Now is a perfect time to make vast quantities of all kinds of cookie doughs, enough to get you through the next three holidays. The dough will be fine at least until Christmas, unless my sons or some of their children stop by, in which case you must place all your zipper bags of dough in an opaque plastic tub on which you have written the word "TRIPE" with permanent marker.

It depends on the dough. Some hold much better than others. Also, if you keep it in the very back of your fridge, near to the place where the cold air comes in, that helps . . . but only if it is VERY tightly wrapped. I've had Lebkuchen dough in my fridge for 6 weeks that baked up as if it had been made yesterday. I wrap it first in plastic wrap, then freezer paper (very tightly), then put it in a ziplog bag and use rubber bands to tie them down tight. ;o)

I make cookie dough, form it into cookies, freeze them on a silpat on a baking sheet, put frozen cookie dough in ziplock bag and freeze. As far as I'm concerned they last last as long as I have them in the freezer which could be many months!!! Cookies are always good.

There are notes all in the literature that comes with my freezer (yes, I read the manual) that say that food is never to stay in the freezer for more than a three months. I have problems with freezer burn after a couple of weeks most of the time.

I wouldn't think it would keep more than a month or so, but a couple of weeks should be fine as long as you wrap everything really well (plastic wrap and freezer bags). If they're drop cookies I would form them before freezing on a sheet pan and dump the frozen lumps into a freezer bag to store that way. They can be cooked without thawing. Other doughs should be allowed to thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling or cutting.

Oh geez, I've had cookie dough sitting in my freezer for months and it's been perfectly fine! As long as you have it wrapped it in saran then aluminum, you'll be o.k. It's the smells that you don't want penetrating inside, but I don't think the dough itself will deteriorate. If you want to be extra meticulous put it into a metal box or glass container with one of those fancy new lids.

I freeze cookie dough for up to about 2 months also. Actually, whenever I bake cookies, I always freeze extra dough for those last-minute cravings or company.

I don't know if this really helps. But my mother would start making cookie dough in early November for her christmas party just before christmas with great success.