Freezing cookies is a great way to enjoy the fresh taste of homemade cookies in no time! In this post, I will teach you how to freeze chocolate chip cookies to extend their shelf life without added preservatives.
Why Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie?
Do you remember selling cookie dough for your school fundraiser? Well, this is just like that but better since you get to control the ingredients in the cookies.
Finding ways to reduce the preservatives in our diet is what led us to our homesteading journey. While we still love to treat ourselves with the odd bag of chips or chocolate bar here and there, making as much as we can from scratch is our main priority.
I would spend each weekend baking cookies for lunches for the week along with dough, and preserving whatever I could find on sale in the store. That takes a lot of time, especially when I need to clean, relax with friends and family, and work on projects that we have on our to-do lists.
So to reduce my weekend to-do list, I started baking big batches of cookies and freezing them! This saved me hours of time on the weekend to start learning new skills and making more for the week, hello sourdough everything!
Freezing can save you time, giving you the benefits of from-scratch cooking but with the convenience of popping the frozen cookie dough in the oven at a moment’s notice!
What Types of Cookies Can You Freeze?
More delicate cookies such as meringue cookies or frosted cookies don’t freeze well. However, cookies that are more flour based with no frosting can be successfully frozen such as:
- Cutout cookies
- Sugar cookies
- Drop cookies (chocolate chip cookies)
- Bar cookies
- Oatmeal raisin cookies
- Peanut butter cookies
Freezing Cookie Dough vs. Baked Cookies
I prefer to freeze cookie dough since it isn’t much of a hassle to pop them in the oven while we spend our weekends at home. The benefit of this is that they taste even better than baking them right after mixing the recipe. I think this is due to the ingredients have more time to blend together, and it allows them to have a longer chilling time, resulting in a chewy but crisp cookie.
You can still freeze fully baked cookies for convenience and to preserve leftover cookies as well. I like to do this with shortbread Christmas cookies around the Holidays since I make huge batches for gifting and hosting.
What You Need to Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Large ziploc bags
- Parchment paper or wax paper
- Plastic wrap
- Baking trays
How to Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Mix the ingredients: Using your favorite cookie recipe, mix all the ingredients as directed. You can make as many batches as you would like to freeze.
Fill baking tray: On a parchment-lined baking sheet, drop cookie dough with a cookie scoop half an inch apart or spaced enough so they aren’t touching.
Flash freeze: When the cookie sheet is full, cover it with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer to flash freeze.
Prepare ziploc bags: After 2-3 hours, remove the frozen cookie dough balls from the freezer. Cut parchment paper to fit into a large freezer bag.
Fill freezer bags: Place the frozen cookie dough on top of the parchment paper in the freezer bag. Lining them up as neatly as possible in a single layer. It is ok if the frozen dough touches one another.
Vacuum seal the bags: Remove as much air as possible in the bags to avoid freezer burn. The best ways are by sucking out the air with a straw or using an attachment on your Food Saver. The bag will squeeze around the balls of dough when all of the air is removed.
Store in the freezer: Label and date then store the vacuum-sealed storage bag in the freezer to use at a later date.
How to Freeze Baked Cookies
Bake the cookies: Bake cookies as you would per the recipe’s directions. Allow the fresh-baked cookies to fully cool on a wire rack.
Prepare cookies for freezing: In an airtight container or freezer-safe bag, line the cookies in one layer. Placing a piece of parchment paper in between layers allows the frozen cookies to be pulled apart easier.
Remove air: Remove the extra air in the container as possible by pressing on the bag lightly or sucking the air out with a straw.
Store in the freezer: Label and date then store the vacuum-sealed storage bag in the freezer to enjoy at a later date.
How to Thaw Frozen Cookie Dough
- Remove the bag of frozen cookie dough from the freezer and either let them thaw in the fridge overnight or let them sit on the counter at room temperature.
- Carefully pull the parchment paper out of the ziploc bag and place the cookies on a baking sheet.
- The baking time will be the same as the recipe.
Can You Cooke Cookie Dough From Frozen?
Yes, you can cook cookie dough frozen! Simply transfer the frozen cookie dough balls from the freezer bag to a baking tray. You may have to extend your baking time a little longer, so it is a good idea to check on the cookies regularly.
I love making homemade cookies and even love the convenience of having them whenever I want even more! Thinking I may make a double batch and freeze one for later on this cozy Sunday. Yummm!