How long can cookie dough be refrigerated? (2024)

FAQs

Can you refrigerate cookie dough too long? ›

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.

If there is no mold, you still want to look for discoloration. This can start to happen at the beginning stages of cookie dough going bad. The edges may turn a darker color. This usually happens because of a chemical reaction called oxidation.

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.

To be safe, you should not consume cookie dough that is past its expiration date, but you can consume it up to 1-2 months past its best-by date, if stored properly.

The short answer is yes, it is safe to eat expired cookie dough. However, you should follow these tips to ensure that you don't get sick from eating it: Don't eat cookie dough that has mold on it. Keep your cookie dough in an airtight container so it stays fresher.

Put each portion of cookie dough into a plastic bag with a zip top that you can put into the fridge or freezer. Squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing the top closed. Getting all the air out of the bag is especially important if you plan on freezing the dough.

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the less cookies spread. In addition, the sugar in the dough gradually absorbs liquid.

"When your dough is refrigerated, the butter hardens. So when you bake them, they spread less and hold their shape better," adds Epperson. "Which means a better likelihood of a soft, chewy cookie in the center." Chilling the dough creates fluffier cookies with better consistency.

After this the dough will slowly decline in quality, but it will not go rancid, spoil or expire completely on the date that is stated on the label. That being said, you can consume your cookie dough, even when it has gone past the best by date.

How long can you keep raw cookie dough? ›

Stored in the fridge, homemade cookie dough is good for up to five days preferably stored in an airtight container.

Generally speaking, cookie dough is good for about two to four days in the fridge. Exactly how long depends on whether there are raw ingredients in the dough and whether it's store-bought or homemade.

It will last for a few days in the fridge and a good six months (or more) in the freezer. Just be sure to wrap it well so it doesn't get freezer burnt. I would say 3 days in the fridge. What you can do is portion out the dough and put it in a Ziploc bag and then place it in the freezer.