As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. In addition, I participate in several other affiliate programs that allow me to earn while I recommend products I love.
Sometimes, you’re in the middle of making cookie dough and realize that it’s way too sticky!
How do you fix wet cookie dough?
In this guide, we’ll go over all of the basics on how to make cookie dough less sticky, how to fix wet cookie dough, and if your cookie dough should be sticky at all (a little bit, yes).
Cookie dough, particularly if it’s for “drop” cookies like chocolate chip cookies can actually be a little sticky and that’s completely fine and normal.
These types of cookies are meant to be scooped out and not cut out, which means you don’t have to be as accurate and part of the fun is licking the cookie dough off of your fingers afterward.
But sometimes, you’ll be making a cookie recipe like cut-out cookies that need to be rolled out, and in that case, sticky cookie dough is a no go.
You’ll have a complete mess on your hands, as the dough won’t roll out and it will end in baking disaster.
What do you do to fix the wet and cookie dough in that case, then?
Here are some of our best tips!
Our Favorite Quirky Kitchen Gadgets
- Select-A-Spice Auto-Measure Carousel – Get your exact spice amount without measuring spoons with this spice carousel. Simply twist the dial for a perfect 1/4 teaspoon measurement!
- Silicone Utensil Rest with Drip Pad – This utensil rest keeps my countertops neat & drip-free!
- Snap N Strain Pot Strainer and Pasta Strainer – I love this strainer because it fits on all pots and pans while also being compact and easy to use!
- Herb Scissors Set – I use these scissors to cut and mince fresh herbs directly into any dish without the tedious work of cutting each herb or dirtying up a cutting board.
- Knife Sharpener – I love how quirky and nifty this rhino shaped knife sharpener is. It definitely puts the FUN in functional!
1. Refrigerate the Dough
You know how many cookie recipes ask you to chill the dough, and you’re like “but that’s boring!”
Yeah, that can be an essential part of making sure you don’t have sticky cookie dough!
Part of the reason why your dough is sticky is because the butter in the dough is soft.
Chill the dough and suddenly your butter turns cold and will stop sticking to your hands.
You only have to do 30 minutes to an hour or so to get some results, but for best results, you can cover your dough with plastic wrap and leave it overnight before baking the next day.
2. Roll into Balls and Coat in Powdered Sugar Before Baking
One baking hack is to actually coat the balls of dough in powdered sugar to help get rid of that stickiness.
This will make it much easier to handle, but should only be used to fix cookies where this would make sense, like crinkle cookies, chocolate cookies, or even cake mix cookies.
Chocolate chip cookies don’t need powdered sugar on them, and it would just look weird.
3. Add More Flour
One of the most common reasons why your cookie dough is sticky is actually because there’s not enough flour.
This is really the first thing we’d recommend trying.
Add just one tablespoon at a time, and then mix completely so you can tell what the results are.
If it’s still too sticky to roll out, then add another tablespoon and mix again.
If you add too much flour, your cookies will be dry and tasteless.
You also need to remember, again, that certain doughs like for “drop cookies” do not need to be completely easy to handle.
It shouldn’t be so sticky that you can’t form them into some semblance of spheres, but it doesn’t need to be as smooth as dough that you need to cut-out.
Flour works in a dough to soak up those wet ingredients, making your dough less sticky.
4. Use a Spoon or Ice Cream Scoop to Get the Dough on the Tray
Often, sticky cookie dough will bake just fine, but the struggle is actually getting it onto the baking sheet.
Instead of using your hands, which are going to melt the butter in the dough more as you roll it, use a dedicated cookie scoop or even an ice cream scoop or basic spoon to get the dough onto the baking tray.
5. Add Cornstarch
Cornstarch is an interesting way to fix your sticky cookie dough, as it will also make your cookies soft so many bakers view this as the ultimate baking win.
Add a teaspoon at a time, and then mix completely to see what the results are.
You don’t want to add more than two teaspoons or so, so don’t keep adding it to try and get your sticky cookie dough to go dry, but if you have just a bit more stickiness than you like and don’t want to add more all-purpose flour, try cornstarch!
Hey! Want more expert cookie baking hacks? Check these out!
- Exactly how long homemade cookies last
- Can you bake cookies on aluminum foil?
- 7 easy ways to soften hard cookies
- Oops! Burned cookies! Here are 9 ways to fix them
- Help! My cookie dough is crumbly!
- Why are my cookies burnt on the bottom?
- How long does cookie dough last?
- Tips on Making Your Cookies Chewier
- How to avoid cakey cookies
- Exactly how to freeze cookie dough
- How long should you chill cookie dough?
- Tips on Making your Cookies Super Moist
- What to do if you put too much butter in your cookie dough
- How to bake frozen cookie dough
- Expert cookie storage tips
- Using salted or unsalted butter in cookies
- Help! How to make cookies without butter
- Help! How to make cookies without vanilla extract
- How to make cookies without brown sugar
- Can you use cake flour in cookies?
- Help! I have no eggs for my cookies!
- Can you make cookies without baking soda?
- Can you make cookies without bread flour?
- How to make puffy cookies
- How to make cookies without baking powder
