Thursday, August 5, 2010

Cookies to go

I discovered* the magic of freezing cookies and cookie dough while working on my sister's wedding and now it's my standard method. It's perfect for people like us because we never keep anything sweet in the house and we're fine with that, but it makes impromptu entertaining a little tough. I feel oddly compelled to provide some sort of dessert when we have guests.

We had people over a couple weeks ago and we wanted chocolate chip cookies. I made a double batch of dough, scooped it out onto a couple of baking sheets and stuck them in the freezer for a few hours. Once the dough is frozen, you can transfer all the cookies to an airtight container and just store them in the freezer until the next time you want them. No need to defrost - they'll only need a minute or two of extra baking time.

cookie dough balls
{cookie dough balls}

The advantage to this method is that you can bake just as many cookies as you need - no trying to pawn the extras off on your dieting coworkers. The disadvantage is that frozen balls of cookie dough are insanely delicious, so it can be tough not to pop one every time you walk through the kitchen. I store them in the most inconvenient place possible, forcing us to dig through piles of frozen stuff to get to them. It helps, a little. Consider yourself warned.

cookie dough ball
{cookie dough ball}

This method works perfectly with most cut out cookie recipes as well. As far as longevity goes, I've stored dough up to 2 months in the freezer and it's been fine. We've never managed to make it last any longer than that.

*Discovered is the key word here - not invented. Freezing baked goods or dough is pretty common, but I had never thought of doing it until I was faced with the logistical difficulty of making hundreds and hundreds of cookies.

32 comments:

  1. I'll admit, I could never ever do this. I like cookie dough more than baked cookies, so they would be gone in a day flat.

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  2. I really need to do this. Thanks.

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  3. i would just eat those raw.

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  4. What a genius idea, but, like Olivia and Naurnie, I think I'd succumb to the temptation to just eat all the dough in the freezer. I DO, however, like to make cookies over more than one day- if I make the dough the first day, then bake them the next, I find the whole process a little less daunting, especially since you get to spread the dishes over two days!

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  5. We started doing this too and I was going to blog about it next. It is such a brilliant way to modify the cookie intake after making a huge batch of cookie do. Love how you store them in a container. I just throw them in a ziploc freezer bag but your way is much nicer.

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  6. Thanks so much for sharing. This is a wonderful idea!

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  7. Inconveniently placed in the freezer or not, I would probably eat more dough than baked cookies. Because I may or may not be contemplating making dough now for the sake of eating it frozen later...

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  8. This looks brilliant! I've also seen, somewhere in blogland, someone who froze the cookie dough like you did, then dipped them in melted chocolate, and served them on little forks. drool....

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  9. hahaha...oh the lengths we go to try and make the right decisions for our waistlines... :)

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  10. This is pretty genius. I have no will power when it comes to sweets or baked goods, so I could get behind freezing cookie dough to ration a batch of cookies. Thanks for the idea!

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  11. I like your idea of freezing cookie dough, versus freezing already baked cookies (AKA yuck). I think it's a great time saver, perfect for entertaining or for bake sales, and now I really want to try a frozen ball of cookie dough...

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  12. such a good discovery. i always intend to try this method, but we end up baking (and eating) them all straight away.

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  13. i couldn't agree more with your warning. i dont think they'd even to make it to the oven at my place!

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  14. They look so yummy just like that!!Feel the same!

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  15. Yes, having frozen cookie balls in the freezer would definitely unleash my inner cookie monster.. mmmm!

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  16. i would end up just eating a ball of uncooked dough every night! yummmm

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  17. Great idea!
    Now I want cookies...

    xoxox,
    CC

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  18. why did I never think of this?! I have frozen an entire batch of cookie dough before, but then you have to wait for it to defrost to scoop it out. but this is brilliant! thanks!

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  19. looks delicious

    xo


    WWW.MANYDRESSES.COM

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  20. I do the same thing! And it is a wonderful idea. Sometimes we just bake two. And sometimes we are in a pinch for a party. My stash is running low...Maybe Saturday will be a baking Saturday.

    p.s. I've kept mine frozen for up to six months, and they are fine for me. I use a chocolate chip pecan recipe.

    www.charmed-earth.blogspot.com

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  21. I discovered this trick last year and it is genius...except that we also discovered that the dough is nearly as good as the cookies (or better, if you ask my bf), which is its fatal flaw. Yep, I tried burying the dough in the back of the freezer behind everything else, and it was not an effective deterrent for my significant other. So I've given up on freezing dough balls for now :-/

    P.S. For people with more self-control than me, this chocolate chip cookie recipe http://www.visionsofsugarplum.com/2009/09/best-ever-chocolate-chip-cookies-final.html , with brown butter, is amazing. I make it without the walnuts and double the chocolate chips, and the caramel-ly flavors from the browned butter are outstanding.

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  22. Awesome!! I love the idea of freezing cookie dough. I've easily frozen cookies but this is great too.

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  23. What a great idea! I'll have to try this next week.

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  24. Yep, those cookies would never make it to the oven.

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  25. I figured this out a little while ago and it changed my life. Cookies are best the first day anyway so I just bake a few at a time.

    Dreads do nobody and favors. That's why that girl didn't win American Idol because all people can think about when they look at them is how ugly their hair is.

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  26. Very clever. I think I would just eat those cookie dough nuggets. No need to cook 'em.

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  27. There's nothing more awesome than having guests come over and being able to say, "Oh no big deal, I just made a fresh batch of cookies." I used to do it, but quickly realized I have no self restraint and found myself making them every night after dinner. Bad idea.

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