Few comforts hit the spot like a warm, freshly baked cookie. Crispy on the edges and gooey-soft in the middle, they hover at this peak of perfection for only a few hours. Day-old cookies are, of course, welcome on most people’s plates, but wouldn’t it be nice to have one or two fresh cookies on a whim? The solution is to pre-portion and freeze your raw dough so you can pop a few cookies in the oven whenever you need them. Emergency cookies are scooped as if you’re about to bake them, but instead of going into the oven, they get tossed into the freezer. From there, they can be summoned in a moment’s notice and placed into the oven for 10-12 minutes. The cookie dough bakes like it hasn’t aged a day. Most cookies made with butter, sugar and eggs are good candidates. Freezing your dough can extend its life by around 6 months with no adverse effects to the texture or flavor. The process is simple:
- 1. Scoop or slice the dough and place it on a baking sheet.
- 2. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour, or long enough so the cookie dough pieces are hard and you can peel them easily off the parchment.
- 3. Peel the cookies off the parchment and drop them into a freezer bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can and seal it. Toss the bag in the freezer for a long nap, until the holidays or an emergency strikes.
- 4. When the time comes to bake a few, take out what you need and place them on a baking sheet spaced apart. Bake them according to the original recipe, adding 2-3 minutes to the suggested baking time.
