• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Always Eat Dessert
  • Recipes
  • Baking Tips
  • About
    • Contact
  • Work with Me
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Baking Tips
  • About
  • Work with Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Baking Tips
    • About
    • Work with Me
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Baking Tips & Tricks

    Tips for Baking Picture-Perfect Cookies

    Published: Jun 17, 2020 by Allison Ferraro · Modified: Aug 23, 2021 · Leave a Comment

    Impress your friends and family with homemade cookies that look as good as they taste with these tips for baking picture-perfect cookies!

    angled view of a salted chocolate chip cookie this Recipe
    Jump to:
    • Ground Rules
    • Scoop & Drop Cookie Recipes
    • Tip #1: Use a Cookie Scoop to Portion Cookie Dough
    • Tip #2: Space Cookie Dough Properly on Baking Sheet
    • Tip #3: Swirl Baked Cookies Inside a Cookie Cutter
    • Tip #4: Add Extra Mix-Ins onto the Cookies
    • More Baking Tips
    • Comments

    I'm a firm believer that taste trumps appearance when it comes to dessert. A beautiful cake or a show-stopping pie is great, but if it doesn't taste good then what's the point? But luckily, when it comes to cookies, we don't have to choose! These are my top tips for baking picture-perfect cookies, so that your cookies can look as good as they taste.

    Ground Rules

    This post focuses on how to bake pretty cookies, but of course there are important cookie baking tips to know if you want to bake the most perfectly delicious cookies. Most importantly: follow the recipe as it's written. One more time for the people in the back: follow the recipe as it's written. This means use room temperature butter, if the recipe says to. Measure your ingredients properly. If the recipe says to chill the cookie dough before baking, then chill the cookie dough before baking. All of the recipe's ingredients, steps, notes, and little details are there for a reason, and making any changes will change the outcome of your cookies. If you're an experienced baker and feel comfortable adapting recipes to suit your preferences then have at it! But for bakers of all skill levels, know that any tweaks to the recipe (even seemingly minor tweaks) will change the outcome of the recipe.

    Also important to note... the tips I'm sharing here are designed for scoop/drop cookies (like chocolate chip cookies), as opposed to slice-and-bake or roll-and-cut cookies. If you're on the hunt for some exceptional cookie recipes to try, here are some of my favorite scoop/drop cookie recipes...

    Scoop & Drop Cookie Recipes

    • angled view of a chewy chocolate chip cookie with a bite missing
      Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • close-up overhead view of snickerdoodle cookies stacked on a white plate
      Chewy Chai Snickerdoodles
    • Molasses cookies with crinkle tops stacked on top of each other.
      Old-Fashioned Molasses Crinkle Cookies
    • side view of blueberry cookies with streusel topping stacked on a white background
      Blueberry Cookies with Streusel Topping

    Tip #1: Use a Cookie Scoop to Portion Cookie Dough

    Using a cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough into balls before baking ensures that your cookie dough balls are evenly portioned. This is ideal for two reasons. First, uniformly sized cookies look pretty, and they stack neatly. And second, uniformly sized cookies will also bake more evenly in the oven, so you'll avoid over-baking smaller cookies while larger cookies on the tray finish baking. I love this oxo cookie scoop, which is available in three sizes.

    overhead view of cookie dough balls and a cookie scoop on a baking sheet

    Tip #2: Space Cookie Dough Properly on Baking Sheet

    Be sure to leave enough space between the balls of cookie dough on the baking sheet and also alternate the rows. This allows hot air to move around the cookies as they bake, allowing them to bake properly and evenly and avoids cookies spreading into one another.

    overhead view of cookie dough balls on a baking sheet

    Tip #3: Swirl Baked Cookies Inside a Cookie Cutter

    For perfectly round cookies, place a circular cookie cutter that's a bit larger than the size of the cookies over each cookie and swirl it around to shape the cookie into a perfect circle. This has to be done immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, while the cookies are still hot and pliable. (Be very careful not to burn yourself; I recommend holding the baking sheet with one oven-mitted hand while using the cookie cutter with your other hand.) Bonus: this helps to save cookies that may have spread too much in the oven, so that they'll stay thick and chewy. (I love this round cookie cutter set for shaping just-baked cookies. With 11 sizes, it always has just the right size cookie cutter for this purpose.)

    I first came across this tip when Erin from Cloudy Kitchen shared it on Instagram. She calls it "cookie scooting", and it's completely genius!

    overhead view of baked chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet with a hand holding a round cookie cutter
    overhead view of baked chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet
    Before
    overhead view of perfectly round baked chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet
    After

    Tip #4: Add Extra Mix-Ins onto the Cookies

    For chocolate chip cookies and other cookies that include mix-ins (like toffee, sprinkles, or raisins), reserve some of the mix-ins and press them onto the tops of the cookies immediately after baking and swirling them (see tip #3). This must be done quickly after removing the cookies from the oven, when they're still soft enough that the mix-ins can be pressed into the warm cookies, and will ensure that those beautiful mix-ins are front and center, rather than hidden within the dough. Be careful not to burn yourself, since the cookies and baking sheet will still be hot from the oven.

    overhead view of chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet with a hand adding chocolate chips on top of a cookie
    overhead view of perfectly round baked chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet
    Before
    overhead view of pretty chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet
    After

    Love this baking tutorial? Please leave a star rating and check out these other great baking tips linked above! And don't forget to subscribe to Always Eat Dessert for even more baking tips and simple dessert recipes.

    More Baking Tips

    Love these tips for baking picture-perfect cookies? Check out these other cookie baking tips!

    • Overhead view of cookie dough balls on a baking sheet.
      How to Freeze Cookie Dough & Cookies
    • How to Cream Butter and Sugar
    • A thin, flat chocolate chip cookie on a gray surface.
      How to Fix Flat Cookies
    • Baking ingredients in measuring cups and spoons on a white surface.
      How to Measure Ingredients for Baking

    More Baking Tips & Tricks

    • Sliced brownies scattered on a crinkled piece of parchment paper.
      How to Store Brownies & Keep Them Fresh
    • Toddler hand reaching for a brownie.
      Baking with Toddlers: Tips & Recipes
    • Box grater and peeled carrot on a wooden cutting board.
      How to Grate Carrots for Carrot Cake
    • melted white chocolate in a double boiler
      How to Melt White Chocolate (Chips, Bars & Wafers)

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Allison Ferraro headshot

    Hi there!

    I'm Allison, the cookie-obsessed baker, recipe creator, and food photographer behind Always Eat Dessert.

    Here you’ll find made-from-scratch recipes designed for busy people who love to bake. From cookies to quick breads, you'll discover detailed, easy-to-follow recipes for everyday life along with practical baking tips to help you whip up indulgent treats from scratch with confidence.

    Get to know Allison →

    Berry Season Recipes

    • Stack of mini muffins on a metal plate.
      Mini Blueberry Muffins
    • Mini fruit tarts topped with blueberry and a basil sprig on a white surface.
      Mini Fruit Tarts with No-Bake Cheesecake Filling
    • side view of a slice of pound cake topped with sliced strawberries and whipped cream
      Grilled Strawberry Shortcake
    • Close up view of cake garnished with fresh blueberries and lemon slices.
      Blueberry Lemon Snack Cake

    Summer Dessert Recipes

    • sliced peanut butter cup stacked on a pewter plate
      S'mores Peanut Butter Cups
    • side view of a slice of pound cake topped with sliced strawberries and whipped cream
      Grilled Strawberry Shortcake
    • Classic Lemon Bars
    • overhead view of a slice of icebox cake on a white plate
      Chocolate Peanut Butter Oreo Icebox Cake

    Summer Dessert Recipes

    • overhead view of sliced brownies with one turned sideways with the mint and chocolate layers visible
      Chocolate Mint Creme de Menthe Brownies
    • overhead view of pizza buns
      Homemade Pizza Buns
    • Side view of frosted cupcakes on a blue speckled background.
      Small Batch Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
    • Side view of biscuits stacked on a white speckled plate with a blue background.
      Quick & Easy Buttermilk Biscuits (Small Batch)

    Reader Favorites

    • overhead view of sliced brownies with one turned sideways with the mint and chocolate layers visible
      Chocolate Mint Creme de Menthe Brownies
    • overhead view of pizza buns
      Homemade Pizza Buns
    • Side view of frosted cupcakes on a blue speckled background.
      Small Batch Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
    • Side view of biscuits stacked on a white speckled plate with a blue background.
      Quick & Easy Buttermilk Biscuits (Small Batch)

    Top Baking Tips

    • overhead view of melting chocolate in a double boiler
      How to Melt Chocolate in a Double Boiler
    • Box grater and peeled carrot on a wooden cutting board.
      How to Grate Carrots for Carrot Cake
    • melted white chocolate in a double boiler
      How to Melt White Chocolate (Chips, Bars & Wafers)
    • Angled view of stacked baking pans lined with parchment paper.
      How to Line Pans with Parchment Paper
    • Flour and cocoa being stirred together in a glass bowl with a wooden spoon.
      Mixing Methods in Baking: How to Fold, Beat & Stir
    • A box of baking soda and a can of baking powder next to small glass bowls of both leaveners.
      Baking Soda & Baking Powder
    logos of media outlets featuring Always Eat Dessert recipes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Portfolio
    • Work with Me

    Policies

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Website Disclaimer
    • Accessibility Policy

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Subscribe

    COPYRIGHT © 2023 ALWAYS EAT DESSERT, LLC | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED