How to Fix Dry Cookie Dough

Dry cookie dough is hard to work with and produces brittle cookies. If your cookie dough is too dry, this simple solution helps moisten your dough allowing you to create soft and supple cookies.

Steps

1
Place your dough on a piece of baking paper.^{[1]
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2
Pour over a teaspoon of cooking oil.
3
Knead and pull the dough together incorporating as much of the oil as possible.^{[2]
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4
Add more oil if necessary.
5
Continue to knead until smooth, soft and bouncy.
6
Wrap up in the baking paper and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.^{[3]
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7
Remove your dough from the refrigerator. It will be perfect to work with.

Community Q&A

Question

My cookie dough is crumbling, what can I do?

Community Answer

Add a dash of milk, but gradually, so as not to make the dough sticky.
Question

My cookie dough is dry and stayed in mounds while baking. It did not spread. What can I do?

Community Answer

Try letting the dough set at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before baking. This will soften the butter, which will then become even softer while baking, and should help them spread. Also, you could flatten the cookies with a spatula before you bake them.
Question

My dough for nut rolls is dry and crumbles when I try to roll it out. I'm using sugar and tried moistening it with drops of water. Any other suggestions?

Jerry Cat

Community Answer

Put the dough under a lot of pressure with floured hands, then gently mold it into a thick disk. Drizzle melted butter over the top. This will help get it moist and prevent it from being sticky. Then just sprinkle it with flour and roll it out as usual.
Question

What do I do if my cookie dough has a sandy consistency?

Toastycat09

Community Answer

It may be because of the sugar crystals in the raw dough, but if it is overly sandy, or is still sandy or dry after baking, knead the dough more and add small amounts of milk or oil. Also, make sure your ingredients are well-mixed.
Question

My cookie dough is soft, baked cookies are very fragile. What can I do?

Community Answer

If your cookie recipe calls for butter, leave the dough in the fridge for a couple of hours (or better yet, overnight) to allow the dough to firm up.
Question

How do I keep my candy cane shapes from breaking when I try to twist the dough together?

Allison Schick

Top Answerer

You may want to add a very small amount of milk or water to the dough so that it isn't as dry.
Question

Does this work for dough that will be used with cookie cutters?

Community Answer

Usually it does, but it really is a recipe-dependent issue. Some recipes work. Some don't.
Question

Is this going to also work for making peanut butter cookie dough?

Community Answer

Usually it does, as peanut butter cookie dough is very forgiving, but it can be recipe-dependent.