Hi!
I just made the chocolate sugar cookie recipe from "Confetti Cakes". While they're super yummy, I had problems with the cookies spreading way too much during baking. Square cookies turned practically into circles, snowmen turned into unidentifiable blobs. I thought maybe I hadn't used enough flour, but I followed the recipe exactly, even weighed my ingredients. Anyone familiar with this recipe and/or have any tips as to what might prevent the spreading?
thanks!
... I just made the chocolate sugar cookie recipe from "Confetti Cakes" ...!
I know this doesn't exactly help you, but there were some problems with her cookie recipes. I don't remember which ones. There was a correction on her website at one time -- I just looked and couldn't find it. She has another book coming out and I'm a little leery of spending the money.
(Again, I know this doesn't help you now...) Here is a chocolate cookie recipe that works very well and is quite popular.
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-6959-Dark-Chocolate-Rolled-Sugar-Cookies.html
Thanks so much for your help Honeydukes and peg818! She does suggest refrigerating the chocolate cookies before baking and I tried that, but I'll try freezing them too, maybe that'll work better. And will definitely try the recipe in the link you posted Honeydukes. Thanks again!!!
I view a recipe as just a suggestion ..... I'm always telling my girls (they're 15 and 16), 'If the batter is too sticky, add more flour. If the batter is too stiff, add a Tbsp or so of water." Eventually, you can tell if the dough is "right" or not and you need to adjust as needed.
Following the recipe "exactly" doesn't always work.
Cookies made with butter will spread more than cookies made with shortening.
Thanks Mike1394 and indydebi for the tips! I had a feeling something was off, and I'll try to adjust it to make it work. I like to think though that if a recipe is published in a book (a baking recipe that is, since I know in cooking there's less need to be precise) it should be tested enough so that if you follow it exactly, it'll turn out the way it says it should. 
I hope to become confident enough in my baking to recognize when something needs to be adjusted - working towards that!
Thanks Mike1394 and indydebi for the tips! I had a feeling something was off, and I'll try to adjust it to make it work. I like to think though that if a recipe is published in a book (a baking recipe that is, since I know in cooking there's less need to be precise) it should be tested enough so that if you follow it exactly, it'll turn out the way it says it should.
I hope to become confident enough in my baking to recognize when something needs to be adjusted - working towards that!
Flour can change from one day to the next. It will certainly change from bag to bag. I bake a lot of bread. Due to the humidity, the grinding of the flour, the type of flour, the season, and part of the world it was harvested from all make a difference. Trying to figure out what flour will do will drive you nuts though LOLOL. You'll be comfortable enough to know when to add more flour, or moisture.
Mike
here is an awesome chocolate cut out cookie recipe along with a photo of some cookies I did with it......I used the same cutter for the cookies and the chocolate clay and you can see there's barely much of a difference in size or shape....these cookies rock at holding their shape and they taste like a fudgy brownie!!! yummmmm
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Cut-Out-Cookies/Detail.aspx
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