Feeding the Freezer

Feeding Cookies to the Freezer

True confession: our house is filled with cookie monsters! Seriously. We have scarcely met a cookie we didn't love. But lately, what with people growing up and moving out and such, we really can't eat a whole batch of cookies before they get stale. The cookie jar? It was very sad.

Quite a dilemma, let me tell you. Then I had a why-didn't-I-think-of-it-sooner moment when I remembered our friend, the freezer. Problem solved.

There are 2 ways to get started:

1. The next time you make cookies, make a double batch. Bake what you need for today, then freeze the rest for later. By making a double batch and freezing a portion each time you make cookies, you will very quickly have quite a variety tucked away.
2. Alternatively, you can have a mega cookie day and fill the freezer all at once. I prefer this method- dirty mixers and a messy kitchen only once a year! Get the whole family involved making different doughs, scooping, freezing, and bagging in assembly line fashion. It really doesn't take long!

Drop type cookies are the easiest to freeze, but it will work with bar cookies too. I am not going to share any recipes. All your favorite cookie recipes will freeze beautifully.

Once frozen, they are safe to freeze for at least a year. You can quickly bake a few or a few dozen without dirtying a single measuring spoon. Bake them as you normally do, per your recipe's instructions. No need to thaw first. Unless it makes you happy. Then by all means, go ahead and thaw. You may need to add a minute or two to the baking time, but not usually.

Freezer Cookies
The Details

You will need a handy dandy cookie scoop. They are so much faster than using a spoon and are easy to find... even Walmart has them now.

Scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet until it's gone. Snug those little dough balls tightly together. If you run out of cookie sheets, layer wax paper over the dough blobs and scoop another layer.

Place the whole tray into the freezer to "flash freeze" the dough. It will take a couple of hours, but they'll be just fine in there overnight.

Pop them off the tray and into zip type bags that you have marked with the type of cookie, oven temperature, baking time and any other pertinent instructions. They will stay separate, so that you can take out as many as you need.

Throw them back in the freezer. Voila! You have just fed the freezer cookies!

Now, go bake a few for someone special :o)

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