How to Freeze Cookie Dough - Sally's Baking Addiction (2024)

FAQs

How do you freeze store bought cookie dough? ›

Cover each disk in plastic wrap, then place in a resealable gallon freezer bag. Freeze the wrapped dough on a flat surface to help hold its shape (this makes it easier to roll out later). To thaw cookie-dough disks, unwrap one and place on a lightly floured surface to start rolling out. Let stand 30 minutes to soften.

Scoop out the dough just as if you were about to bake it, but then freeze it instead. Once frozen, the little balls of dough get sealed up inside a plastic freezer bag — when you need a cookie fix, just grab as many as you want to bake.

If you start whipping up a cookie recipe only to realize you have to chill the dough for a longer amount of time than you have, there's a trick for speeding up the process: freezing the cookie dough. That's right, you can freeze it for a bit to shave quite a bit of time off the chilling suggestion in the recipe.

Once the batch is completely frozen, transfer the dough balls into a freezer bag or other airtight container, label the container with the type of cookie and the date you made the dough and stash it in the freezer. The cookie dough freezes well for up to 4 months.

Prepare cookie dough as indicated in your recipe, including any refrigerator chilling time. Wrap logs tightly in plastic wrap and then place in an airtight container or Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and baking according to recipe instructions.

When baking frozen cookie dough, you do not have to thaw the cookie dough. Simply place the frozen, pre-scooped cookie dough onto a baking sheet and bake for 2-3 minutes longer than the original recipe recommends. That's it!

With the sugar cookies—which are made by rolling the dough into a log, then slicing it into rounds—we found that freezing already-baked cookies left them dry and crumbly when thawed. We had far better results when we froze raw slices of the log, then baked those direct from the freezer.

Form the dough into one or two disks, each about an inch thick. Wrap the disks tightly in plastic wrap, then transfer the disks to a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container. The frozen disks of cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.

Yes, most cookie dough, with the exception of meringue, can be frozen. Here's how: Follow the recipe as directed. Freeze cookie dough up to 3 months.

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.

How long can you keep cookie dough in the freezer before baking? ›

For best quality, freeze for two months. Homemade cookie dough should be stored in small containers in the refrigerator for two to four days or freeze for two months. Alternatively, small quantities of dough can be frozen and thawed in the refrigerator as needed.

Most cookie doughs freeze well, but there are a few exceptions. Thin, delicate cookies like tuiles, florentines, lace, and pizzelles usually have liquidy batters that don't freeze particularly well unbaked or baked, so it's best to make these kinds of cookies fresh.

Freeze the cookie dough without rolling it in sugar. When you're ready to bake, thaw the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour (up to overnight). Right before baking, roll the cookie dough balls in sugar and bake as directed, as though you were making them fresh.

To store cookies in the freezer, you have multiple options. The first is using a Ziploc bag. Simply put the baked cookies in the bag, seal it, and put it in the freezer to be used at any time.

You can freeze cookie dough in an airtight container (like a Tupperware with an airtight lid) or in a Ziplock bag. How to bake frozen cookie dough? If the frozen cookie dough is in balls, you can remove them from the freezer and bake them from frozen.

Portion out the cookie dough with a cookie scoop and roll into balls, then place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper and freeze until hardened.

Metal tins keep cookies firmer than plastic bins. Let cookies cool before storing.

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.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place frozen cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 12-13 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks and cool completely.

Is frozen cookie dough as good as fresh? ›

Generally, it's okay to bake these types of cookies directly from the freezer, but they will not turn out exactly like those that are baked fresh. The taste will remain, but the cookies will not spread as large. If you want the spread to be the same, we recommend thawing the dough for 24 hours in the fridge.

It works well with just about any kind of cookie dough that you typically bake up in ball form, such as chocolate chip cookies, molasses cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, snickerdoodles, etc.

A dry towel is no good because it will absorb moisture from the dough, which is the opposite of what you want. With a plastic wrap you don't need to worry about it drying out. Once you've covered the dough, you won't need to check on it until you think the proof is done.

How to Freeze Dough Before the First Rise. Place flattened dough on baking sheets and freeze for 1 hour. Once dough is frozen, remove from the freezer and wrap tightly with either plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Then place in resealable plastic bags and return to the freezer.

Storing cookie dough in the refrigerator: To store cookie dough in the refrigerator, cover the mixing bowl with a tightly sealed sheet of plastic wrap or transfer the dough to an airtight container. For the best quality, use the dough within three days.

The taste and texture won't be harmed at all, and in fact, most doughs, from pie crust to cookies of all kinds, freeze quite well.

As little as 30 minutes in your fridge or freezer can help your cookie brown better, spread less, and develop a richer chewy texture. There's a few reasons why, but one important part is it gives the butter in your dough a chance to firm up before baking.

You can freeze bread dough; however, timing and technique are both important to the end results. You must freeze yeast bread dough, such as sourdough bread dough, after the first rise and after you've shaped it into its final form. If the dough is for a loaf of bread, freeze the dough inside the loaf pan.

According to MaryJane, yeast dough will never rise as well post-freeze as it would if you baked it the day you made it. This is because some of the yeast will inevitably die in the cold of the freezer.

For ease of storage, using the fridge for the first rise is best if you're working with large quantities of dough. Few people have room to store a giant pan of focaccia among their milk, eggs, and leftovers. Instead, it's easier to chill the dough in a covered container and let the shaped focaccia rise on the counter.

Do bakery cookies freeze well? ›

Baked cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 3 or 4 weeks. After baking, allow cookies to cool completely. Place them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet to freeze them, then store them in a freezer-safe zip-top storage bag labeled with the name and date.

As a general rule of thumb, 'drop cookies,' which include oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies, and 'cut-out cookies,' such as gingerbread and sugar cookies, are freezer-friendly.

Freezing Cookies

If you have the space, simply cover platefuls of assorted cookies with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and pop into the freezer. Place unwrapped and unfrosted cookies in a 300°F oven for a few minutes to restore crispness.

If you store it in your fridge, you can usually expect this cookie dough to last about 1 to 2 weeks past the “best by” date. In your freezer, frozen raw cookie dough can actually last 9 to 12 months, giving you plenty of time to use it before it goes bad.

Your best choices are airtight containers (plastic or glass) because they protect the cookies from breaking. Choose shallow, square or rectangular containers with flat bottoms. (Rounded bottoms cause cookies to bend.) Place waxed paper or parchment paper in between layers.

In most cases, I prefer to freeze cookie dough over freezing baked cookies. That way, you still get the nice homemade smell and softness of the cookies when they come out of the oven. But if you want to get the whole job done, you can certainly bake the cookies, then freeze them later.

Do not freeze frosted, glazed or drizzled cookies because they can become too moist under the frosting, glaze or drizzle. Thaw the cookies in the plastic food container at room temperature. Remove from container any cookies that should be crisp when thawed.

The basic rule is that cookies with a liquidy batter don't hold up well in the freezer — these are usually thin, delicate cookies like tuiles, florentines and pizzelles. Very cakey “cookies” like madeleines also do not freeze well.

For best quality, freeze for two months. Homemade cookie dough should be stored in small containers in the refrigerator for two to four days or freeze for two months. Alternatively, small quantities of dough can be frozen and thawed in the refrigerator as needed.

the good news: most cookies and cookie doughs freeze well because there is little to no water content in them. Water expands when it freezes and then contracts again when it is thawed. That expanding and contracting can ruin the texture of frozen food, but most cookie doughs will not have this problem.