder, not 3.

I think that a lot of the problems may be due to one of two things: butter that isn't soft enought or too much flour. One person I spoke with was scooping their flour out the their cannister with the measuring cup and then leveling it. That will result in way too much flour. Lightly spooning the flour into the cup and leveling--or better yet weighing to get the correct amount of flour--seems to be the right way to go.

I always weight the flour, and have never had any problems with dry or crumbly NFSC.

HTH

I think adding the flour a little at a time will help. DON"T refrigerate it before you roll it flat!! I roll it immediately after getting it out of the mixer- I just lay parchmant on top so my roller doesn't stick. I do one glob at a time- and then stack all of the flat rolled out "sheets" of dough and put them in the fridge to set up- then pull them out and cut as I go- and throw them in the oven. I also do 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp almond 1/2 tsp orange. It is a refreshing mix. I really don't think they're good by themselves- the icing is what does the magic!! Don't give up!!!