Food
3 ways to freeze cookie dough
Food
3 ways to freeze cookie dough
Once Halloween has past, I start thinking about
Christmas. It is usually a very busy time of year, with all the shopping, decorating, wrapping, cooking, visiting, and of course,
lots of baking! Every year for about the past 15 years I have made
homemade cookies to give to friends and family. I usually make about 6 kinds of cookies and at least a few dozen of each kind. That means
hundreds of cookies, with only 1 oven! Phew! I like to make the cookies as close to Christmas as possible, so they are as fresh as possible, but that means a lot of work at the last minute. So, over the years I have looked for ways to make the cookie making process easier. One way is to
make the cookie dough in advance and freeze it. There are a few ways to freeze cookie dough, and here are my favourites:
1) In a disc: Most recipes in which you make the dough, press into disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate, can also be
frozen. This works best with sugar cookie, gingerbread or most doughs that need to be rolled out.
Thaw the wrapped disc of dough in the fridge
over night before using.
2) In a log: Icebox, or slice-and-bake, cookies are great
make-ahead cookies. Once the dough is made, cookies can be sliced off and baked as needed. Make the dough and
shape into logs as instructed, then pop into the freezer. Again, thaw the dough in the fridge over night before using.
3) In pieces: If possible, I like to freeze cookie dough in this way. It is basically like making
IQF (individually quick frozen) cookie dough pieces. This method works best with drop cookies, or any cookie that needs to be shaped into a ball before baking. Freeze the cookie dough pieces on a parchment paper-line baking sheet. Once frozen, the pieces can be stored in an
airtight, freezer-safe container. To bake, you can either place frozen cookies on baking sheet and let them thaw before baking. Or bake the cookie dough pieces
from frozen, adding a couple minutes to the total baking time.
Frozen cookie dough, in an airtight container, is good for up to 3 weeks. For more holiday baking recipes and tips see our
Great Canadian Cookie Exchange!
Photography by Jeff Coulson (top); Ryan Szulc (middle and bottom)
1) In a disc: Most recipes in which you make the dough, press into disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate, can also be
frozen. This works best with sugar cookie, gingerbread or most doughs that need to be rolled out.
Thaw the wrapped disc of dough in the fridge
over night before using.
2) In a log: Icebox, or slice-and-bake, cookies are great
make-ahead cookies. Once the dough is made, cookies can be sliced off and baked as needed. Make the dough and
shape into logs as instructed, then pop into the freezer. Again, thaw the dough in the fridge over night before using.
3) In pieces: If possible, I like to freeze cookie dough in this way. It is basically like making
IQF (individually quick frozen) cookie dough pieces. This method works best with drop cookies, or any cookie that needs to be shaped into a ball before baking. Freeze the cookie dough pieces on a parchment paper-line baking sheet. Once frozen, the pieces can be stored in an
airtight, freezer-safe container. To bake, you can either place frozen cookies on baking sheet and let them thaw before baking. Or bake the cookie dough pieces
from frozen, adding a couple minutes to the total baking time.
Frozen cookie dough, in an airtight container, is good for up to 3 weeks. For more holiday baking recipes and tips see our
Great Canadian Cookie Exchange!
Photography by Jeff Coulson (top); Ryan Szulc (middle and bottom)
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