Frozen Cookie Dough Bakes the Best Cookies (2024)

FAQs

Does frozen cookie dough bake better? ›

Putting cookie dough into the freezer before baking can help solidify the fat from the butter in your cookies, which in turn keeps them from spreading too much in the oven. Colder dough will not expand as much as warm dough does. This will produce a higher, thicker cookie.

Remove however many balls of dough you need from the freezer and place on a parchment-lined baking pan. Bake the cookies for 2 to 5 minutes longer than the original recipe instructions, or until the cookies are golden at the edges but still slightly 'wet' looking at the very center.

Cookie dough freezes well for up to 3 months, so it's a great way to get ahead for the holidays or other busy times. For drop cookies, you don't need to wait for the dough to thaw—bake from frozen. You don't have to bake the whole batch at once—you can bake just 1 or 2 when you're craving a freshly baked, warm cookie.

Using frozen dough is vital for bakers who wish to adopt a more convenient and efficient baking process by extending the shelf life of their bread dough. Frozen dough can benefit bakers in various settings, including supermarkets, hotels, cafes and craft bakeries.

As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that, and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product.

Once it has proofed, bake it at around 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. Baking time and temperature can vary slightly depending on your oven. If you don't use your frozen dough right away, it can typically be wrapped in an airtight container and be placed back in the freezer.

HEAT oven to 350°F (or 325°F for nonstick cookie sheet). PLACE cookie dough rounds about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. BAKE 10 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown.

In order to make the tastiest baked goods, you will need to prepare your dough in a certain way, which includes thawing, defrosting, proofing and retarding dough before baking.

Frozen cookie dough can last up to 9-12 months in the freezer, so frozen cookie dough gives you the most flexibility in terms of longevity. But let's be honest – it's rarely untouched for that long!

Does freezing cookie dough make them chewy? ›

Cool down your dough for a tastier, chewier cookie.

As little as 30 minutes in your fridge or freezer can help your cookie brown better, spread less, and develop a richer chewy texture. There's a few reasons why, but one important part is it gives the butter in your dough a chance to firm up before baking.

A low 325°F produces a crisp, gingersnap-like cookie, while a moderate 350°F makes a thicker, chewier snickerdoodle-style cookie. In this experiment, we're baking chocolate chip cookies at three different temperatures to explore the effects of oven temperature on cookie shape and texture.

You will need to add a few minutes onto the bake time to account for frozen dough. Bake frozen dough at the temperature specified in baking instructions, and add a few minutes onto the bake time. This may give you slightly crispier edges as the cookie is in the oven a little longer.

Freezing cookie dough gives the butter in the dough the chance to become firmer. Colder butter disperses through the cookie more slowly causing a more structured and complex cookie. Cold butter also causes the cookie to spread less creating a final product that is softer and meltier.

As little as 30 minutes in your fridge or freezer can help your cookie brown better, spread less, and develop a richer chewy texture. There's a few reasons why, but one important part is it gives the butter in your dough a chance to firm up before baking.

Chill the dough: Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes to an hour or until it becomes firmer and easier to handle. Freezing the dough briefly helps, but it might need thawing to roll or scoop. This is especially helpful for doughs made with vegan butter or margarine, which softens easier than dairy butter.

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies.