Can You Freeze Cookies?
Cookies are the most adored dessert type across the world. They are easy to bake and a perfect snack throughout the day. Here are some tips from us so that you can freeze cookies for months without losing their texture.
Christmas, New Year, Black Friday, every occasion is incomplete without fun and yummy cookies on the tray. These baked goods are perfect for gifting purposes as well. I mean who doesn’t love a box full of different flavors of cookies?!
Be it chocolate or mint flavored or coated with strawberry jam, every cookie has a unique flavor and baking method. Some taste great with royal icings on top while others are best when you eat them with a cup of hot milk. Let’s get into the freezing process for cookies already!
How to Freeze Cookies?
So freezing cookies is a smart idea for saving them for future use. Thus, if you are baking them for domestic use or another use like gifting, freezing them is essential. If you follow these steps properly, you can increase the shelf life of cookies to six months.
Also, you won’t lose the original texture and taste of the cookies. First of all, bake your cookies as per your recipe. Once they are perfectly baked line them on a baking rack. Allow them to cool entirely. This might take at least an hour so you have to be patient at this step.
Once the cookies are cooled, you can line the baking tray with baking paper. Then arrange the cookies properly on the baking tray so that they don’t stick to each other. Now shift this baking tree into the refrigerator. Allow the cookies to freeze for a while.
Once the cookies are frozen for around three hours you can transfer them into freezer-safe bags for their tight containers. Stack these cookies properly so that they don’t stick to each other. Now freeze these bags in the freezer and use them for six months. That’s it, this is all it takes to freeze cookies whether they be homemade or store-bought.
How to Freeze Cookies with Royal Icing?
Although it is not recommendable however if you wish to freeze cookies with royal icing or any other type of coating on them it is better to use them within three days. Freezing cookies with icing or other coatings on them is not advisable because this might disrupt the texture of the cookies.
How to freeze cookies with royal icing on them you can simply place them on a baking tray and shift the tree into the freezer. Use these cookies within three days. Since the cookies are coated with icing or frosting, it is better to eat them ASAP.
However, it is better to freeze the cookies dry and prepare royal icing or other frostings separately. Whenever you need the cookies, you can defrost them, and icing can be put on the cookies fresh. It is a better alternative than freezing the cookies with icing on them.
Another harm that may happen if you freeze the cookies with royal icing on them is that the texture of the icing and the pattern of your cookies gets destroyed. Therefore, if you prepare cute textures or shapes of cookies and decorate them with royal icing, then if you stack them on each other, they will lose their texture and appearance overall.
How to Freeze Cookies with Different Dough Types?
Different types of cookies have different recipes involved in their preparations. Therefore if you bake certain types of cookies you must know whether or not they freeze appropriately. Usually, most cookies can freeze well, but there are certain exceptions in this case.
Any type of cookie that is prepared with a soft or semi-liquid batter does not freeze well. Therefore, cookies like mint choco cookies, choco almond pizzelle cookies, meringue cookies, or any cookies with extra frosting on them are not good at freezing.
However, if you make cookies with tough dough they will freeze exquisitely well. Therefore, if you are making any of the cookies mentioned above, it is better to avoid freezing them. Instead, you can eat them by baking them fresh.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough?
Freezing cookie dough saves so much time! It is the best kitchen hack to try for the festive seasons or your baking business. Cookie doughs that have a thick consistency freeze so well. Thus, you can prepare the extra dough in batches and store it in the freezer for later use.
Start by preparing a tight dough for the cookie as per your recipe. Then make small roundels of the prepared dough manually or using a ladle. Then line these dough balls on a baking tray and pop them in the refrigerator for a flash freezing session of 3 hours.
Once the duration surpasses, you can wrap individual cookie dough balls into small cling films. Then transfer these wrapped balls to airtight bags or containers and freeze. Wrapping individual balls is a handy step as it allows you to use a fixed amount of dough at any time.
Also, wrapping the balls prevents them from sticking to each other. Therefore, it becomes easy to remove balls from the bag.
How Long Can you Freeze Cookies?
If you follow these steps appropriately, then you can freeze cookies and cookie dough effectively for six months. That is what makes this process useful, right? You get to prepare loads of cookies months before the festive season commences.
Therefore, you can prepare your sweets early and enjoy festivities to the core without worrying about the baking process. Also, if you wish to bake fresh cookies then you can freeze cookie dough for later use. Either way, you can save tremendous effort and time involved in the baking process.
Cookies that Freeze Astonishingly Well
Now that you are aware of tips on freezing cookies, check out these cookie recipes that freeze surprisingly well. They freeze so well that you can’t differentiate between them and the freshly baked ones.
Chocolate-filled Butter Cookie Cups
To prepare these cookie cups, you will need- butter, sugar, eggs, confectioner’s sugar, baking powder, orange juice, salt, vanilla essence, flour, dark chocolate, and whipping cream. Prepare chocolate frosting by whipping the cream and melted dark chocolate together and set aside in the fridge. Separately mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients with a beater. Then combine them and beat till you get cookie dough. Bake cookie cups and fill them with chocolate frosting. You can freeze these cookie cups in the freezer and add the frosting later on freshly.
Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread cookies are the perfect staple sweet item for Christmas Eve. You can prepare these cookies as usual and store them in the freezer. You can cut out shapes of cookies as per your choice and they will freeze equally well. Freeze them without any icing on top. Icing and other frostings will harm the texture of the cookies. Therefore, when you defrost the cookies you can prepare fresh icings for decor.
Cookies are easy to prepare and can serve your sweet tooth throughout the year. One can make cookies and decorate them later with friends and family as a festive ritual. Or you can simply relish your cookies across the year. It is better to bake cookies as and when required without buying extra stock.