How to Freeze Cookie Dough (+ Our Favorite Recipe)
Cookies are easily one of the greatest baked treats in the world. I mean, just imagine for a second the smell of freshly baked cookies straight out of the oven. It’s enough to get your mouth watering!
In a perfect world, we’d be able to have freshly baked cookies whenever we wanted, but unfortunately, it’s not always that easy. Cookies still take at least 10-20 minutes to prepare before including cooking time.
However, with a bit of freezer meal prepping – cookie style – we can stock up our freezers with delicious frozen cookie dough for an almost effortless batch of cookies whenever we want. And I’ve got the perfect freezable cookie dough recipe to share with you today, along with tips on how to freeze cookie dough the right way!
Why I Love Freezing Cookie Dough
Do you ever have a craving for freshly oven-baked cookies during a time when you just don’t feel like baking at all? That always seems to be how it plays out for me. And that’s pretty much the main reason I love having some frozen cookie dough on hand at all times 🙂
Here are a few other good reasons to make freezable cookie dough:
- For a baby shower gift (or any DIY gift really)
- To give to your neighbors, family, etc.
- To prepare in advance for a holiday or special occasion
Freezing Different Types of Cookies
Not all cookies or cookie dough can be frozen, but most can without a problem! Here’s a quick guide on the cookies we recommend freezing:
- Drop cookies – These are easy to freeze. Just roll the dough balls, place on a baking sheet, and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a container and layer the dough balls, with wax paper between each layer.
- Icebox cookies – The freezable cookie dough recipe we’re sharing below are icebox cookies. We’ll break down how to freeze them easily.
- Cutout cookies – Sugar cookies, shortbread, etc. can be frozen easily as well. Just cut them out, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze. Then transfer to a freezer-safe container using the same method as you would with drop cookies. You can also freeze cutout cookies after baking.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough the Easy Way
Our favorite way to freeze cookie dough is super easy and quick, and goes like this:
- Lay your cookie dough out like a tube about 3 inches in diameter across a sheet of aluminum foil. I make these tubes about 12 inches long so they fit easily in my freezer.
- Roll the dough up in the aluminum foil.
- Freeze.
I usually form about 3 tubes of cookie dough for the freezer if I’ve cooked a few dozen cookies already. Here’s my favorite freezable cookie dough recipe:
Easy & Convenient Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Freezer Cookies
If you’ve heard of Nieman Marcus cookies this is a Nieman Marcus copy cat cookie recipe that I have had for years. I love to make these cookies. They become an addiction to anyone that makes them.
This might sound crazy, but this recipe has a cookie yield of over 100 cookies! And that’s exactly what makes this such a great freezable cookie dough recipe.
I make all the cookie dough at once, then I cook about 1-2 dozen cookies and freeze the rest of the cookie dough. The next time I’m craving some cookies I take a log of the make-ahead cookie dough out of my freezer, cut it into slices, and cook it up in the oven. Bam! Freezer cookies!
Ingredients
These freezable cookies have an oat flour base that adds some great flavor, and they’re extremely customizable. Try adding white chocolate, peanut butter chips, butterscotch, M&M’s, or any of your other favorite toppings.
Blending the Oat Flour
Make sure to blend the oats until you have a fine powdery consistency. You could also just buy oat flour if you want to save time.
Mixing the Freezable Cookie Dough
I like to mix my cookies in my Bosch, but a KitchenAid works really well too. You could potentially mix this by hand but since we’re making such a big batch of cookies for freezing, it would probably take a LONG time.
Baking Tip
I used wax paper in the photo above but I also love to bake my cookies on my Silpat or my other silicone baking mats. It’s more frugal and helps the cookies bake evenly and turn out extra fab!
I always bake 1-2 dozen cookies after making the dough and freeze the rest of the dough for later.
Baking Frozen Cookie Dough
When you’re ready to prepare some of your frozen cookie dough, simply slice the dough in 1/2 inch slices and place them on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Super easy!
How to Get Perfectly Round Freezer Cookies
If you want your cookies to turn out perfectly round you just have to take more care forming your tube into a perfect circle before freezing. My family does not care if the cookies have an occasional flat end. You could also follow the method Missy posted in the comments (Thanks!) to get some perfectly round cookies.
Can You Freeze Baked Cookies?
Sure you can! Some people actually do this because they enjoy the flavor and texture of colder cookies, but it’s also a great way to make your cookies last longer. Either way, I suggest giving it a try!
Here’s how to go about it:
- Bake your cookies, let cool.
- Place cookies in a layer on a baking sheet, freeze.
- Remove cookies from the freezer and place them in a freezer-friendly Ziploc. (These should last around 1-2 months.)
When you’re ready for a quick treat, take a cookie out and either warm it quickly in the microwave or oven, or just let it sit and warm to room temperature.
Learn More About Freezer Meal Cooking:
- Why you NEED Freezer Meal Cooking in your life!
- How to start a Freezer Meal Group (Should you?)
- 24 Freezer Meal Hacks you need to learn
- Foods That Don’t Freeze Well
- Freezer Meal Connected eBook
How to Freeze Cookie Dough (+ Our Favorite Recipe)
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Blender
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
- 5 cups blended oatmeal Measure after blended
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 4 cups flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 24 oz. chocolate chips
- 1 8 oz. Hershey Bar coarsely cut up
- 3 cups chopped nuts your choice I love ALMONDS
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C and prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Blend oatmeal until it reaches a fine powder consistency, measure out 5 cups and set aside.
- Cream together butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix with paddle attachment until well incorporated.
- Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 375°F/190°C.
Preparing For the Freezer:
- Lay your cookie dough out like a tube about 3 inches in diameter across a sheet of aluminum foil. I make these tubes about 12 inches long. I do not want them too long to fit in my freezer.
Prepare after Freezing:
- Simply slice frozen cookie dough in 1/2 inch slices on place on the cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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While I would never turn down any kind of chocolate chip cookie, I prefer to form my dough into balls, lay them all on a cookie sheet, put them in the freezer until they are firm (flash freeze), and then toss them into a ziplock bag, and re-freeze them. That way, when you bake them, they are still a pretty shape, and the choc. chips, don’t get cut into funny shapes. And they can lay flat in your freezer!
From what I’ve heard, there may need to be some adjustments made to the flour ratio. Otherwise, I think it would turn out? If you do try, please let me know how it goes!
What is the correct flour measurements? Cannot possibly be 9 cups of dry ingredients. I think I’ve got a mess on my hands now!
Thanks for the update in your comment below Jen – glad it worked out well for you!
So do I measure the oatmeal THEN blend or blend and THEN measure? Unless I’m reading incorrectly, the ingredient list says one way and the instructions say the other?
Hi Andrea! I always measure the oatmeal once blended.
Okay, I would like to correct my low rating. I did not think the dry ingredient to wet ratio could possibly be correct. After powering through with mixing in 9 cups of flour mixture and baking 2 different versions, family loved the cookies. Happy to have plenty more to stash in freezer. Great recipe to have on hand while in quarantine and great way to clean out pantry baking shelf!😉
Yay Jen! Was so happy to see that it turned out good for you!
Our favorite is the oatmeal cookie with dark chocolate chips and raisins. Then chocolate chip!
Thank you so much for show us how to easily freeze then and cook them. We (my adult son and I) love fresh baked cookies!!!
Thanks, Sheri! As a fellow oatmeal raisin lover myself, I feel it gets overlooked as the awesome cookie it is! There is nothing like a warm, fresh baked cookie. Enjoy!