Freeze Pre-Portioned Cookie Dough for Emergency Cookie Preparation.
Few comforts are as satisfying as warm, freshly baked cookies. Crispy on the edges and gooey-soft in the middle, they remain at the peak of perfection for just a few hours. Of course, day-old cookies are always welcome on my plate, but wouldn’t it be nice to eat a fresh cookie or two on a whim? Well, the Cookie Gods are listening, friends, and have a solution for you: Simply portion and freeze your raw dough in advance so you can bake a few cookies on the spot when you need them.
Whenever I’m going to bake a batch of cookies, I almost always bake a dozen and then freeze the rest of the dough. This works for me because I live in a family of two, so a dozen cookies gets the job done in a day (or half a day). The rest of the dough becomes what I call “emergency cookies.” Emergency cookies are taken as if you were going to bake them, but instead of welcoming the heat, they are thrown into the freezer.
From there you can call them up at any time and place them in the oven for 10–12 minutes. The cookie dough bakes like it hasn’t been aged a day. Last week I ate a whole batch of emergency peanut butter cookies (guess why!) from dough I made in June. They puffed and browned, I ate; they did their job.
Most cookies made with butter, sugar and eggs work well when molded and frozen uncooked. If it’s a dough that you scoop and drop with a spoon, or roll and cut, it’s fine for this. Freezing the dough can extend its life by about six months without any negative effects on texture or taste. This is a great way to save extra dough from the trash (I know, but some people have this problem) or to specifically triple the dough to prepare for the holidays.
How to Portion and Freeze Cookie Dough
1. Scoop or cut the dough.
Mix the cookie dough completely and refrigerate it for 20 to 30 minutes to firm up the fats; it’s easier to scoop. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using an ice cream mold or any other scoop, scoop out the dough and place mounds on the baking sheet. They may be close together since you’re not baking them that way. Try to place as many images on the sheet as possible. If you are making pre-cut cookies, cut them as directed and place on sheet the same way.
2. Freeze the dough.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour, or long enough for the cookie dough pieces to become firm and easy to remove from the parchment.
3. Pin the dough balls together.
Remove the baking sheet from the freezer. Peel all the cookies off the parchment and place them in a ziplock freezer bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal it. They should be firm enough so that none of the cookies crash into the others. Now you can throw a bag of pre-portioned cookie dough in the freezer and take a long nap until the holidays or an emergency.
4. Bake from frozen
When the time comes, remove as many pieces of frozen cookie dough as you need and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave the rest of the cookies in the bag, squeezing out the air, in the freezer. Bake them according to the original recipe, adding two to three minutes to the recommended baking time.
Now you can easily satisfy your cravings with two freshly baked cookies or brighten up a bad day with a dozen. No need to take out the bowl, just press on the oven and bake. Depending on the size of the emergency, you may find that cookie dough is good enough on its own.