What’s the holiday season without a fresh batch (OK, several fresh batches) of homemade cookies? There’s just one problem: Making cookies from scratch requires a lot of prep time, which can take away from other festivities. Whether you have an instant craving for your grandmother’s sugar cookie recipe or are looking for ways to save…
When making cookie dough, recipes often yield tons of cookies. Prep cookies as if you’re going to bake them, then freeze them instead. That way, you have fresh cookie dough ready for baking whenever cravings — or holiday gatherings — require them.
To save time when making cookies, follow these steps.
How To Prep Cookie Dough Ahead of Time and Freeze
1. Make Cookie Dough
From a family recipe to a Pinterest find, there are so many delicious holiday cookie recipes out there. Start by selecting your favorite cookie recipe and follow the instructions for making the dough.
2. Prepare Dough on a Cookie Sheet
Once your dough is ready, prepare it as if you plan to bake it. This could mean rolling the dough into balls, dispensing dough with a cookie scooper, or cutting out different shapes with cookie cutters. Place your prepared dough on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
3. Freeze Dough
When your dough is prepped and ready to go, stick the baking sheet in the freezer overnight or until your unbaked cookies are frozen all the way through. It’s best to cover your baking sheet with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn.
If you’re short on freezer space, use a gallon-sized freezer bag lined with parchment paper. Carefully arrange the cookie dough balls on the parchment paper, leaving about an inch between them. Place the bag on a flat surface inside your freezer to prevent the dough balls from rolling around.
4. Store Dough in Freezer Bags
Note: You can skip this step if you followed our space-saving tip. After the dough is fully frozen, place the prepared dough balls into a freezer bag — no parchment paper is needed in this case — and keep them frozen until you’re ready to bake and eat. If you cut shapes out of your dough, you might want to opt for a Tupperware container instead so that they can lay flat.
With this hack, you can have cookie dough ready for baking at all times, whether you’re craving a single snickerdoodle or feeding a crowd. While it’s perfectly fine to bake from frozen, be sure to add a few minutes to your timer so they cook all the way through.
