Cookie dough question

[dvcfamily41801]

It is just Matt & I this weekend so I thought we would make up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Quick and easy! Can I make up the Tollhouse Choc Chip Cookie Dough and freeze it? How about sugar cookie or snickerdoodle dough? I am thinking it might be a little easier for me to do baking this way and get the mess part out of the way. How long would they last in the freezer and do I just defrost in the fridge? Wrap in Saran Wrap?

Ya'll would think I am new to this baking thing. I just have no clue because I normally just do it all the baking in one weekend. Thanks!

 

[powellrj]

I have done this before. You might want to roll the dough into a log (like the way you buy it in the dairy case) wrap it in wax paper and then store in a ziploc bag. The chocolate chip ones can then be sliced and baked when you are ready. I have never frozen snickerdoodles, but I can't see that they would be a problem. The dough should last a couple of months in the freezer. If you are going to use them for christmas you should be fine.

 

[ChristmasElf]

I freeze cookie dough every year and it is a real time saver! I also roll it into logs and then just take off what I want to bake when I am ready. For the snickerdoodles, just let the dough get thawed enough to roll into balls and put in the cinnamon sugar and they will be great!
I love this time of year, the house always smells like apples and cinnamon!

 

[LisaS]

You got me curious about this so I went to www.google.com and typed "freezing cookie dough" into the search text box:
http://www.google.com/search?source...GLD:2004-07,GGLD:en&q="freezing+cookie+dough"

I also tried searching for: "freeze cookie dough": http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-07,GGLD:en&q="freeze+cookie+dough"

Got lots of hits, so there seems to be a lot of info out there. Here is just one of the search results I got: http://allrecipes.com/advice/coll/all/articles/174P1.asp

As expected, the key thing is to double wrap the dough, sealing out as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn and to prevent odors from other items from being absorbed by the dough. I would probably form a dough "log" and wrap it in plastic wrap first, then put that inside a plastic bag, suck as much air out of the bag as possible and twist the bag shut and fold the twisted end in half and secure it with a twist tie (or use a resealable bag). One of the search results had another interesting idea: roll the dough into balls, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for one hour. Then put the frozen dough balls into a resealable plastic bag, sucking as much air out as possible before sealing. Now when you are ready to bake, put the frozen dough balls on a baking sheet and bake, adding a few extra minutes to the baking time. This technique might be the way to go with the snickerdoodles.

 

[nwdisgal]

My pastry chef friend freezes cookie dough, cakes, everything...all the time without any adverse effects. Her technique is that she spoons the cookies out on the sheet ahead of time, then double cater wraps (secure plastic wrap over the top of the cookie sheet and seal securely to the underside) . You could freeze the dough in a log or circle and slice it or cut-outs (i.e refrigerator type cookies - sugar cookie douch), or if you actually have the space, put the cookies out on the sheet as you are going to bake them- your drop type cookies - choc chip, peanut butter, etc. Just make sure the they are wrapped securely with the plastic. Also, the idea about flash freezing them and putting the balls in a air tight plastic bag is a good one too. that would be good for snickerdoodles. The only thing with those is the sugar and cinnamon coating might rub off in the freezing process, so I would do the final roll in the sugar/cinnamon right before you bake them. Plantation sugar (which is the courser, white sugar) works really well for rolling the cookies in and dusting them with before final baking. It gives them the a really nice texture.

 

[SueM in MN]

that would be something really good to use a Seal-a-Meal for. You could vacuum seal them and they would last longer.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies! I was thinking that exact thing, I have the food sealer thing and I could use that!!

Thanks everyone!