Kitchen Tip: How to Freeze Cookie Dough

Cookie dough freezes extremely well and is the perfect sweet treat to keep stashed in your freezer to instantly satisfy those sweet tooth cravings. Here’s how to freeze cookie dough and bake it later.

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Why I Love Freezing Cookie Dough

We have been stashing as much extra food in the freezer as possible lately (within reason – I promise there is no hoarding going on here).

With everything that’s been going on and 6 mouths to feed, I definitely feel a big responsibility on my shoulders as the primary cook in the house to make sure everyone is well fed and has plenty to eat.

Whenever we make anything, we make extra and stash it in the freezer. Including stashing extra cookie dough in the freezer to use later.

I’ve also found that we go through food A LOT quicker now as a household of 6 with everyone home lately thanks to school closures, online classes and working from home.

We’re a lot busier, too, so gone are the leisurely afternoons of baking up cookies whenever I have the whim, so when I am baking I really need to make it worth my time. Or, if the kids are baking – it really needs to be worth the mess!

For me, it is so much easier to make an extra large batch of cookie dough and keep them in the freezer for when we need them. Or want them. Need. Want.

It’s all pretty much the same thing when it involves cookies, am I right? Especially when you’re homebound and potentially engaging in maybe a little stress and boredom eating.

Not only is is great to have frozen cookie dough on hand for last minute cookie cravings, but it has also been the best thing ever when we have last-minute get togethers with friends or a bunch of kids come over to hang – when we get to a place where get togethers are a thing again, because for now we’re just staying in and alone as much as possible.

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Cookie Dough Freezing Supplies

Can you freeze cookie dough? Absolutely! Here’s what you’ll need for freezing cookie dough:

• Cookie dough
• Cookie scoop (this makes the cookies uniform in size, and quicker to roll)
• Cookie sheet or baking tray
• Gallon Sized Ziploc bag
• Permanent marker

How to Freeze Cookie Dough

The process is super simple, only takes a few minutes, and is a great way to be prepared in advance for parties or holiday gifting. It’s worth making a double batch of your next cookie recipe, I promise you won’t regret it!

1. Roll the entire batch of cookie dough into balls just like you would if you were baking them. Placing them on the baking sheet as you scoop them.

2. Fill a baking pan or tray  with all the rolled cookie dough balls.

3. Stick the filled pan in the freezer.

4. Freeze until the cookie dough balls are hard. Meanwhile, take a gallon sized zip top freezer bag and label it with the recipe name, date, cooking temperature and time details.

5. Remove the pan from the freezer. Take all of the cookie dough balls out of the pan and place them in the labeled bag.

6. After filling, lay the bag flat (flat takes up less space). Remove as much air as possible.

7. Stash the cookies in the freezer for later!

How Long Does Cookie Dough Last in the Freezer?

According to Bob’s Red Mill, frozen homemade cookie dough will last 6 to 12 months in the freezer. My family goes through frozen cookie dough much faster than that though, so I’ve never had to throw it out!

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How to Bake Frozen Cookie Dough

Baking frozen cookie dough is a breeze. There’s no need to fully thaw the cookie dough first, you can bake it straight from frozen.

When I go to bake the frozen cookie dough, I thaw the cookies on the countertop for about 15 minutes prior to setting the oven to preheat. Then, I bake the cookies as the recipe instructs.

Tips for Freezing Cookie Dough

When filling the baking tray with the cookie dough balls, you want to leave just enough space between the cookie dough balls that they don’t get stuck together.

And when placing the baking tray into the freeze, you don’t need to cover it, but make sure to keep it flat so the balls don’t move around and get stuck together.

When pressing the air out of the Ziploc bag, I like to zip the bag almost all the way and then stick a straw in the bag to suck out the excess air before I finish zipping it. Sounds strange, but I promise it works!

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Homemade Cookie Recipes That Freeze Well:

Now that you know what to do with all that cookie dough, it’s time to get to it! Here are some of our family favorite cookie recipes to keep stashed in the freezer for any time that a sweet tooth strikes.

Our kids (and plenty of family and friends) would straight up boycott if I ever stopped making these NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies. They’re so well loved that I made about 7 dozen of them to take to Kevin’s change of command ceremony luncheon and there was not a single one left. They are hands down, our favorite cookies to make and keep stashed in the freezer!

We found a way to get our peanut butter cookie cravings with Logan’s peanut allergy. Almond Butter Cookies have all that classic taste without the allergen. They freeze well, too!

White Chocolate Lemon Coconut Cookies are a fun twist on the usual chocolate chip cookies and perfect for bright, sunny spring and summer days.

These White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies feature cream cheese in the batter, bits of raspberry jammy goodness, and melty chunks of white chocolate.

White Chocolate Pistachio Cookies are great for anyone who loves pistachios (pick me please!).

You can’t go through fall without making these Dark Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies.

Oatmeal Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies combine the best of oatmeal and chocolate cookies with a hint of nutty almond butter.

More How to Freeze Tutorials:

Now that you know everything there is to know about freezing cookies, here are some more helpful freezer. tutorials:

Did you know that you can also freeze kale? Here’s How to Freeze Kale 4 different ways, depending on how you want to use it!

Frozen grapes make for great snacks on hot days, and they can be thrown into smoothies. Here’s How to Freeze Grapes the easy way!

Next time you make a batch pancakes or waffles, make some extra and follow this quick and easy tutorial for How to Freeze Pancakes and Waffles. I’ve also given instructions on how to reheat them!

Freezing raspberries is a wonderful way to enjoy summer’s harvest year-round! This guide explains How to Freeze Raspberries, plus it answers the most commonly asked questions about thawing frozen raspberries and using them in recipes.

Did you know that smoothies can easily be prepped in advance and frozen. So easy and delicious! Check out How to Make Freezer Smoothies.

Yep, you can freeze spinach too. Here’s How to Freeze Spinach, plus a yummy smoothie you can make with it.

Who doesn’t love a good kitchen tip? Looking for more kitchen tutorials? Check out the entire Kitchen Tips and Tricks archive for lots of great ideas!

Do you ever freeze cookie dough? What is your favorite recipe?

Love these instructions for how to freeze cookie dough?
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