For the average cookie-Eating Month, when you want a quick, freshly baked chocolate chipper, it’s totally sensible to keep some pre-scooped cookies in the freezer. But December is no average cookie month. With a lot of cookies in inventory and a short period for shipping, you’ll need a strategy. To give yourself the biggest leg up this baking season, you should batch And now freeze your cookie dough.
Between party prep, cookie shipping, and making enough to snack on during a delightfully terrifying Hallmark movie, you’ll go through more cookies than you ever expected this month. Not all raw cookie dough will be completely frozen and thawed (usually they can be frozen Later baking), but flours with a higher butterfat ratio are ideal candidates. Gingerbread, spirit cookies, sugar cookies, shortbread, and cut-outs are all game.
Calculate how many batches you need for the month. Look into the cookie recipes you plan to use and figure out the yield. Most recipes have it at the very top or very bottom. Then consider how you plan to shape your cookies versus how the recipe intended. are they rolled and cut with a two-inch cutter, but you Use a five inch cutter? Keep this in mind as you decide whether one batch is sufficient, or if four batches are more appropriate. Once you’ve finished your calculations, triple that amount of cookie dough- or quadruple-the batch size you need. It’s easier and faster to make bulk dough at once than to start from scratch. The “Soften the Butter” Step every time.
Once you’ve mixed your dough, divide it into single- or half-Batch portions and shape them into flat blobs on wax paper, plastic wrap, or parchment paper. (You should always flatten the dough the size you want to roll it later; If you’re doing Drop Cookies, though, It doesn’t matter much.) A flat shape will freeze faster, and more importantly, it will thaw faster. Make sure the dough is well wrapped, and put on a sheet tray in the freezer for half an hour. Once they harden, stack them in a plastic bag and seal it tightly. Store it in the freezer for up to three months (or longer, depending on a few factors, such as how well it was wrapped, the type of dough, and who you’re talking to).
If you make different types of cookies-Taste the dough, batch them too, and freeze them in their own bags of flat discs. I usually make ten different types of cookies over the next few weeks, and although many cookies are made from Same Magic Cookie Dough Base, I like to prepare a little bit of each flavor on any given day. I usually have three batches of Butter Cookie Dough, a double batch of Gingerbread Dough, and four batches of Basic Shortbread Dough in my freezer.
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To thaw flour, sift through freezer and transfer as many batches as needed to refrigerator. Leave it overnight to melt. If you don’t have that kind of time, you can thaw the dough on the counter in an hour or two, just be aware that depending on the type of dough you’re working with, the outer edge may be very sticky. can be soft. If it does, put it in the fridge for a few minutes to harden evenly. Shape the dough and bake as usual. At this point you can also Freeze Nowbaked cookies For your party next week, or to give them extra strength before packing and shipping. bulk-Freeze the dough today and enjoy the rest of the holiday cookie season without the panic every time.