How To Freeze Cookie Dough

I don't know about you, but I don't think I've ever complained about having too many cookies. Okay, fine, maybe in a joking way – but I certainly didn't mean it.

As far as I'm concerned, the kindest thing you can do for Future You is to make a whole bunch of cookie dough and freeze it so you always have some options ready to go.

Future You will thank you when they can just pop a few balls of dough in the oven and be snackin' without any effort.

Why should I freeze cookie dough?

There are lots of reasons you may want to freeze your freshly prepared cookie dough:

• You simply made too many to eat before they'd get stale
• You live alone and want some portion control so you can just bake one at a time when a craving hits
• You're a hostess with the most-ess and always like to have treats for impromptu guests and special occasions
• You're preparing for the holidays and want to cut back some of the chaos ahead of time
• You want to prepare a treat for Future You because you're a gem of a human like that

What kind of cookie dough can I freeze?

I find that drop cookies, slice and bake “icebox” cookies and cookie cutter cookie dough freeze very well.

You'll want to avoid any kinds of cookies that rely on egg whites and are low on butter and fat. Some examples of that would be meringues and macarons – they're simply too delicate to handle the process of being frozen.

How to freeze cookie dough

This is the process I follow to freeze the cookie dough for drop cookies like chocolate chip, oatmeal, or other chunky varieties – for more specific instructions based on other different types of cookies, scroll down!

1. First things first, you need to ensure you have a baking sheet or similar freezer-safe baking dish that will fit in your freezer. Prepare it with a piece of parchment paper.
2. After you've prepared your cookie dough, grab a cookie scoop and portion your dough into uniformly-sized balls on your prepared baking sheet.
3. Roll each ball between the palms of your hands to ensure the dough is packed together and the shape is smooth. No need to worry about spacing them out like you normally would, because you're not baking them and they won't be spreading!
4. Cover the sheet and cookies with a layer of plastic wrap (optional, but encouraged) and pop it in the freezer for at least 1 hour or as long as it takes to allow the dough to get firm and frozen solid.
5. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer-safe bag or other airtight container and label it with the date that you prepared it, along with the baking temperature and bake time so that Future You knows what to do with them. Store in the freezer.

That's it, my friends! Now you have prepared cookie dough just ready and waiting for Future You.

Why do you freeze the cookie dough twice?

We do the first freeze of the freshly prepared cookie dough to allow them to firm up and become frozen solid. If we skipped this step, the dough balls would stick to each other inside the storage container and Future You would not be happy about trying to separate globs of frozen cookie dough.

How to freeze cookie dough rolled in sugar

If you're preparing cookies like snickerdoodles that are rolled in cinnamon sugar, or ginger molasses cookies rolled in sparkling sugar, just hold off on the coating until you're ready to bake.

Freeze the cookie dough without the topping, and when you're ready to bake, let your cookie dough thaw in the fridge or come to room temperature and then roll it in the topping and bake.

How to freeze cookie dough logs (slice and bake cookies)

1. Prepare your dough as instructed, then turn the dough out onto a clean surface.
2. Roll the dough into a log about 2″ in diameter.
3. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and place into a freezer-safe bag or other freezer-safe container.
4. Label it with the date that you prepared it, along with the baking temperature and bake time so that Future You knows what to do with them.

Helpful tip for storage: Slice a cardboard paper towel tube lengthwise down one side and wrap it around your dough to help it hold it’s shape while it’s being stored. This works even better if you've divide your dough into two portions and use two paper towel rolls, because then they each fit inside the rolls completely.

How to freeze cookie cutter cookie dough

1. Prepare your dough as instructed, then turn the dough out onto a clean surface.
2. You have a couple different options at this point – you can freeze the dough as a disc, or in a ball:
   1. Disc: Roll the dough out into a disc to around 1/4″ thick (or whatever thickness your recipe calls for) and wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and place into a freezer-safe bag or other freezer-safe container.
   2. Ball: Roll the ball into one big ball, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and place into a freezer-safe bag or other freezer-safe container.
3. Label it with the date that you prepared it, along with the baking temperature and bake time so that Future You knows what to do with them and store in the freezer.

Thaw before using: Whether you chose to store the dough as a disc so that it's ready to be cookie cutter-ed, or as a ball that still needs to be rolled out, you'll want to place the dough in the fridge to thaw overnight before using it.

How long can you freeze cookie dough?

Generally speaking, cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.

I'm not going to lie to you and say that's a hard deadline – I have most definitely kept some longer than that and everything has turned out A-OK. But as a guideline, 3 months is a good rule of thumb.

Does freezing cookie dough change the taste?

In my opinion, no! But generally speaking, the colder the dough is when you put them in the oven, the thicker and softer the cookies are going to be.

Keep in mind, if the cookie dough is not tightly wrapped and stored properly it could absorb odors or become freezer-burned. No one wants a sugar cookie that tastes vaguely like a frost-bitten mozzarella stick.

Can I freeze baked cookies?

You can! But you'll want to avoid freezing decorated or iced cookies – save that for after they're thawed.

After your baked cookies have cooled completely (I mean it – completely):

1. You'll do the same thing you'd do with the cookie dough balls – place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid so they don't stick together when stored.
2. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container, and add parchment paper between each layer of cookies. I prefer using a tupperware container for storing baked cookies so ensure they don't get misshapen and crushed.
3. Freeze up to 1 month, and thaw overnight in the fridge or on the counter to room temperature before eating.