One of the great things about baking cookies is that you can freeze them and enjoy them later. If you haven’t done this yet, then you should start. It’s easy to do, and you don’t need to add any frosting or sugar! Just roll or scoop them out and store them until you’re ready to bake.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough Balls?
It’s simple to freeze cookie dough. Everyone has their method, but this is the simplest and most practical.
- Roll the homemade cookie dough into balls once it has chilled in the refrigerator (if the cookie recipe calls for it).
- The cookie dough balls should be chilled in the fridge for an hour.
- Put the solid, cold cookie dough balls into a large or small, labeled, zipped-top bag, depending on your dough.
- Place the bag in the freezer after marking it with the month and the baking temperature.
- For up to three months, freeze cookie dough. The temperature is indicated for obvious reasons, and the date will assist you in knowing when the cookie dough is fresh. You can write anything beneficial to you—the time, date, temperature, name of the recipe, etc.
- Take the cookies out of the freezer and prepare to bake them. To the directions in the recipe, preheat the oven.
- Due to the frozen state of the dough, bake the cookies for an additional minute or two.
Roll or Scoop Cookies Before Baking
Using a scoop to roll or scoop cookie dough balls before baking is a great way to ensure your cookies are the same size. Cookie recipes often specify the diameter of balls to be used. The scoop provides uniformly sized balls, which prevents overbaking or underbaking.
To use a scoop to roll or scoop cookie dough, you’ll need a scoop with a spring-loaded handle. Spoons come in various sizes, so find one that’s right for your recipe. Depending on the type of cookies you are baking, you can use a small or large scoop. You can also opt to use a leveler instead.
If you use a scoop, place the scoop on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Fill the inside with the dough, flattening the bottom. Do not use a spoon to scoop the dough. Otherwise, you will end up with uneven balls.
Once you’ve scooped and rolled your dough, you’ll need to freeze it for at least four hours. This will help the dough firm up and make it easier to scoop.
To freeze your dough, it is best to freeze it in a tightly wrapped container. Alternatively, you can store it in an airtight freezer bag. Freezing your dough will help it stay fresh for up to six months.
Storing Tips for Frozen Cookie Dough
Frozen cookie dough balls can be stored for months. You can keep them in airtight containers or zip-lock bags. When freezing your cookies, you should follow the same storage rules as regular dough.
Whether you’re storing your frozen cookie dough in a freezer or fridge, you’ll need to keep your ingredients cold. If your dough is too soft to freeze, you can defrost it in the refrigerator. But thawing your dough can cause it to lose its shape and texture. It would be best if you melted your cookie dough for at least an hour before baking. This will ensure that the cookies have the correct consistency before they’re baked.
Before freezing your dough, you’ll need to shape it into a log. This is a good time to label the record with the date and the baking instructions.
Once the log is formed, you can wrap it in plastic or wax paper. Wrapping it in wax paper will help prevent it from breaking while storing it.
Once your dough has been wrapped in wax paper, you can place it in a large zip-top bag or storage container with a lid. You can also roll it in a sugar coating and then wrap it in plastic.
Do I Need to Add Frosting or Sugar Before Freezing?
To freeze cookie dough balls, you must add a few extra steps to ensure your cookies are baked properly. Freezing a cookie is a great time saver, but you can’t just throw it in the freezer and forget about it. There are a few tips and tricks to ensure you get the most out of your dough.
To start, you need to determine the baking temperature of the cookie. This can be done by testing the cookies or rolling out the dough and baking it as instructed. You can also do a half sheet of cookies to see how long they take to bake.
Once you have the correct oven temperature, you can cut the cookies into shapes. For drop cookies, like M&M cookies, you can place them on a baking sheet and freeze them. Be careful not to touch the frozen cookies. When the cookies are frozen, it can be difficult to remove them from the bag.
You can also store the dough in a large zip-top freezer bag. The cookies can be stored for up to three months. Store the pack with a date on it to help you identify the freshness of the dough.
Another tip is to layer the dough sheets. Putting the cutout dough sheets between another sheet of parchment or wax paper will help the cookies stay separate in the freezer.
Does Freezing Cookie Dough Ruin it?
Gordon claims that cookie dough will freeze just fine if it is properly packaged and kept. No of the method or type of cookie dough you’re freezing, the objective is to avoid freezer burn. Wrap it tightly to prevent air gaps from forming, which could lead to freezer burn or dough oxidation.
Options for traditional cookie dough that freeze well include chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter, and sugar. It is recommended to bake the cookies first, then freeze them, especially for sweets made with meringue, like macarons. The batter for macarons is difficult to store, and freezing it before baking will give the macarons an improper texture and structure.
What Kinds of Cookie Dough Freeze Well?
The majority of cookie doughs freeze fairly nicely. The best type of frozen dough is usually dropped cookies, like chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal coconut cookies.
You must freeze the dough without the outside addition if you’re creating a cookie that calls for rolling the dough in anything before baking, such as Snickerdoodles or Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. The cookies will be soft enough to move in the cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or whatever the recipe specifies after sitting out the dough for about 30 minutes.
You may freeze sugar cookie dough by forming it into a big block and wrapping it tightly in plastic. Roll it out and cut out shapes before baking after placing it in the refrigerator for the night.
Any fragile cookies, like meringue cookies, should be avoided because they won’t freeze well.
Now you have no justification for not keeping cookie dough in your freezer for those times when a craving strikes!
Where Should I Put My Dough in the Freezer?
Put your cookie dough somewhere that won’t be exposed to the outside world every time the freezer is opened, such as the bottom or the rear of a larger freezer.
We typically believe cookie dough should be safeguarded at all costs. Those veggies can take the brunt of being exposed to fluctuating air temperatures, so this is one of those little hints that probably won’t make much of a difference.
Does Freezing Cookie Dough Change the Taste?
Since we have been properly freezing cookie dough for years, we have never experienced any issues with the dough tasting differently after being frozen.
If flavor absorption from the freezer is an issue, you can double bag or vacuum-seal the frozen dough before storing it. We’ve used this vacuum sealer from Food Saver for more than five years and frequently use it.
Both cooked cookies and cookie dough can be frozen, although it is better to freeze the dough and bake it later to preserve its soft texture and extra-fresh flavor.
Cookies that have already been baked may lose moisture in the freezer, becoming crumbly and dry.
Allow cooked cookies to cool completely before freezing, storing for up to a month in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
Conclusion
Cookie dough can be conveniently accessed when a cookie hunger strikes and waste from other cookie dough is eliminated by freezing it. Depending on the type of cookies and the original recipe, cookie dough can be frozen as either ball, a log, or discs. Whatever kind of cookie dough is frozen must be carefully wrapped and stored to avoid freezer burn.
