By Regan Cafiso and Fraya Berg for Food Network Kitchen
Warm, freshly baked cookies are one of life's great pleasures. Too bad that you have to pull out the mixer, measure ingredients and portion the dough before enjoying them. Or do you? With a little prep, you can have homemade cookies whenever the need (or craving) strikes. All you need is a little prep and your freezer. Here, we walk you through how to freeze baked cookies and cookie dough, so you can simply reheat (or bake) at a moment's notice.
Can You Freeze Cookies?
We're talking about fully baked cookies. The answer is a resounding yes - read on for the full how-to.
To freeze a batch of cookies for snacking:
Allow the cookies to cool completely after baking. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper, fill it with a single layer of cookies and freeze. Stack the cookies with small square pieces of wax paper to keep them separated, then transfer them to a freezer-safe zip-top bag. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible (bye-bye, freezer burn). Label the bag with the cookie name and the baking date.
- To thaw: Take a cookie or three out of the bag and thaw at room temperature or microwave for 10 seconds. (Don’t microwave decorated cookies.)
To freezing large quantities for cookies for gift giving:
Allow cookies to cool completely after baking. Line a sturdy container with wax paper. Fill the container with layers of cookies, placing a sheet of wax paper between each layer. Close container and double wrap it with plastic wrap. Label container with the cookie name, baking date and quantity.
- To thaw: Take the container out of the freezer and thaw at room temperature overnight to prevent condensation on ice-cold cookies. Pack in gift containers.
Best Cookies for Freezing
The best cookies for freezing are your favorite cookies - with a few exceptions. Steer clear of cookies made with a liquid batter, such as Florentines, tuiles and fortune cookies. Here are a few types of cookies we've frozen successfully, again and again - plus links to galleries filled with different options.
Bar Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Brownies
Shortbread
Sugar Cookies
Best Containers for Freezing Baked Cookies
The best containers for freezing cookies have lids that shut securely, are lightweight and free. Yes, free. We save plastic carryout containers all year to use for freezing cookies and then we up-cycle them as the gift boxes when we give the cookies away. Are there other alternatives? Of course: use what you have or buy a big box of carry-out containers.