Temperature

Cutout cookie doughs -- including sugar and butter cookies -- require you to chill the dough for a specific time frame before you cut out the cookies and bake them. A warm dough can quickly spread in the oven -- even when it’s made properly. Follow the chilling times on the recipe before you cut out your shapes. Then, cut out the shapes, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and let them firm up again in the freezer for at least 5 to 10 minutes. This helps the fats in the cookies tighten and hold its shape while baking.

Leavening Agents

Leaveners, like baking soda and baking powder, cause cookies to rise and fluff up -- after all, that’s the purpose of a leavener. If your cutout cookie recipe calls for a leavening agent, omit it. This won’t alter the taste of your cookie, but it does prevent the cookie from rising and spreading during baking. A good cutout cookie recipe should have no leavening agents listed in the recipe.

Fat

Fats in cutout cookie recipes can include shortening and butter. A cookie made from shortening keeps its shape better than a cookie made from butter, because shortening has a higher temperature tolerance -- meaning it doesn’t melt as quickly as butter. Cutout cookie baking sheets usually don’t need to be greased to keep the cookie from sticking. Greasing your baking sheet introduces more fat content to the cookie dough, making it likely to spread. If you’re concerned about your cookies sticking, line the baking sheets with parchment paper.

Over-Mixing

When making a cutout cookie recipe, you are instructed to cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. This incorporates air bubbles into the batter, giving you an increased volume and light and fluffy cookie texture. While you need to cream these ingredients, over creaming can add too much air and make your cookies spread; closely follow the recipe instructions that tell you how long to cream the ingredients.

Baking Issues

An improperly preheated oven can create swelled up cookie shapes. Use the proper temperature listed in the recipe and adjust -- if indicated -- for higher altitudes. When baking multiple batches, let your baking sheet cool before you add the next batch of cookie cutouts onto the baking sheet. Using a warm baking sheet thaws the dough and can make it spread in the oven.