AI have been working for months to perfect my sugar cookie recipe to get it to not spread, and finally yesterday i made the absolute perfect cooie, there was no spreading, the consistancy was perfect and the flavor was outstanding. Today, i repeated this process including chilling the cut cookies a few minutes prior to baking. The oven was at the same temperature, everything! The only thing that was different this time was that i put more cookies on the tray closer together, now all of the sudden we were back to them spreading all over the place. I noticed that one of the last trays I made had about half the amount of cookies on it and there was absolutely NO spreading. Would having a packed tray of cut out cookies really cause these to spread? I have googled but haven't found anything. I'm just really wondering if that is what caused them to spread and was hoping that someone out there might be able to shed some light. And as a side note, I do omit the baking powder as I know that was causing a lot of spreading in the beginning.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

AI'm not sure why yours are spreading but I use the No Fail Sugar Cookie recipe from this site and I have never had a problem with spreading - it is really the best recipe!

Did you make a full batch each time? Not all recipes will give you the same if you half everything. I too use the NFSC cookie recipe on here, but when I half it I have to add more flour and it turns out it's exactly the same recipe that Dominos puts on their sugar packages. So if you halved the recipe, you may need a bit more flour. And by the way, I chill my cookies for 15 minutes before baking or they don't survive the my heat/humidity very well.

Sometimes I wonder if the NFSC cookie recipe came about because the Dominos recipe doesn't double well.

I also half the recipe for NFSC but I do not add any more flour than it calls for, I find that after I chill it and roll it in a ball - the warmth of my hands makes it come together and they turn out great!

A[SIZE=4][/SIZE]I use the NFSC also but I cut the baking powder to 2 tsp. instead of 3 tsp. seems to help with the spreading.

AThank you I will try :)

YES!!!! Overcrowding your baking tray will cause your cookies to spread EVERY TIME!!! Even if you have the best recipe in the entire world! Which...it sounds like you've found! Congratulations. :)

I had also tried a ton of sugar cookie recipes! This has been my "go to" sugar cookie recipe for years! I love the taste, shape, ease, & texture of it. I DO chill the dough over night & re-chill after cutting out my shapes. It has never failed me & i can usually re-roll the dough several times with no texture issues!

• 1, 1/2 cups butter, softened

• 2 cups white sugar

• 4 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 5 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-rolled-sugar-cookies/

I also add an *additional* 1 tsp vanilla & 1 tsp almond extract or 1 tsp lemon extract.

HTH

I find my cookies both sugar and others spread if the pans do not cool fully in between cycles.  Even if the dough is chilled a warm cookie sheet will  start the warming and spread your cookies before they even start to bake.  During the marathon Christmas cookie sessions we have 2 sets of cookie sheets in use and cool 1 set on the deck table while the others are in the oven.