Chocolate Chip Cookies may have been my first true love. Seriously. I ate my weight in Chips A-Hoy Cookies in elementary school, when those crunchy cookies were the best thing I’d ever tasted. In junior high school I discovered the joy of raw cookie dough, the highlight of every weekend sleepover where, occasionally, we’d actually bake the dough and have a cookie or two. My cookie jones hasn’t faded and smart cookie that I am, I married a man who worships the cookie just as much as I do. Together we made a baby girl with an Olympic level sweet tooth. Bottom line, there are almost always cookies here. Always. (Because I learned how to freeze cookie dough!)
I’m a speedy cook. Years of practice has given me the ability to get food in the oven or on the table pretty quickly but sometimes it’s nice to have a warm, homemade cookie without the measuring and scooping. That’s why I keep batches of cookie dough in my freezer at all times. Learning how to freeze cookie dough was a game changer for me. Now, when I get the cookie bug, I bake a double batch of dough. I bake one batch immediately because: greedy. The second batch gets scooped, frozen and stored in the fridge for cookie emergencies so we can have cookies in 10-12 minutes. Yaaaaasssssss! (Are we still saying that?)
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
1. Prepare your favorite drop cookie dough.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Scoop cookie dough onto prepared sheet then place tray in freezer until dough is frozen solid, 2-3 hours. It’s ok to crowd the dough onto one baking sheet for freezing.
4. Remove dough from freezer and place frozen balls of dough into a resealable plastic freezer bag.
5. Squeeze excess air out of the bag and seal bag.
6. Place bag inside another resealable plastic freezer bag. Squeeze excess air out of second bag and seal.
7. Store frozen cookie dough in your freezer for up to three months. (As if, lol…)
How to Bake Frozen Cookie Dough
Having a stash of cookie dough in the freezer is the most delicious convenience! You can bake just as many cookies as you’d like in minutes. To bake your frozen cookie dough:
1. Place your frozen balls of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon baking sheet. This time make sure your cookies are 2-inches apart so they don’t stick together as they bake.
2. Preheat oven (or toaster oven if you’re only baking a few cookies) to 350F.
3. Bake cookies 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
Check out other delicious cookie recipes here.
TIPS:
Frozen cookie dough will bake up puffy. For thinner cookies, let dough thaw to room temperature (this will take a few hours) before baking.
Don’t skip the freezing on a baking sheet step. If you place the balls of dough in a freezer bag before they’re frozen your cookies will freeze together. You’ll have one frozen block of dough instead of individual cookies.
Label and date your cookie dough so you’ll know what kind of cookies you have and how long they’ve been around.
TOOLS:
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper or Silicon Baking Sheet
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TECHNIQUES:
Baking
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 8 oz unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Sift flour, espresso powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Cream butter and sugars together on medium speed in the bowl of a mixer until fluffy, 2 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, and vanilla. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add sifted flour mixture to eggs. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Use a small ice cream scoop to scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet or drop cookies by rounded tablespoonsful onto prepared sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Bake 8-9 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet.
- Makes about 24 cookies.
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