18 Icebox Cookie Recipes for Fresh Slice-and-Bake Treats Anytime (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to freeze cookie dough or baked cookies? ›

In most cases, I prefer to freeze cookie dough over freezing baked cookies. That way, you still get the nice homemade smell and softness of the cookies when they come out of the oven. But if you want to get the whole job done, you can certainly bake the cookies, then freeze them later.

Now you're ready to make perfectly round Pistachio-Crusted Icebox Cookies. Now onto the final step: slicing! As you cut your dough log into individual cookies, give it a quarter-turn every three or four slices to ensure that the knife doesn't flatten one side repeatedly against the cutting board.

Wait for the cookies to cool completely, then transfer them to a reusable freezer-safe bag or container lined with wax or parchment paper. I like to place them in a single layer to avoid any cookies breaking. Cookies will keep well for up to 2 months. Once ready to eat, simply thaw out at room temperature and enjoy.

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.

Most cookie dough freezes well, particularly these kinds: Chocolate Chip Cookie dough is the cookie dough that I most often have in my freezer - I always have some of my perfect chocolate chip cookie dough, along with my small batch cookie dough or my brown butter chocolate chip cookie dough. They all freeze well.

Sheeting your dough is much more logical and efficient. You roll out just-mixed dough, chill, cut, bake, done. It saves space in your fridge. If you're baking a lot of cookies, sheeting your dough can be an efficient use of space.

For whatever reason, poking holes in the icing before layering on a design helps prevent any craters in the icing🙌🏽 It's worked for me EVERY👏🏽 SINGLE👏🏽 TIME👏🏽 This method is blowing up all over social media!

Baking Powder. The type of leavening you use in your cookies doesn't just help them rise while baking, it affects their texture and structure too. Baking soda in cookies yields a denser cookie with craggy tops, while baking powder causes cookies to rise higher during baking for a cakier texture.

Soft – Dough that's “soft” or “runny” can be thickened by adding one or two tablespoons of flour to your mix. This will help keep your batch from “Spreading” and coming out of the oven looking like flat, not-so-cookie-like puddles.

How do bakeries keep cookies fresh? ›

To extend the shelf life of products, many bakers use specially formulated enzymes for preservation. These naturally occurring protein compounds can keep baked goods soft while preventing crumbling and staling.

After baking, allow cookies to cool completely. Place them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet to freeze them, then store them in a freezer-safe zip-top storage bag labeled with the name and date. Squeeze out extra air and place flat in the freezer. To save space, you can flat-stack freezer bags.

Finally, you can decide to freeze them. That's the best option if you want your cookies to last you a while, because when stored properly, frozen sugar cookies can stay fresh for as long as 3 months.

You can freeze that dough, too. Prepare the cookie dough according to the recipe's instructions. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes, and then wrap the cold dough tightly in plastic wrap and add a label with the name of the recipe and the date. Freeze for up to 3 months.

You can freeze already baked and unbaked cookies, as well as the dough itself, but there are a few things to consider before doing so—including the type of cookie you're trying to freeze and how to properly store them.

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.

Cut outs, drop cookies and refrigerator cookies freeze well. Decorated, filled and cookies with a delicate texture such as meringues are more fragile. Although freezing won't change the flavor of decorated cookies, frosting may cause cookies to stick together.