Balance Between Taste and Shape . . . Help!

Hi, myfairladym, Congrats on making your first post. I look forward to many more to come!

My recipe is very similar.  It sounds like you need to weigh your ingredients.  I can always tell when my dough is done when most of the dough pulls from the side.  I would also decrease the baking powder to 1 teaspoon and I would increase the vanilla. also, how soft is your butter?  I soften a little and cut into pieces.  Be sure to chill your cookies in the refrigerator or freezer before baking.  Are you rolling your dough with flour, instead do it between parchment paper.  Last, instead of flour I use an equal amount of flour and powdered sugar.  My cookies get raves and spread a little, but not a lot.  Good luck!

I typically leave the butter out at room temp for 2-3 hours.

This is the first batch I've tried using parchment paper instead of flour to roll. It was a dream to clean up compared to the flour.

Definitely going to try lowering the baking power and the flour/powdered sugar combo! Thanks for the tips!!

I only let mine rest about half an hour.  I avoid baking when it's warm because my cookies are more likely to spread.  Let me know what happens.

One more thing cut the baking powder to one teaspoon.  Eliminating it will turn them into cardboard.  Flavor and texture are very important to me.  Mine may not be the best looking, but people live them.

I'd say gradually cut back on the flour and baking powder until you get the flavor and shape you want. The flour is what makes the dough taste bready or tough. Though in cutting back the flour, you'll cause more spread, which is why I am also suggesting you pull back on the leavening.

It took me a long time playing with different recipes to find that sweet spot and yet even now the humidity is so high here in Florida right now, that I have to adjust my flour, I can usually tell by how it feels, but that also took doing it countless times.  Keep playing with your recipe and find what works for you.  Some of the best recipes I have just don't work for me and the one I did end up liking and work with most of the time is a cross between a sugar cookie and shortbread cookie.  Everyone loves them and I change the flavor depending on the seasons or what I am making. Don't give up, it took me months of playing with it.

I agree that you start to know it should feel.  You might ask someone lives near you fir their recipe.