One of the oldest tricks in the book. In this “how to freeze cookie dough” post, we’ll talk all about every baker’s secret to having fresh cookies whenever you want them.

How to Freeze Cookie Dough

Ever dream of having a freshly baked cookie without all the work of making the dough, letting it chill, blah blah blah…? Well, you’re in luck, and you’re joining tons of others with your desire to learn how to freeze cookie dough.

I don’t know about you but when it comes to baking, I’ve always been a little bit intimidated by the freezer. People freeze cakes, cookies, cupcakes, you name it. I’ve just never really thought that freezing anything that’s been baked is a good idea. This is actually not true for cake layers and frosting – these perform incredibly well when they’re thawed from the freezer – but that’s for another post on cake.

While it may be true for cakes and frostings, it’s not the most true thing for cookies. I mean, did anyone ever teach you how to bake frozen cookie dough? Probably not. But I think we can all agree that there’s nothing quite like a freshly baked cookie. And freshly baked cookies are just wildly more delicious than leftover cookies or even frozen cookies for that matter.

How to Freeze Cookie Dough

Why You Should Freeze Cookie Dough

There’s a local cookie shop in town that bakes all of their cookies from frozen. That’s right, the dough is made, frozen, then baked off in the store fronts. I remember the first time I went I was shocked that this was how they prepared their cookies for guests. It honestly makes so much sense to me now because then you don’t have to worry about baking all that dough the morning you intend on serving the cookies.. you can prep the dough WAY in advance. It seems like one of the oldest tricks in the book, right?!

So, it’s no surprise that I’d try my hand at making my own frozen cookie dough that I bake straight from frozen… I experimented with a few different recipes and discovered that almost every cookie recipe can be baked straight from frozen. Different cookie recipes will yield different results, but for the most part it is possible.

Keeping cookie dough in the freezer means that when you have friends coming over for dinner, and you completely forget to make a dessert – you’re saved. You have an entire bag of cookie dough in the freezer ready to go!

Some equipment you may need…

Here’s a few things that you may need for any cookie recipe, and certainly for the ones on my site.

Stand mixer: if you’re new to baking, this is something I’d recommend saving up for. You can do so much with this one piece of equipment – I really couldn’t recommend it enough. This one from KitchenAid is the one I have in my kitchen and I don’t know that I’ll ever get a new one!
Cookie scoop: the cookie dough – more like cookie batter – is very loose in this recipe so you’ll need a good scoop to ensure you get equally-sized cookies. It makes the process a lot easier – trust me!
Sheet pans: just a universal pan that every baker needs. You’ll need 2 for this recipe!
Mixing bowls: I love these glass mixing bowls from Amazon. They’re especially perfect for food photography.
Wooden spoon: I only use wooden spoons and rubber spatulas when I’m baking, and I love these!
Measuring cups/spoons: I’ve been linking these in all of my posts because I love them SO much! They are beautiful and look just like some other expensive ones on the market (but wayyy cheaper).

So, here’s how to freeze cookie dough…

Step 1 – Make your cookie dough

You probably saw that one coming! The first step in freezing cookie dough is to select the cookie you’d like to have on hand at all times. Allow me to recommend a few of my favorites…

Each of these recipes are the perfect choice when you’re learning how to freeze cookie dough. Again, you can do this with lots of different recipes, but these are definitely a few of my favorite cookie recipes.

Step 2 – Scoop your dough

This is where things get really… easy. You don’t want to freeze cookie dough in a bowl or container, you want to freeze them in individual cookies. If you were to freeze the cookie dough in one big blob, you’d have to wait for it to thaw before you can scoop out individual cookies – not what we’re going for here. We’re looking for quick & easy, cookie whenever I want it kind of vibes. In order to do this you’ll need to scoop your dough.

I like to scoop mine on to a small parchment paper-lined baking sheet that will easily fit into the freezer for a short time. You don’t want to scoop your cookie dough into balls and throw them straight into a plastic bag. They’ll all end up sticking together and you’ll have a very tough time pulling them apart.

Scoop your cookie dough onto a baking sheet and place the entire sheet in the freezer. Remember, you aren’t baking these, so you can get the dough balls nice and snug on the baking sheet.

Step 3 – Transfer to a plastic bag

Once your cookie dough has frozen solid (at least 2 hours), you can now transfer your frozen cookie dough balls to a plastic bag. I like to use large, gallon-sized bags that I can label on the outside. If you think you’ll be freezing many different types of dough, I’d recommend labeling because they really do all look so similar in the freezer.

Then you’ll simply place your cookie dough balls in the freezer until you’re ready to use them. Most cookie doughs will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, so be sure to put the date on your bag as well as the flavor.

Step 4 – Bake

Depending on the cookie recipe, you may want to allow your dough to thaw on the counter for at least 30 or so minutes before you bake them. But once they’ve sat out for a few minutes, they’ll be ready to bake immediately.

If I know we’ll be having friends over and I don’t have time to make a dessert, I’ll usually just take a few cookie dough balls out in the morning and put them in the refrigerator. Then I’ll bake them up when we’re ready for the warm cookies. No work required on the day of! That’s my kind of dessert 🙂

How to Freeze Cookie Dough

So there you have it friends 🙂 I hope this is a helpful tool for you to have fresh cookies whenever you want them!

If you have any questions about this recipe or any others on my site, you can reach out to me at sarah@sarahsdayoff.com and I’d be happy to chat with you!

Happy baking