Thursday, December 18, 2008

How to Freeze Christmas Cookie Dough and Baked Cookies

During the Christmas season, millions upon millions of holiday-themed cookies are scheduled to hit the ovens in households across the world. Nowadays, more people are experiencing the helpfulness of freezing cookie dough to cut down on the overall preparation time and freezing leftovers to make sure they stay fresh. Below you will discover the ins and outs of both methods.

Exploring the Cookie Dough Freeze

Did you know that cookie dough freezes well for four to six weeks? You can prepare rolls of dough that are later sealed tightly in plastic wrap after chilling in the refrigerator beforehand. Depending on the kind of dough you have made, storing it in an airtight container is sometimes more helpful. Another way to store cookie dough in the freezer is to place unbaked drop cookies onto a cookie sheet that is placed in the freezer and then transported to a freezer bag once tJustify Fullhey become hard. Before baking frozen cookie dough, make sure to allow it to reach room temperature, which takes about 30 minutes.

As a rule of thumb, soft meringue-type cookie dough shouldn’t be frozen. It is best to stick with brownies, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and sugar cookie dough. This kind of dough should be placed in the refrigerator for about two to three hours to allow the ingredients to defrost. Also, before freezing dough – do not forget to put labels on freezer bags with a date and the kind of dough.

Freezing Extra Cookies

Sometimes, you bake more cookies than needed and you'd hate to waste the surplus. Never fear – almost any baked cookie will freeze well. Simply allow them to cool completely before freezing. Cookies need individual wrapping in plastic wrap before storing them in a Ziploc freezer bag or storage tin in the freezer. If you have any old coffee cans or holiday tins hanging around, you now have a new use. When using wax paper, you will be able to layer the cookies on top of one another. However, when individually wrapping your cookies, they will last for a longer time.

When freezing frosted cookies, make sure they are hardened without any covering so that the icing can stay intact. Once they are hard enough, store them in an airtight container that is lined with plastic wrap or foil. Keep in mind that unfrosted cookies stay frozen for up to 6-12 months. When frosted, they keep for about three months. In order to eat a frozen cookie, just allow it to reach room temperature, which takes about ten minutes to complete.

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