As our last week before Christmas rounds the bend, those last minute “What should I give” brings about undo panic.
I have your solution, and you’ve probably known the trick your whole life, but this takes it to a new level.
I admit. I am a chocolate chip cookie dough lover.
Now, please do not send me emails cautioning me about salmonella. I have weighed my options and counted the cost. I still eat the batter. (At least many of the eggs are from my own chickens…that helps, right?)
But what is better than chocolate chip cookie dough? Frozen Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Have you ever asked yourself, “Can I freeze Cookie Dough?” Well, thanks for asking because “Yes, you can,” and it’s delicious.
Looking at my holiday calendar, I can’t squeeze in baking a dozen different varieties of Christmas cookies, but guess what? I will pass on all of those for a great Chocolate Chip Cookie.
This fall, my husband bought a tub full of frozen cookie dough that he had purchased from an employees child. After I gasped, choked and heard the price, I accepted that it was for a good cause. I have been freezing all varieties of cookies and dough for a long time, but the kids and I SO enjoyed having it in that cute tub. Reality hit and I knew this would be the perfect gift for someone.
I would much rather have frozen cookie dough to pop in the oven at will, rather than a plate of Christmas cookies that may go stale before we devour them.
Use your favorite Cookie Recipe or try my Best Ever Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe with my own twists.
The key to this kitchen tip is making sure you flash freeze the individual cookies first or they will stick together.
Use a cookie sheet or pan. I use my mini muffin pan because I have a side by side freezer and a regular cookie sheet won’t fit straight on so I can tilt pan in my freezer. Typically, this will only take about 15 minutes, but you can keep them in there how ever long you choose. Take them out, and put them in a labeled Ziplock bag, or Tupperware. If giving as a gift, add some tin foil or wax paper in between the layers, so the cookies don’t stick together. When ready to bake, thaw in fridge before hand, but honestly, I often take them straight from the freezer and bake with delicious results. Frozen cookie dough will stay fresh for 4-6 weeks (although I can’t say we’ve ever had it last that long.)
If giving as a gift, they will be fine out of the freezer for a few hours while you deliver them.
I am so excited to give this yummy chocolate chip cookie dough gifts this year. It’s frugal, practical and something that everyone will enjoy.
We love having frozen cookie dough around — what a great gift idea 🙂
My main reason for freezing cookie dough is so that we don’t eat an entire batch of cookies in less that 24 hours. Giving frozen dough as a gift is a great idea.
Thanks for the link-up.
that’s what I thought initially….now, have you tried those frozen cookie dough balls? I’m in serious trouble. 🙂
I LOVE, LOVE this idea and think I’ll be using it this Christmas! I was just wondering what food gift I’ll give this year!
Such a great idea!
What a great idea to freeze the cookie dough! Your chocoloate chip cookies look yummy. Thanks for sharing and for hosting today.
Jane
frugalfineliving.com
Oh wow! What a great idea! I have always heard that you can freeze cookie dough but didn’t know how to do it. This is perfect for us! Wow! And what a great thing to give as a gift too!!!! Hmmmmm…now you have me thinking! 😀
Thank you so much for offering this recipe party. I always get so many great ideas…I know my recipe isn’t specifically for the holidays but it is great to have in the crock pot while you are out shopping or visiting…its hot and yummy sitting there waiting when you return! 😀
Blessings!
Mary Joy
I wish I had enough cookie dough to freeze that sounds amazing. My kiddos eat most of the dough before I can bake anything….Happy Tuesday!
I love having frozen cookie dough ready to make. I like to do it in a log, so we can slice and bake later. I love the muffin tin idea!
We also freeze cookie dough because we don’t eat a whole batch at once. Ok, we could eat a whole batch, but try really hard not to 🙂
What a wonderful gift idea! I freeze cookie dough, but it never occurred to me to bless someone else with it as a gift.
Yes! I have frozen cookie dough before…it is wonderful to take it out and bake, without the fuss! 🙂 Now…as a gift….how fun!
I don’t cook – so no linking up. But I can mix, and freeze. This is perfect. It also gives those who have also weighed the salmonella cost – and decided on cookie dough anyway – it gives them a choice to cook – or just nibble cookie dough goodness fresh from the freezer.
Perfect.
Merry Christmas
I actually did a taste test with my killer chocolate chip cookie recipe and found that letting the dough rest in the fridge (or freezer) before baking dramatically improved the cookies! They didn’t spread as much and I got the crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside texture I wanted. I freeze the dough sometimes, but I usually wrap the cookie dough in flat, 1.5″ high, packets and refridgerate for several hours or overnight before baking. I use a large knife to cut them into 1.5″ cubes for baking… or for freezing. Giving dough as a gift is a great idea! I often give a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls!! Blessings!
Yummy idea! Great tip to put them in mini muffin tins. I have one that I am always looking to use in some way, even if it’s not the intended purpose 🙂 I think I will make these for some people on my list although I’ll have a hard time not keeping them all for myself (hee, hee).
What a great idea! We’ve frozen logs of cookies before but I never thought about individual cookies! Going to try it!
@Megan, This is how we regularly make our sugar cookies. make a log, freeze, cut and bake then ice/decorate.
But I bet the logs would make great gifts as well! Takes up less space in the freezer and all you need to do is give instructions of what to do.
(I don’t know if log would work well for chocolate chip cookies)
choc chip logs work great, I always double my recipe except for the chips (there are still plenty of chips per cookie) and then bake a sheet or two and freeze the rest…I take the left over batter make it into a big ball, add some flour to the outside,just enough to help prevent complete gooeyness and roll out with my hands into a log like playdough. I then wrap in tin foil. (wax paper first would be best, but I never seem to have any when I need it) When I am ready to use it, i can either cut the dough into slices or will just use a spoon to dip into it. Its GREAT
LOVE this idea!! Thank you! Merry Christmas!
I didn’t know you could freeze cookie dough. Great idea!! Thanks for hosting!
This is a brilliant idea! love it! thanks!!! Kelly
How wonderful to have your own non-industrially farmed chix&eggs! For those of us without the option, or the immune challenged (ahhh,prednisone the drug I love to hate…but it sure works!) may I suggest pasteurized eggs? Right there in the grocer’s fridge section. Came in really handy for my autistic great-niece, quite the picky eater, but loooves dipping toast in sunny-side ups. When it’s the main source of protein,the big egg scare with such major suppliers to OH stores would have been a nightmare w/out pasteurized eggs. How do you explain salmonella to a non-verbal 11yo? And *I* love munching any kind of cookie dough(cake batter,u name it) so with my health it’s pasteurized eggers for baking or give up the best part of it all-licking the bowl or completed utensils.:D And,of course, the “yums” from the recipients of my chemistry experiments. Just can’t leave a recipe or cake mix alone! 😉 -s-
Great idea. Thanks for sharing about the pasteurized eggs. 🙂
PS-I’ve never tried freezing individual, pre-shaped cookie dough and love the absolute thoughtfulness! All done except for pan& bake! One thing I have done is get foil pizza pans and roll out giant cookies, freeze&be-ribbon the “pizza” with tubes of decorating gel for kids to deck out their giant cookie. Was a big hit around here! -s-
No worries, nothing better than raw cookie dough! The world just seems a little better after you eat some!
Just found your blog…nice! That is an awesome idea and I will definately be doing that! Thanks for sharing the tip!
This is a FANTASTIC suggestion! Oh what a good idea. I must use this one this year.
I’m so sad over here. Cookie dough used to be my favorite! I’m allergic to raw eggs now and can’t eat it. Even from our own chickens. All this talk of cookie dough–oh, the memories! Sniff-Sniff…. 🙂
oh no, and here we are rubbing it in. Can you have those egg beater or other substitute items? Or do those not work?
@Jens, I never thought of that! I will have to try it. I know right away if I can’t have an item because of the raw eggs. (Did you know that hot mustard dipping sauce has raw eggs in it?! Who knew?) Anyway, thanks for the sympathy 🙂 and the suggestion. I will try it!
I thought I invented this idea last year, but alas, I don’t have a blog!
Anyway, I gave this to my dad who has everything he needs but loves chocolate chip cookies. I packaged the cookies in zip lock bags (easier to store in my parent’s overcrowded freezer) along with a new cookie sheet, a roll of parchment paper, a cooling grid, and a cookie spatula.
I used the cookie recipe from the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html) and it rolls into perfect golf balls. It’s worth investing in a scale if you’re baking these.
This year I’m doing it again, but throwing in a batch of health fiber protein cookies that he’s been requesting. 🙂
haha…I think people have been doing this probably since long before we were both born and none of them had blogs. 😉 I have been freezing dough for ages. I just didn’t package it into my nice little containers. 🙂 I use the Pampered Chef scoop and it’s a perfect size, but you’re right, Ziplocks are easier for freezer storage, for sure. The protein cookies sound great.
I eat cookie dough very often too, I love it! My husband was shocked and thought I would get salmonella poisoning (like you pointed out) but that’s never happened before and I’ve been eating raw cookie dough since I was a child. Not that it can’t happen, but I’ll take my chances cause it’s so yummy. Great idea for a gift too!
I love doing this. 🙂 I never thought of giving it as a gift before. That’s awesome! The tip about using the mini muffin pan–priceless! Thank you for inspiring!
I received frozen cookie dough as a gift before. She rolled it into a log, wrapped in freezer paper. It was then easy to cut off what you wanted, slice and bake!
Wondering though… how about freezing other cookie doughs?? I know choc chip, and sugar cookies are fine, wondering about oatmeal raisin and peanut butter… Also does any one know if you can freeze the dough from crescent rolls? I want to make my daughter some pigs in a blanket that she just pops a few into the oven for herself, rather than making a whole batch for only her. Any one know?
I’ve frozen tons of doughs, so peanut butter and oatmeal would be fine. In fact, the choc chip dough I make has a large amount of oatmeal. Now, in regards to the crescent rolls, I make my own homemade alll the time, and it freezes beautifully, but I can’t speak to the pigs in a blanket. I may definitely have to try that because that is a great idea. 🙂
@Lisa, I freeze Oatmeal Raisin and Snickerdoodles all the time. Makes it quite easy to take along when we go camping as well, just grab a bag and pop them on the sheet and pop in the oven…presto
I’m wondering if you are missing baking soda in your original recipe post. I checked the Neiman Marcus website and noticed they had 1.5 tsp baking soda in theirs. I’m thinking they will still turn out great, but just passing that on in case you accidentaly omitted it. I’m making up some dough to freeze for a Christmas present right now! Thanks for your blog and great ideas! God bless!
I made one cookie sheet right away without baking soda and they were as hard as a rock hours afterwards (which I read can happen). I added baking soda to the rest of the dough- I hope it was not too late to save the dough! We will see! Thanks again for your fun ideas! Amy
Guess it’s already corrected! Whew!!! Saved!! I just copied and pasted this recipe just a day or two ago and the soda was missing but I didn’t see that until right in the middle!! (I checked myself several times to make sure I didn’t overlook it! Thanks for the great recipe!
Sorry about that. Actually, they would have turned out yummy anyhow. I made them without, and never even realized that I mistyped it. Glad you saw it though.
I have never gotten salmonella poisoning from cookie dough, cake batter, etc. I did get Salmonella poisoning this year, and it was the worst ever – had to be hospitalized. It was from the vegetables on my Subway sandwich. It’s all this processed, pre-cut stuff you have to lookout for. I’m making so much more homemade since then.
oh CAndy – I am SO sorry to hear that. Yes, I have heard it’s horrible for sure!! Hope you’re feeling all better for Christmas.
This is a great idea – our kids couldn’t be with us for Christmas this year, but will come in January at different times. I thought of making cookies and freezing them but would miss the smell of fresh baked cookies. Now I can have both my time and hot, fresh-from-the-oven cookies too! Thanks and have a blessed Christmas!
I’m considering giving frozen cookie dough (in roll form) to my kids’ teachers for Christmas. They may not have access to a freezer, though, until they get home from school and I would guess the dough won’t stay frozen all day. Does anybody have a suggestion for how to keep the dough as cold as possible for potentially 8 hours?? Maybe I should try a different gift. 🙂
@Abby,
Oh dear! I just realized everyone’s comments were posted a year ago! Well, maybe my friend Jen will reply. 🙂
You could just deliver them in a cooler, and have them pick them up at the end of the day. Then you can pick the cooler up another time. It’s fine if they are not rock solid (if they were, they couldn’t snitch from the roll on the way home. ;))
Oh, thank you for reposting this idea! The frozen cookie dough that I purchased from a fundraiser once came in a plain brown box…I love the idea of using a tin! In fact, they have some darling shaped ones at the Dollar Tree. I can make up a huge batch of cookie dough and scoop like crazy…then freeze, and give!
I also never thought to give frozen dough as a gift. What a wonderful idea! Do happen to know going straight from freezer to oven affects cooking time? I was just thinking that the gifts would need baking instructions with them.
Thanks so much!
Yes, if you give them as gifts, you can attach a pretty little note that says, Bake with love at 350 for “xyz” minutes. Honestly, I have taken them right out of the freezer and baked them. They take a little bit more time, but only a few minutes. You could have them come to room temperature, but I would say take your favorite cookie dough recipe. Freeze a little and just test out the baking time straight from the freezer first.
My youth sunday School class that I help teach made homemade cookie dough that we put in Freezer bags and sold 3 dozen in a bag made $930.00 profit to use for community service Great fundraiser!
I realized that this was posted over a year ago but thought I would still share. You can freeze the dough w/out making into balls. Alittle more work when you get it out of the freezer, but not as much before you put it in, if running short on time. I’ve been doing this off & on for years & years. Just found your blog recently & was just exploring it this morning:)
What a wonderful idea! I always have cookie dough in my freezer but, I never thought of giving it as a gift. Freshly baked cookies in flash and a fabulous aroma to fill the home all in one gift
What kind of container do you recommend putting this in?
I have been baking and giving cookies as gifts for years and years, always thinking how nice it would be to make and freeze the dough ahead of time. I make at least a dozen different cookies every Xmas. This year my life will be much easier. Thank you for the confirmation on freezing!! I was wondering about the non-bake cookies. Can they be frozen? For how long?
Depending on your cookie recipe, you can freeze the baked cookies too. Though if you are freezing them to keep from eating them all at once, freezing the baked ones doesn’t work quite as well…because they are just as tasty straight out of the freezer 🙂
I normally bake cookies from scratch, but I have to make a lot for my daughters bday so im using a mix instead. Has anyone frozen cookie dough from a betty crocker mix? I assume it should freeze the same.
How long do I need to cook them in the mini cupcake pan love that idea and frozen dough for christmas I can’t wait!!!
I did them the same as cookies. Just double check, depending on how big they are, to make sure they are done. They may need another minute. 🙂 Enjoy!