It sounds like you need a little more flour to hold them together. They're basically a really short shortbread. Start with an extra quarter cup then do a test pan, and go from there, adding a quarter cup and test. Just be gentle when adding the extra flour. Probably be best to only try a few times with one batch.

I make those and was given the recipe by my mother, who made them every Christmas. I had the same problem, until one day I was looking through her cookbook and discovered the amount of flour was off (my version had too little). Problem solved. I always wondered if Mom gave me the wrong amount on purpose so hers would be better than mine...

I too was going to suggest not enough flour was the problem. I think that not enough flour is at the heart of all the cookies spreading out problems we have now. Flour is NOT the same as it once was. So what used to be the correct proportions are now causing the cookies to spread. Just add a bit more and test. You can bake a small amount of cookies in one batch and see how they are then correct more if still needed.

You could also try adding a little less butter (maybe 1 tbsp less) or substituting margarine for some of the butter (up to half the butter.)

In addition to the proportion of flour, you may want to play with the following factors:

1. Baking temperature and temperature of the dough can have an effect on shape.

2. Different brands of butter have different water contains.

dcarch

You could make the cookie balls and chill them well before baking - see if that will help them stay ball shape. Or chill the dough before you quickly shape into balls, then bake.

In my family we skirt that issue with this favorite recipe by making cresent shaped cookies. Ha!

Teresa

You should end up with a very firm dough that's almost like a play dough consistency but not quite. It will be very hard to mix. That's how my snow ball cookies are.

dcarch might be on to something re the butter you use. Are you using Costco butter? I ruined many cookies when I switched to Costco butter (I think it has a higher water content). I have since returned to Land o Lakes and haven't had any problems.

I also use only Land O Lakes for baking. The water content of many other butters is higher and in something like the snowballs it really shows.

How long do you refrigerate the cookie dough before baking? There's a recipe in Alice Medrich's Dessert which calls for overnight refrigeration. I decided a couple of hours was enough. These were not Wedding cakes, but a very rich buttery cookie. They all spread across the pan, merging into one big mess.

I tried it again some time later. Alice Medrich is seldom wrong. This time I refrigerated overnight, and the cookies stayed separate and baked perfectly. Now I know better, I've baked other recipes which are similar. If you don't refrigerate for a good long time, the dough just stays too soft.

Adding flour will keep the cookies from spreading, but also changes the texture from short, melt in the mouth, to solid and more doughy.

Cheryl

"------If you don't refrigerate for a good long time, the dough just stays too soft. ---"

May also have to do with moisture. Refrigerator is a good dehydrator.

dcarch

Butter does make a difference in cookies. I've found a brand that I like and don't deviate (Horizon Organic Butter). For Mexican Wedding Balls, I refrigerate the dough for 15-30 minutes. Just long enough to clean up the baking supplies and preheat the oven. They have always been a fool proof cookie, for me. I'd try a different butter before adding more flour. Seems more flour would make them tough.

/tricia

Well if the dough is too soft it's GOING TO SPREAD...period! My cookies aren't hard, they are delicious and melt in your mouth, I never refrigerate first. If butter has more moisture then you have to use a bit more flour to comp for that...heck I learned that in my Betty Crocker Cookbook I've had since 1980s! HA! They suggest a one test cookie trial bake.

Like Teresa, I make crescents and don't worry about the balls of dough spreading.

However, I think I'd try a bit of everything, one at a time. First, make sure you have good butter, I've also had some problems with cheap "off brand" butter. Margarine might not help either, because it's different than it used to be too, with a greater air or water content. It's how the companies make a bit extra money from us without telling us. Ugh.

Anyway, first use good quality, your final product is only going to be as good as the stuff you put in them. Make sure your dough is well chilled and bake one cookie. If it's good, then you're set to go. If not, add a bit more flour and try again, but before I add anything extra I make sure I've done what the recipe tells me to do.

That said, I always add extra flour to my chocolate chip cookies, the Toll House recipe used to be perfect and now it isn't, so I need about 1/2 cup extra flour to make those as chewy as my family likes them to be, so if you need to, add more, but do it carefully and don't go overboard.

Annie

Here is something else to think about, when I used to measure flour I would use the old scoop and scrape the top off method which is the way I was taught to measure. NOW however, we are being taught to spoon the flour into a cup then scrape it off the top. This makes a HUGE difference in the amount of flour...this could be a part of the problem we are having these days. I have also even heard that all measuring cups are not created equal...this too could be an issue.

As far as brand name butters, I have also heard people griping about the Land O Lakes brand butter not being as good as it used to be and having issues with using it to bake with. Everything is changing now to be cheaper for the manufacturers.

How long do you leave in the fridge? Flour absorbs moisture slowly. If the moisture is from eggs, your cookies will be very different if you make them on day four than if you make them on day one. The reason is that eggs are very slowly incorporated into the flour. But you'll get more perfectly round cookies on day four.

If yours are spreading, you may have more moisture than you need. Confectioners sugar contains a lot of starch, but that doesn't provide the same structure as flour, so I'd check the flour content.

Also check the type of flour and the kind of sugar. People are married to recipes but learn to ignore those. If it says 1 cup of flour, what does that really mean? On more humid days you need more or less than on drier days and flour isn't all the same either. The protein content varies a lot.

So use your recipe for a ballpark ratio of things, but don't be afraid to use a lot more or less than any ingredient.

As mentioned, the water content of the butter varies a lot. But don't use margarine. Because then you'll have margarine in your cookies. Use butter. I'd start by using a little more flour. Leaving the dough in the fridge won't make it keep shape better because as you bake, obviously the cookie will warm up. It will however, allow the moisture to mix with the flour. But since you're making a kind of shortbread, you may not need that extra time.