It’s easy to add too much or too little of an ingredient when you’re making cookies, especially if there are kids and dogs in your house.
Using too many eggs in cookie dough can usually be fixed by adding extra flour or even extra sugar. This will help to stiffen the cookie dough and stop it from spreading too far.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways to take care of cookie dough with too many eggs in it.
1. Add More Flour
Adding an extra egg to your cookie dough is going to make the dough much chewier and almost cake-like.
If you add more than one extra egg, it could take away from the flavor of the cookies. To thicken the dough, try adding one tablespoon of flour at a time.
After each tablespoon, mix or knead the dough up again so you can decide whether or not you need to add more.
2. Eat it Like That Anyway
If you’ve only added one extra egg and the dough isn’t that wet or damp, the cookies will usually taste good anyway.
Adding extra egg to the mix can make the cookie mix spread thinner and even taste chewier. The egg can also make the cookies brown quicker and rise higher.
Check out this video on the role of eggs in baking.
3. Add a Little More Sugar
You can add just a little bit more sugar either in place of or in addition to some extra flour. Like the flour, you should add just one tablespoon at a time. Mix it through until you get the right consistency.
The dough should be stiff and hold together on its own.
You can even add a tablespoon of chopped nuts if you like to further thicken up the cookie dough. Adding up to ½ a cup of nuts or chocolate chips will help to dry out the mix.
4. Change Your Baking Time and Temperature
Turn the temperature of the oven down five to ten degrees and bake the cookies a little bit longer. Reducing the temperature and baking for a slightly longer time can help to keep the cookies together and fix the problem of too much egg.
5. Start Over Again
If your dough is too runny because of the extra egg or you’ve tried a few things that just didn’t work, you might be better off getting rid of the dough and starting all over again.
Can You Add Flour to Already Made Cookie Dough?
You can add flour to cookie dough that is already made but it works much better when the dough is at room temperature.
Take pre-made cookie dough out of the fridge and leave it on the bench for around 30 minutes. This will increase the temperature and make it easier to mix the flour through.
Even if you think the ingredients were added perfectly and no mistakes were made, but the dough is still a little sticky or wet, adding flour can help.
Mix one tablespoon of all-purpose flour at a time into the dough, then knead the batch to get a smooth cookie dough texture.
Can You Add More Flour to Cookie Dough After Chilling?
You can add flour to chilled dough, but ideally you should let it get to room temperature, or close to it, before you do.
Just let the cookie dough sit out 30 minutes or so because this will make it a little softer and easier to knead.
Waiting until the dough is at least a little bit warmer makes this task a lot easier in the end.
How to Get Thicker Cookies
Here are some easy tips to get thicker cookies.
- Add extra flour 1 teaspoon at a time to the mix. This will thicken the mixture and give you larger and thicker cookies in the end.
- Add extra nuts and chocolate chips. This will help to thicken the cookies and give them more texture.
- Use the absolute best quality ingredients and check those ingredients to make sure none of them is expired.
- Preheat your oven before putting your cookies in. This will mean that they get rapid heat to expand and cook through before they spread too thin.
- Add a teaspoon of baking powder. This will help to lift the cookies making them thicker.
- Use the best baking sheets or baking stones, making sure they aren’t old, aren’t greased, and are very high-quality pans.
- Make sure your oven is calibrated correctly and that it’s set at the right temperature according to the recipe.
Also, it helps to remember that melting your butter will get your cookies flatter and crispier, whereas cold or softened butter makes them fluffier and thicker.
Conclusion
If you discover you’ve added an extra egg to your cookie dough, don’t panic because you do have options. You can add flour or other ingredients, bake them like they are, or throw the batter out and start over again. In most cases, throwing them out won’t be necessary.
I am an accredited practicing dietitian, experienced gardener and a dedicated cook. I love writing and sharing my experience so you can learn from my successes and mistakes.