I spent a lot of Friday working on various kitchen projects, which is pretty much my idea of an ideal day. I planned to make cookies, but I only got as far as mixing up the dough and sticking it in the fridge to deal with later. By the time I remembered it I was out of energy and the inclination to bake the cookies was gone. I left the dough in the fridge for the next day.
Between one thing and another, baking cookies wasn’t going to be part of Saturday’s plan either. I decided to freeze the cookie dough balls to bake another day.
The concept is simple – portion out cookie dough (this works with any drop cookie recipe) as if you were going to bake the cookies. You can put them as close together as possible, just try not to let them touch or they will freeze together. Instead of baking the cookies right then, freeze the dough balls on a cookie sheet. Once they are hard, which only takes about half an hour, put them in a ziplock bag. The frozen dough balls will keep in the freezer for several months. Label the bag with the name of the cookie recipe, since the dough balls can be hard to identify later. And you won’t remember what they are. Trust me.
When you want to bake cookies, preheat the oven according to the cookie recipe directions, pull out as many dough balls as you like, place them on greased cookie sheets and bake them frozen. They might need an extra minute or two in the oven, but that is the only adjustment you need to make. You can bake any number of cookies – the whole batch, a dozen for a quick after-dinner treat for the whole family, or just a couple for you to eat by yourself, whenever you need a quick pick-me-up.
The Cook's Life 
This is a great idea, Sarah. I think about doing this every time I stick dough in the fridge to firm up a bit. Definitely doing this the next time I make cookies. Might give a bag of frozen cookie balls to my brother so he can make a few at a time. He’s not like most humans. He only eats one or two cookies at a time. Weirdo.
Thanks! What a great idea for a gift! Your brother will love it! I’m already thinking of people who would like frozen cookie dough balls for Christmas presents.
Great idea and what a time saver when you are in a pinch and need a batch of cookies…run to the freezer, load up a baking sheet, and pop them in the oven! Thanks for sharing.
It makes cookie baking so convenient. Sometimes that is a good thing, and sometimes it makes it too easy to consume extra calories. 🙂
i have done this so many times, and it has saved me LOADS of work when i’m preparing for big things like parties and the like. very convenient, especially when you pair the whole freezing thing with a recipe which makes a large batch. truly so much better than grabbing the store-bought kind.
I love spreading out the baking for parties this way. Who needs to make the fun part of baking too hard? That is what cleaning the house is for! I wish I could freeze a clean house to pull out before parties!
Sarah,
You’re so right! I actually do this on purpose–I like cookie dough that’s at least a day old anyway, so I’ll intentionally mix it up one day, and bake at least some another day–then freeze the rest in scoops. I usually forget and let it go overnight in the freezer though.
Having cookie dough in the freezer is terrific for last minute desserts.
You’re right about labeling, though–sometimes I just scratch my head and know that whatever it is, it will taste just delicious warm from the oven.
Every time I freeze cookie dough balls I wonder why I don’t do it more often. It is so nice to have a stash on hand!