Cookie

A 5-Minute Trick for Fresh, Warm Cookies Anytime

May  9, 2018

Okay, so it’s not like homemade cookies are hard. Even little hands can mix dry and wet ingredients, plop them on a sheet pan, then watch them brown in the oven. But homemade doesn’t necessarily mean convenient—it takes time to prep and clean, and the portions lean toward feeding crowds.

But baking wizard and Food52 favorite Posie Harwood has a speedy solution for anytime homemade cookies: her freezer.

“This means you’re never more than 15 minutes from warm, homemade cookies—and also, you have a great late-night dessert,” she says. “Plus, you can bake as many as you’d like. If you only want one or two cookies, great!”

It should take only about 5 minutes to prep your dough, mixing until everything combines. Depending on what kind of cookie you’re making, you can freeze either as a slice-and-bake log or on a sheet pan for individual dough balls. They’ll keep in the freezer for up to a year.

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Not that you’ll let them last that long. When craving cookies, simply place them on your sheet pan and bake for a minute or two longer than the recipe calls for. Or you can eat them straight from the freezer, like Posie.

Join The Conversation

Top Comment:
“From freezer to oven 400 degrees, 8 minutes hot cookies! ”
— BerryBaby
Comment

“Frozen cookie dough balls are one of life’s greatest small pleasures, in my opinion,” she says.

Want to give it a try? Here are four freezer-friendly recipes:

What’s in your freezer? Cookies?

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Maggie
    Maggie
  • Rosa
    Rosa
  • BerryBaby
    BerryBaby
Katie is a food writer and editor who loves cheesy puns and cheesy cheese.

5 Comments

Maggie May 22, 2018
Make egg-free cookie dough and eat it straight from the freezer! Who needs to bake?? (especially in summer) Nomnomnom
 
Rosa May 11, 2018
I’ve never had success when baking cookie dough from the freezer...is there a secret? Thaw the dough before you bake? Higher temp??
 
BerryBaby May 11, 2018
Take right out of the freezer bake from frozen. 400 degrees 8-9 minutes. They may not look done in the middle but let them sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then to a cooling rack. My favorite recipe is oatmeal chocolate chip.
 
BerryBaby May 10, 2018
Yes! Always have frozen cookie balls in the freezer. I make a full batch of dough. Bake 12 for eating now, then using a small ice cream scooper, make cookie balls. Line them up on a cookie sheet and freeze for 20 minutes. Then into a freezer bag. This method keeps balls from sticking to each other. From freezer to oven 400 degrees, 8 minutes hot cookies!
 
BerryBaby May 11, 2018
Oatmeal chocolate chip or
Ginger Snaps in the fall and winter. LOVE the aroma drifting through the house. Sometimes I’ll pop 2-3 in the oven not to eat them, just to smell them!