Moms need cookies. They’re great for all sorts of things. Like a victory prize on a quiet afternoon when I get my two children to nap at the same time. Or a sweet reward for a job well done at the end of a long day. Or an “incentive” to motivate an otherwise uncooperative child. Cookies definitely come in handy in my life.
When we made the switch to eating real food four years ago, I started cooking everything from scratch. Over the years, I’ve come to terms with having more balance in my life and given up things like baking my own animal crackers. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
But after discovering my daughter’s food allergies, I find myself back in the kitchen a lot more than I have been used to. Besides all of our meals, I have to make most of our safe snacks and treats. Whether it’s a birthday party or playdate or we’re going out to eat, I like to be able to have food on hand I can grab so Gabriella doesn’t miss out on anything.
This morning I whipped up a batch of sugar cookies because it’s Parents’ Night Out tonight at the YMCA and they serve cookies for dessert. I only needed one or two cookies to send with Gabriella so I was faced with a dilemma. I used to send extra cookies or goodies to work with my husband, but with the expensive allergy-friendly ingredients in these cookies, that wasn’t going to happen. I basically had two options: eat the rest of the cookies myself or freeze them. It was a tough call, but I opted to freeze them.
I’m the self-proclaimed queen of freezing everything. Cheese, sauces, leftover breakfast- I’ll freeze it! Ninety nine percent of the time I freeze foods once they’ve been cooked, but I have one exception: cookies.
There’s nothing better than a fresh-out-of-the-oven cookie and that requires me to freeze the raw cookie dough. Sure you could buy those overpriced break and bake cookies (I like Immaculate Baking Co. ones when I’m feeling very lazy!), but it’s so easy to freeze your own ready-to-make-anytime cookies.
How to freeze raw cookie dough:
1. Prepare cookie dough according to your favorite recipe.
2. Use a spoon or small cookie scoop to portion out cookie dough.
3. Place raw cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to prevent sticking and cover.
4. Place baking sheet in the freezer until dough is solid, at least a few hours.
5. Remove from freezer and put frozen cookie dough balls in a plastic storage bag (I like to use one of my favorite kitchen items to make this easy).
When you’re ready to enjoy a fast, fresh baked cookie hot out of the oven, bake the frozen dough as directed with an extra minute or two to the baking time.
Note: This works great for chunky cookies and anything you would scoop onto a baking sheet. If you want to slice and bake cookies or roll out dough for cut cookies, you can still freeze the dough, but I would freeze it in a large disc instead of pre-portioned balls.
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