John Myers
Providing you have defrosted your cookie dough in the fridge, it’s safe to refreeze any dough that you don’t want to bake at that particular time.
Yes you can freeze and refreeze cookie dough. Much the same as baked cookies, your dough can be frozen, thawed, and frozen again. What is this? It is important to tightly wrap your dough and place it in a freezer safe, airtight container when freezing it or freezer burn or lost texture and flavor can occur.
Generally, it’s okay to bake these types of cookies directly from the freezer, but they will not turn out exactly like those that are baked fresh. The taste will remain, but the cookies will not spread as large. If you want the spread to be the same, we recommend thawing the dough for 24 hours in the fridge.
Homemade cookie doughs can last 6-12 months in the freezer, depending on the exact ingredient list. Store-bought brands like Pillsbury® are not really made for the freezer, and only last around 6 months in the freezer (maximum 9 months).
Chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Place the solid and cold cookie dough balls into a labeled zipped-top bag– large or small depending on how much dough you have. Label the bag with the month and the baking temperature and place the bag in the freezer. Freeze cookie dough for up to 3 months.
You can, but you need to consider whether it’s worth doing so. When you refreeze thawed cookies, they will become drier when you defrost them for a second time which can make them taste almost stale – as if you’ve left them on the side for a little too long.
Can I refreeze thawed dough?
While still safe to eat, the dough will be much harder because the thawing and refreezing process causes it to lose some of the moisture and elasticity that is so carefully worked into the dough when it’s being made.
The most obvious way to tell if your cookie dough has gone bad is to look at it. If it has grown any mold, then you can safely trash that dough and work on another batch. You will also notice that the edges start to discolor and turn darker as they go bad – they will likely be hard instead of doughy as well.
Most cookie dough has a shelf life of 12 months in the freezer and will probably be safe to eat even up to a month or two past its best by date. However, once thawed, moisture from condensation will cause your cookie dough to spoil quicker. You should bake your cookie within a week after thawing it.
As the dough goes bad, its edges will undergo discoloration and start turning dark. A much or increasingly darker colored dough will indicate decreasing freshness. Another way is if your cookie dough has become tough or hard in texture. One may also note a funny smell on the dough.
We would probably vote for cookie dough, since nothing beats a truly fresh-baked cookie. But we would recommend scooping the dough and freezing it solid on cookie sheets, then sealing the frozen in lumps in bags for longer storage.
“Which means a better likelihood of a soft, chewy cookie in the center.” So chilling the dough before baking means fluffier cookies with better consistency. Plus, if you have a bowl of dough ready in the refrigerator, it’s much easier to scoop while chilled than at room temperature.
There’s no need to thaw frozen drop cookie dough in order to bake your cookies — in fact, we don’t recommend it. Start by preheating the oven slightly lower than the temperature called for in your recipe — about 15 degrees F lower.
After this the dough will slowly decline in quality, but it will not go rancid, spoil or expire completely on the date that is stated on the label. That being said, you can consume your cookie dough, even when it has gone past the best by date.
To be safe, you should not consume cookie dough that is past its expiration date, but you can consume it up to 1-2 months past its best-by date, if stored properly.
Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the less cookies spread.
Keep this chocolate chip cookie dough refrigerated until the use by date on the package or freeze before the use by date on the package for up to 2 months until ready to enjoy.
