Do you crave ooey-gooey, soft and chewy cookies? This step makes all the difference.
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From chocolate chip to oatmeal raisin, no dessert quite satisfies the way that cookies do. Whether you're baking a no-fuss recipe or going all out and decorating with royal icing and intricate sprinkles to boot, cookies are simply magical. Using high-quality ingredients and a reliable recipe are two ways to ensure a delicious cookie, but there's something else that you should do to take your cookies to the next level: refrigerate the dough. Some recipes, like sugar cookies and Linzer cookies, always call for refrigerating the dough, while others, such as chocolate chip cookies, generally do not. Ahead, two baking experts explain why this simple step makes a big, delicious impact in most recipes—plus, they share examples of when you should skip this step entirely.
Giant Kitchen Sink Cookies
Why Refrigerating Cookie Dough Works
Flour contains naturally-occurring enzymes, which break down as the dough chills, leading to increased browning. The sugar in the dough absorbs the moisture from the flour, causing the cookie to brown and caramelize. Refrigerating the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate, which (in addition to chilling the butter) helps to make the cookie dough firmer, says baker and food stylist Jason Schreiber, who recently published Fruit Cake: Recipes for the Curious Baker ($21.85, amazon.com). This will prevent the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies. "The colder and more solid the fat is, the less the cookie will spread," says food stylist and recipe developer Caitlin Haught Brown.
When you have a craving for cookies, waiting an additional 30 minutes for the dough to chill may not seem worthwhile, but our experts say it's a step that's entirely worth adding to your baking routine. "In terms of flavor, you'll notice more depth of flavor from the vanilla and the sugar will taste sweeter. In terms of texture, chilled cookie dough produces a more evenly golden-brown cookie with a crisper edge and chewier center," says Haught Brown.
How Long to Refrigerate Cookie Dough
As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product, says Haught Brown. Once the dough has chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable (about five to ten minutes); letting it get to be too warm will defeat the purpose of chilling the dough at all.
To make forming the chilled cookie dough more manageable, Schreiber pre-portions the dough by scooping balls of dough into individual cookies, placing them on a sheet pan or in a Ziploc bag, chilling, and then baking right away.
When to Not Refrigerate Cookie Dough
Alexis's Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies are a supreme example of when to not refrigerate dough. The goal of this particular recipe is to create super thin, super crispy cookies that spread significantly when baking. Refrigerating the dough would prevent these cookies from spreading the way they're intended to here.
"A tuile cookie, where the appeal is based in the thinness or lacy qualities, is another example when you should bake the cookie dough immediately," says Schreiber. If you like a super soft peanut butter cookie or a cakey snickerdoodle, Haught-Brown says that's another instance when you would not want to refrigerate the dough before baking.
FAQs
"When your cookie dough is not refrigerated, the butter is at room temperature. Therefore the heat from the oven reacts with the butter quickly, making it spread thinner," says Epperson. And while some people prefer a crunchy, thin cookie, there are arguably many more people who like soft, thick cookies.
What happens if you don't Chill cookie dough before baking? ›
The colder your dough is before it heads into the oven, the less it will spread during baking, which makes for loftier cookies. The chilling phase also gives the flour in your dough time to hydrate, just like pie dough, which translates into a cookie that's more chewy than cakey.
What does resting cookie dough in the fridge do? ›
Resting your dough in the refrigerator will almost always yield better results. But why? Chilling your cookie dough in the refrigerator after mixing it allows the flour to hydrate and gives the other ingredients time to blend, resulting in a richer, more well-rounded flavor profile.
Is cookie dough OK if not refrigerated? ›
As a general rule, any cookie dough left on the counter at room temperature will be good for 2-4 hours but then may risk going bad, especially if it is already past its “best by” date. The cool, dark, air-free container in your fridge or freezer will be the best place to maximize the lifespan of your cookie dough.
How long to keep cookie dough in fridge before baking? ›
Most cookie dough can be refrigerated, well-wrapped, for three to five days before baking. If you want to make it farther in advance, freeze the dough.
How long should cookie dough be chilled before baking? ›
In this case, simply chill your cookie dough overnight, so for about 12-18 hours, and you'll have delicious cookies when you bake them!
How do you quickly chill cookie dough? ›
Here's what our Test Kitchen recommends when quickly chilling cookie dough in the freezer: Place the cookie dough in the freezer for one-quarter of the recommended refrigerator time. The dough can be wrapped in plastic, scooped into balls for baking on a cookie sheet, or left in the mixing bowl, covered.
Why do you let the dough rest in the fridge before rolling? ›
By chilling the dough before rolling it out, we allow the present gluten strands time to settle down and relax. This actually makes your pastry dough easier to roll out and cuts down on any shrinking during the baking process. Chilling also lets the available moisture find its way back into all parts of the dough.
What happens if you don't refrigerate sugar cookie dough? ›
Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.
Should refrigerated cookie dough be brought to room temperature before rolling? ›
It depends on your goals, it's not "wrong" to do it either way. i want it to be thin and chewy. Taking it out from the fridge and go straight to the oven making it thick and not spreading very much.
So yes, resting your cookie dough makes better cookies. If you can't swing an overnight rest, we recommend chilling your cookie dough in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours before scooping and baking. If you really don't want to wait, shape your dough into balls and freeze them for 15 minutes, then pop them in the oven.
How long does it take cookie dough to get to room temperature? ›
Does the type of cookie mix affect anything?
| Room temperature | Fridge |
|---|
| Homemade cookie dough | 2 hours | 3-5 days |
| Store bought cookie dough (unopened) | 2 hours | 2 weeks |
5 Jun 2019
Refers to food that is thoroughly cooled in a refrigerator compartment, but is not frozen. Proper chilling of food is usually accomplished within a temperature range of 33°F to 42°F.
Can you skip refrigerating dough? ›
Using the refrigerator is super useful, but you can skip it. Sometimes you just want to bake your sourdough! You'll need enough time after shaping for the dough to rise again (1 1/2 to 2 hours) and bake (45 mins).
How long can dough sit out unrefrigerated? ›
How long can dough sit out on the counter? The maximum amount of time dough can sit out on the counter is four hours for yeast-made bread, six for sourdough. Temperature, the characteristics of the sugars in the flour, the amount of yeast and the humidity of the room alter the length of the rise.
Does dough need to be refrigerated to rise? ›
If you want to get a head-start on your baking, letting your bread or roll dough rise in the fridge overnight can be a huge help. Chilling the dough will slow down the yeast activity, but it doesn't stop it completely.
Can I keep dough overnight without fridge? ›
Can You Store Bread Dough Overnight? Yes, absolutely. In fact, storing bread dough overnight might be the better option. Generally, recipes will recommend leaving bread dough for at least 2 to 3 hours.
How long does it take for refrigerated dough to come to room temperature? ›
When you're going to use the refrigerated dough, take it out of the fridge at least 1 hour before you're planning to bake pizza, to let it come to room temperature.
How do you bring dough to room temperature quickly? ›
Bring your dough to room temperature.
If it's in plastic from the grocery store (or freezer, you champ!) take it out of the plastic and move it to an oiled mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and set in a warm place for at least 30 minutes.
How can you tell if dough has gone bad? ›
Pizza crusts and dough have physical “tells” which let you know they're past their prime and could underperform:
- A sour smell.
- Diminished texture.
- An exceptionally dry feel and appearance.
- A general gray color or flecks of gray that denote dead yeast activators, failed cell structure, and/or freezer burn.
Well, it's basically going to happen when the dough isn't stored properly. Too much air circulation could be the cause of your gray dough. It's also possible that the dough was exposed to moisture due to being placed in a bad spot. You might not have stored the dough as recommended and it led to the dough going bad.
What happens if you let dough rise too long? ›
Pizza dough that has been left to rise for too long, or has been over-proofed, can potentially collapse. The gluten becomes overly relaxed, and the end product will be gummy or crumbly instead of crisp and fluffy.
How long does it take for dough to rise after refrigeration? ›
Typically, I would give it about three times the normal rising time if refrigerated but you could probably do up to overnight. You can make dough about a day ahead of time and store it in the fridge, if tightly wrapped. Tightly wrapped it will rise a little but not fully rise.
How long should dough be chilled? ›
Q: HOW LONG SHOULD I CHILL THE DOUGH? Anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. The longer you chill the dough, the more flavor will develop. The flour will also absorb more of the moisture so the thicker and chewier the final texture will be.
How long does dough need to sit in the fridge? ›
You can store the bread dough in the fridge for 48 hours. But it is best to use it after 12 hours to get the best results. Take the bread dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before baking.
Can you put dough in freezer instead of fridge? ›
That's right, you can freeze it for a bit to shave quite a bit of time off the chilling suggestion in the recipe. Here's what our Test Kitchen recommends when quickly chilling cookie dough in the freezer: Place the cookie dough in the freezer for one-quarter of the recommended refrigerator time.
What happens if you leave dough in the fridge too long? ›
Once the yeast really starts to get going, the cold can cause a big die-off, and the byproducts of dead yeast can make your dough very slack and also cause it to taste pretty boozy. I put my dough in the refrigerator over night and my king cake came out hard.
