Which Cookies freeze the best?

[Zyni]

Have you ever made lots of cookies and then tried to freeze some? I have baking moods, it seems, so I would like to bake extra when I'm in the zone, and then be able to pop them out of the freezer later if I don't feel like baking. It would also be nice to have some on hand if people drop by unexpectedly and you want to offer them something with coffee. Homemade cookies make a much better offering than store bought.

So, which cookies freeze well if any? Or, is it better to just freeze the dough and throw some in the oven as needed?

 

[connie]

I am pretty certain that it is better to freeze the dough and cook it as needed rather than to freeze a cooked biscuit.

I know that the mixture I make for dumplings freezes exceptionally well uncooked and that scones freeze cooked and uncooked without issues. In fact often freezing scones is the only way of keeping them long enough for guests sometimes.

 

[Shimus]

anything coated in chocolate freezes well. The more you coat it, the less damage occurs to the breading of the cookie when you freeze/unfreeze them. Sometimes, the chocolate can even be removed fresh out of the freezer by banging the cookie the right way and then you just have the cookie breading. Depending on the coat. If it's like a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie it freezes well, but the chocolate stays on. It's really all in the type, like you pointed out.

I don't think I would put in shortbreads or stuff like that. Unfreezing them, they would crumble probably. Or taste stiff/soggy.

 

[connie]

Have you ever made lots of cookies and then tried to freeze some? I have baking moods, it seems, so I would like to bake extra when I'm in the zone, and then be able to pop them out of the freezer later if I don't feel like baking.

...The more you coat it, the less damage occurs to the breading of the cookie when you freeze/unfreeze them. Sometimes, the chocolate can even be removed fresh out of the freezer by banging the cookie the right way and then you just have the cookie breading. ...

So, you bake extra cookies, take the time to coat them in chocolate, freeze them, then knock off the chocolate deliberately....

 

[NThomas]

Just about any cookie can be frozen before it is baked, You just have to ude the right method for the right dough. Many cookies can be made in to dough balls and then frozen. This way you can bake dozen or a single cookie at a time. Make sure to wrap them tightly and use freze safe bags.

 

[Zyni]

Yeah, I kind of figured it would be better to do the dough instead of the finished cookie. I guess I could just make individual little packs or put up enough for a few cookies, and pop out the packs as needed. I was hoping maybe I could freeze pre-made ones though. That would be handy. Do all the baking at once, but have some for other occasions.

Thank you all for your tips.

 

[barkingsquirrel]

I think it's a great idea to prepare the dough ahead of time and freeze for later use. I used to have a neighbor who did that. She would prepare the dough and form it into a log that would fit into a freezer-safe ziplock bag. From there, she would wrap the log tightly with plastic wrap then place it into the ziplock bag and into the freezer. I would imagine that this would be a great way to prepare for Christmas baking a few months ahead of time when life is not so crazy!

 

[Shimus]

So, you bake extra cookies, take the time to coat them in chocolate, freeze them, then knock off the chocolate deliberately....

That's only if you want an undamaged cookie as close to the original state as being frozen-->thawed could produce, anyways.. The chocolate acts as a shell and can be removed. I've made cookies with this in mind for even people with low tolerance to cholocate and they still found my cookies fresh and didn't get sick off them when I removed the casing. It could be done with any casing, really. Not limited to chocolate. There are reasons to my madness! Don't go hurtin' ya brain too much thinkin' bout' it.

Most of the time, I just leave the casing on. But for those instances, it's easily removable.

 

[confettine]

Only cooked cookies I ever saw being frozen had a nice layer of ice cream beetween two cookies... Something to try?

 

[Shimus]

Only cooked cookies I ever saw being frozen had a nice layer of ice cream beetween two cookies... Something to try?

 

[Zyni]

Only cooked cookies I ever saw being frozen had a nice layer of ice cream beetween two cookies... Something to try?

Ice cream sandwiches are always worth a try. Ice cream and cookies together is never a bad idea, is it?

I'm still going to try to find some cookies that can be pre-made and frozen. I don't want to always have cookies sitting around tempting me, but it's nice to have a couple here and there. If I make a whole batch, I'd like to be able to stash some for another time. If they are here leering at me, I will eat them.

 

[Shimus]

Also, a good type of cookie to freeze is ironically the No-Bake cookie. The way the oats and peanut butter/chocolate coat them, they freeze just as well as my above method. I might argue they also taste pretty good being chilled to ice-cream temperature. The texture tastes like a frozen treat and less a cookie, and if you decide to thaw them out they virtually taste no different from the point you made them.

Just tried this and verified.

 

[Zyni]

Also, a good type of cookie to freeze is ironically the No-Bake cookie. The way the oats and peanut butter/chocolate coat them, they freeze just as well as my above method. I might argue they also taste pretty good being chilled to ice-cream temperature. The texture tastes like a frozen treat and less a cookie, and if you decide to thaw them out they virtually taste no different from the point you made them.

Just tried this and verified.

Okay, cool. Thanks for testing it out and letting us know. I wouldn't have even thought of that. I appreciate all the details.

 

[Shimus]

I would also like to hear from other people what has worked for them too. I'm interested to know if there are any other cookies that can freeze/thaw and generally taste the same as well. I've tried a bunch and unless I've coated them or used some other method to preserve them in a casing, I find they just don't thaw out and taste the same as them being fresh. Very few cookies allow for such elasticity.

 

[Zyni]

I did try freezing some butter cookies once, but they are so delicate that they had to be eaten while still fairly well chilled. Otherwise, they tended to fall apart. I'm wondering if some of that freezer wrap stuff would help. I've used it before for storing other foods, but I've never tried it for cookies.

Here's the stuff: Press n Seal Freezer Wrap. When I went and found the page, I noticed it even shows cookies. Hmmm... maybe this will work.

 

[Shimus]

Indeed. You'll have to let us know the experimental results. I'm curious to see if wrap-sealing them increases the effectiveness of the cookie not actually falling apart. I have a feeling you'll still run into some cookies that fall apart because that's just what breading does when it's frozen; but the wrap may be able to preserve certain types of cookies better.

 

[Zyni]

Indeed. You'll have to let us know the experimental results. I'm curious to see if wrap-sealing them increases the effectiveness of the cookie not actually falling apart. I have a feeling you'll still run into some cookies that fall apart because that's just what breading does when it's frozen; but the wrap may be able to preserve certain types of cookies better.

Yeah, I'm not sure. I know it works well for other things. It creates an air tight seal. It's great for keeping things from getting frost burned, so I might give it a go here.

 

[superbobby]

How long can cookies be frozen? Do you guys have an idea how long it takes until it goes bad?

 

[Shimus]

That's a good question. I never actually noted any time you had to pull them out before, but I imagine you can't leave in too long even versus some extreme cold with air-tight seal. I imagine after a week or two they just wouldn't taste the same. That's for already COOKED or PREPARED cookies though. Dough itself can last a while if you just freeze it like that as well.

Anyone here have experience with how long to freeze them before they fall apart/taste horrid? I've only ever did two weeks and they even started to taste a little ugh.