ISO: Sugar cookie help!

[Shirley Panek]

Hi, all!

I'm making sugar cookies (the kind you cut out) with my 3-year-old, and am having a problem with the dough being much too soft. I followed the recipe (not CL), but it seems to warm up too fast, and stick to the rolling pin.


Now, I have a marble pin, so I put it in the fridge (for the second batch - I didn't think of it in time for the first). I also heard a hint to roll the dough on the cookie sheet and pull off the extra so you don't have to transfer the dough (another problem I have!). Maybe it just takes years of practice, but I'd love some advice!

Thanks.


Shirley

[tammy/MN]

did you try putting the dough in the frig or freezer? sometimes that helps

[SandyM]

Any sugar cookie recipe I have requires that the dough be refrigerated 3-4 hours, or overnight, prior to rolling out.

[Shirley Panek]

Tammy -

Yes I did. Thanks for asking. I forgot to mention that. It just seemed like when I took it out that it would be fine for rolling, but as soon as I did it stuck to the pin. Now, as I said, I have a marble pin, so I put it in the fridge as well. I haven't made the 2nd batch yet, thought I'd get some advice from some sugar cookie experts!

I used a flour/sugar combination (I read a tip that it might not make the cookies so tough) to help roll, but I didn't use a lot. Maybe I just need to use more flour when rolling, and not worry about them being a little tough. (As if my son could tell!)


Shirley

[lindrusso]

Shirley,

Maybe if you post the recipe, someone might be able to spot a problem? Usually the stickiness is due to not chilling enough, but that doesn't seem to be your problem. Maybe it's the recipe?? I hate it when dough is hard to work with! I am usually pretty liberal with the flour, so that might help as well. Hope they turn out!

[SHERRY]

I use powdered sugar to help with sticking with sugar cookies. IT also gives a sweet flavor without making cookie tough. I also use a silpat mat. They sell them at William Sonoma. It is great for rolling out dough, cut and leave shape on mat then slide mat onto cookie sheet and bake. The mat keeps the cookies from burning also. It is wonderful for any delicate pastry. I love it. I bought mine from the NY Baking Company. They have an incredible catalogue. Everything a baker could dream of.

[sneezles]

Shirley
I'm posting the recipe that I have used for years, I thought it might help for comparison. You can use cookie cutters instead of the biscuit cutter. I roll it out to 1/4" thickness, we like thick cookies. I have doubled the recipe and kept it in the fridge up to 4 days.

CookWare(tm) from Cooking Light(r)

Old-Fashioned Teacakes

SOURCE: Southern Living YEAR: November PAGE: 15tx

INGREDIENTS FOR 48 SERVINGS:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 tbs buttermilk
3 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
additional sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:
Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time,
beating well after each addition. Add buttermilk, and beat well. Combine flour
adn soda; gradually stir into creamed mixture. Stir in vanilla. Chill dough
several hours or overnight.

Roll dough to 1/4" thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut into rounds
with a 3 1/2" cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on lightly greased cookie sheet;
sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400º for 7-8 minutes or until edges are lightly
browned. Remove cookies to wire rack and let cool completely. Yield: 4 dozen.

[Mamasue]

Shirley...as a few ladies here mentioned, your dough should be chilled. I chill mine at least overnight. You should also take in consideration the temperature of your kitchen...is it too hot. When I make rolled cookie dough, I divide into small rounds so that I am not rolling out a huge amount of dough at a time. Reason is that the dough gets warm after a short time and thus too soft which makes the dough stick to roller and surface; cutting them out when dough gets warm causes them to stretch. Then I gather the scraps and form a ball and rechill as I take out another small round to roll. Don't be discouraged, it may take some practice. I can remember when I first started making pie crust and had a difficult time on one occasion and the next time I had no problem. My mother asked me (pardon me Ed and Ralph) if I was menstruating.... .....she said that your body maintains more heat and thus your hands tend to be warmer than normal. And Gail..Natasha.....I am not sipping on the bottle!!! Hope this helps.

[maccmedia]

I have a few different rolling pins. I never use the marble one for rolling out cookie dough. No matter what I do it seems to stick so I gave this up a while ago and use a wooden one with chilled dough. The other trick I have been using lately is to use a Silpat baking mat to roll the dough out on and then remove the background leaving the cookie. This works well with more intricate cookie cuttters that break more when rolled really thin and you have to pick up to move. The Silpat mats are not cheap but I use mine for baking cookies, biscotti, breads and more. Never have to grease a pan!