Today we are going to be talking about how to freeze cookies!!!! I love writing how to articles, they are seriously my favorite thing in the world to write because I learned everything that I know (from baking and for being a functional human being) reading how to articles online. So, now that I have a blog and share baking tips for first time bakers I gravitate toward that kind of posts, like how to make birthday cake cupcakes, or how to make gingerbread cookies but my favorite of all have been my article on how to freeze cupcakes, not only you guys loved it but I realized that I’m not the only one out there learning how to make things but that we are all in this together (yes sing that in the High School Musical tone) so now this is article about how to freeze cookies!! Because a refrigerator full of sweets is a happy refrigerator.
Ok so first thing first, I own a refrigerator that has the size of a shoe box and that is full with pretty much french fries and ice cream, by no means I’m a super powerful force of nature or the new Martha Stewart with color coded fresh frozen veggies tightly packed in matching bags, if I can do it you can totally rock it too. So consider this article the how to freeze cookies for the french fry hoarder or the freezer newbie.
How to freeze cookies
The first thing that you need to know about how to freeze cookies is that you can freeze the cookie dough or the baked cookie. That’s awesome because you can choose how done you want to leave your baked treats. I’m also including how long can you keep them frozen, how to defrost them and a bunch of delicious cookie recipes that are freezer friendly + some other tips and tricks, buckle up baby we are going on a freezer ride (but it’s pretty easy so that’s coooool)
Tools:
I always use Hefty bags, they are the strongest, come in a variety of shapes and sizes and keep everything super duper fresh. I also like throwing them away once that I’m done which means less amounts of dishes to wash . which in turn makes my heart sing and dance – but you can pick any freezer bag or an airtight container. I prefer to stay away from things like foil paper or plasticwrap because they tend to dry up my goods faster. Once you have your container you are all set.
How to freeze cookie dough
Freezing cookie dough is one of the easiest things on the whole planet Earth, seriously everyone can do it. I love to keep some on my freezer (yep, between the ice cream and the fries) ’cause that way I’m just 10 minutes away from a freshly baked cookie. Also since my family is very little, like teeny tiny little I can make a huge batch, freeze it and then just pop 2 in the oven , and ta- daa! fresh baked cookies every single day ~awesome!!~
- Roll your dough into balls.
- Place the balls on a baking pan and chill them for 30 minutes, this hardens them preventing them from sticking with each other.
- Place your cookie dough balls on the container and
- Place in the freezer
And once you want to eat them just take them out, place in a baking pan and bake for 2 minutes longer than usual and that’s it. Really is so easy that I don’t get why we don’t do this all the time.
How to freeze baked cookies
Freezing baked cookies is a bit more tricky than freezing cookie dough, however is really easy as well! The only thing that you need to be aware of is that not every baked cookie freezes well. For example chocolate covered cookies or delicate cookies like meringues or macaroons don’t freeze well. But sugar cookies are freezer warriors! Seriously, you can keep them there and then just take them out and decorate. I actually have come to believe that freezing sugar cookies makes them even better.
Here is the step by step on how to freeze cookies that are baked
- Let the cookies cool completely. I’m watching you thinking “I think they are pretty cool” when you just took them out of the oven, so wait.
- Wrap each on with plastic wrapand place in an airtight container
- Take to the freezer
Yup that’s it, only 3 steps. Easy right?
How long can I keep them frozen
This is my favorite thing about cookies, you can keep them frozen for like forever. Seriously I don’t know the magic abilities of the freezer but it can keep your cookies fresh and tasting awesome for up to 6 months!!! That’s half a year!! I’m pretty sure they are not going to last that much but it’s pretty cool knowing that they could last that much. For baked cookies however I prefer to keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months so they taste and feel fresher.
How to defrost cookies
Defrosting cookies is just as easy as freezing them.
How to defrost cookie dough
EASY, seriously just take out of the freezer and place in your baking pan and that’s it, bake your treat for a couple of minutes longer.
How to defrost baked cookies
Take them out of the freezer and thaw them on the counter or the refrigerator. So yep pretty easy as well
Cookie recipes that freeze well
- How to make gingerbread cookies
- Hot chocolate cookies
- How to make brownie cookies
- Lemon Cookies5. How to make sugar cookies that don’t loose the shape
And since we are all about conquering our refrigerators here is a post about how to freeze cupcakes
Where can you find more information about how to freeze cookies
I know that this is a complete step by step list full of tips and tricks and how tos, but I also know than sometimes – specially when it comes to making ahead cookies for something like a party (the fear and anxiety is real!!) – we need to read a couple more of opinions, even if it’s to know that we are not the only ones wanting to bake a ton of cookies and then hoard them in our freezers.
So here is a list of resources where you can read more tips on how to freeze cookies
A forum: Where a lot of people (see? we are not the only ones!) talks about their own opinions and experiences freezing baked cookies
Tips: A full list on tips to DIY the desserts for a partywithout going crazy, just in case you are planning to bake more than a couple things just for you
An article: About tips and tricks for freezing cookie dough
A list: Full of cookie recipes that are freezer friendly!
You can read more tips + tricks on how to prep for Christmasand how to freeze and store lots of delicious treats on Hefty’s sitethey also have lot’s of ideas for kids!
And that’s all! What is your favorite cookie recipe? Share them in the comments!
