My clan would have me bake goodies for them daily if they could. Cookies are a quick and easy treat, but there are days when I just don’t have the time to whip together cookie dough, so I’ve taken to freezing it ahead and now all it takes is a preheated oven and prepared baking sheet for homemade cookies in literally, minutes.
This week I made two kind of cookie dough for the freezer: chocolate chip and classic sugar cookie. I have always used Nestle’s Tollhouse recipe for our chocolate chip cookies, no matter how many versions I’ve tried, this is the one that wins hands down with our family. And the Sugar Cookie Dough is just your basic recipe found anywhere on the internet- I usually take a basic recipe and add a tad bit more vanilla and about a 1/4 cup more flour than what it calls for because we like the heavy vanilla taste and thick texture a little more with our sugar cookies. Just choose what your family likes best, there is no special ‘freeze ahead’ cookie doughs, they all freeze well.
Chunky doughs bake better later on if they are already portioned prior to freezing. I just scoop with a teaspoon and roll with my hands, some people use a specified cookie scoop, it really doesn’t matter. Place your portions on a sheet with wax paper.
For the sugar cookie dough, I use half of the dough to scoop and roll so that I can make quick snickerdoodles later on. When i want to use these, I just thaw them, roll them in a sugar/cinnamon combo and bake for a yummy snickerdoodle.
I also make a flattened patty for roll out cutter cookies.
The patty gets frozen and when I want to use it I thaw it, roll it out on a floured surface and cut into desired shapes before baking. Easy Peasy!
Cover all of your sheets with press n seal and flash freeze for a few hours in your freezer. Once they are firm, transfer to a labeled freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
When you want to bake your cookies, I find that letting them thaw a little bit before placing them in a preheated oven helps to ensure that they bake more evenly. You can bake them from frozen, but just keep in mind that you will need to add to the bake time by at least 3 minutes.
I usually bake them at 350 degrees.
Freeze ahead cookie dough make for happy kiddos and a less time-consumed mama.
Most cookie doughs freeze really well, so feel free to experiment. Always remember to properly wrap the dough so it doesn’t get freezer burn. I’ve also frozen dough in the shape of logs for easy slice and bake cookies.
Enjoy!
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