Always bake cookies for the least amount of time called for in the recipe. If your cookies are too dry, it's a result of overbaking.

A few different factors can contribute to cookies spreading too much as they bake:

• The cookie sheet may be overgreased. The best solution to this is to line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick liner.
• The cookie dough may have been placed on a hot cookie sheet. Cookie dough on a hot cookie sheet will start to spread before it reaches the oven. Let the cookie sheet cool between batches.
• The cookie dough may have been sitting at room temperature too long. Keep waiting cookie dough in the refrigerator.
• The cookies may have too much fat or liquid, which causes them to spread. Cookies made with butter spread more than those made with shortening.

If the bottom of your cookies is too crisp or dark, the oven temperature may be too hot or the cookie sheet may be too close to the source of heat. Bake cookies on the center rack of the oven and check your oven temperature.

If your cookies stick to the cookie sheet, it's due to one of several factors:

• The cookie sheet wasn't prepared correctly.
• The cookies sheet wasn't covered with parchment paper or a nonstick liner.
• The cookies cooled too long on the cookie sheet before being transferred to the cooling rack.

And if your cookies bake unevenly on the cookie sheet, either the dough was rolled or shaped unevenly or the oven has hot spots. To remedy hot spots, rotate the cookie sheets partway through the baking process.