I know you’re probably thinking, you can freeze anything! But can you freeze cookie dough? And knowing the consequences, would you want to? Is it a good idea?
That’s something we want to know too. Actually, there are frozen cookie doughs out in the market but they are not available everywhere and are mostly available in western countries like the US.
In the absence of this delectable convenience, can you make your own cookie dough and freeze it too?
What happens to cookie doughs when they are chilled?
Based on our research, chilling a cookie dough prior to baking makes a difference even if it’s just 30 minutes. It seems you can taste and even see that difference. What happens when you freeze cookie dough aside from the obvious?
Freezing holds the cookie together
Chilling the dough solidifies the fat in cookies and controls how they spread during baking since the frozen fats in the dough take longer to melt.
Flavors Jive Together Making Flavorful Music Together
As the dough dries out in the cold atmosphere, water is taken out and you get the full flavor of the ingredients. It also allows the sugar to absorb the liquids in the batter and sort of mix into the rest of the ingredients. The result is a cookie that is chewier, lovely darker color, and more pronounced taste. Whereas, cookies baked immediately without dough-chilling tastes doughier and are soft instead of chewy.
Does Freezing do the same thing?
Yes, freezing has the same chilling effect. You get the same taste, chewiness, and lovely color and in fact, since they are frozen, they will most likely last longer too!
How do you freeze cookie dough?
First, you make your cookie dough, and prepare them for freezing. There are different suggestions around on how to prepare them for freezing, we will run through them here so you can pick which one suits you. But before you prep them, you need to chill them in the refrigerator for at least 20 to 30 minutes so they’ll be easier to handle.
Freeze them as they are
If you’re lazy, you can simply put them inside a freezer-safe container. When you want to bake them, let them thaw out for about 10 to 20 minutes before using an ice scream scooper to scoop out balls. Place these balls into your lined cookie tray to prepare them for baking. Don’t forget to preheat your oven before you start.
Roll Them Into Balls of Goodness
If you have a bit of time and space, you can scoop them into balls first before putting them inside a freezer-safe container. This way, you simply pick them up and place them on your cookie tray. They might stick a bit but that’s part of the fun.
Treat them like Ice
If you’re the OC type, you might like this one. After the initial chilling, scoop a serving and place them on an ice tray. One serving per reservoir. This way, they’ll be easy to pick up without sticking to each other and saves freezer space too. Put the ice trays in a freezer safe container or zip lock bag.
What Kind Of Cookies Freeze Best?
Not all cookies are made for freezing. According to Sally’s Baking Addiction, these are the best cookies for freezing and baking. So if you want to give this a shot, you can start with these.
- Fatty doughs or doughs that call for a lot of butter or fat like shortening or lard
- Drop cookies spread on their own when baked, you don’t need to flatten or mold them before baking. Examples of drop cookies are chocolate chip, oatmeal chocolate chip , peanut butter cookies, etc. These are BEST frozen not just chilled!
- Shortbread cookie doughs also freezes nicely too.
Some Reminders Before You Freeze Up
Now that you know, what freezing does to cookie doughs, what cookie dough to make, and how to freeze them, you are all set! We just have some simple reminders to leave you before you go on this cold journey.
Track Their Freshness – Don’t leave them out in the cold too long.
Frozen cookie doughs can last up to 3 months but it’s suggested that they are baked within 6 weeks from the date they were frozen otherwise, they may start losing some of that goodness.
The most important baking tip ever- Pre heat your oven!
As with baking anything, this is the most simple but most important tip. Pre-heat your oven before you start prepping your cookies for baking. I have forgotten this and regretted it.
Yumminess takes time.
Just as it takes time to freeze them and let that beautiful process bring together the ingredients of the dough, it also takes just a bit more time to bake the frozen cookie doughs. So add 1 minute or two to the prescribed baking time.
Aside from taste and texture, there are other reasons why you may want to consider freezing cookie doughs:
- It’s convenient. You can make them on a lazy Sunday in preparation for a week ahead. Pop them in the oven while you get ready for work and bring them with you. Or you can prep them ahead for potluck or for your kid’s birthday party.
- It helps you portion control. Each cookie recipe, yields of 12 to 24 pieces depending on the recipe. If you bake all of it, chances are you’ll want to finish the entire batch. To help control that urge, take only one or two frozen cookie dough balls, bake them and leave the rest in the freezer. Trust me, you’ll be too lazy to get a third one!
- You can have both your favorites. Make your top 2 favorite cookie doughs and freeze them. You can take out one dough from each kind, bake them, and enjoy them both!
So, what are you waiting for? Bring out your cookie dough hand mixer, make your cookie dough and freeze them too!
PS: Do you know you can microwave cookie dough too? Read here.
