This Is How You Know Whether Cookies Are Safe To Freeze

Baking homemade cookies is certainly a labor of love. Making the dough, dropping or cutting out the cookies, baking them sheet-by-sheet ... you're investing some time! If only you could do some of the prep work ahead. Well, of course, you can. If you know you have an occasion coming up, and you want fresh-baked cookies, you can prepare the dough and freeze it until you're ready to bake.

Not all kinds of cookie dough are equally suited for freezing, though. Kitchn explains that certain kinds of cookie dough aren't ideal for the freezer. For example, cookie dough that's runny isn't great for freezing, so pecan florentines, for example, should be baked right away. Also, cookie recipes made with oil, rather than butter won't freeze and bake up as well, so our delicious lemon-olive oil thumbprint cookie should be baked right after making the dough, too. Bonus: The thumbprint cookie recipe is gluten-free, too!

Cookie dough with plenty of fat — specifically butter — is suited for freezing and baking at a later date, according to Kitchn. That means shortbread, like our easy Christmas shortbread, can easily be frozen, which can make holiday baking much less stressful. Pecan Sandies would be another good choice. Another good freezable dough option is drop cookie dough, like these delectable toffee chocolate chip cookies. Sugar cookie dough also freezes well. Food Network explains that sugar cookie dough can be rolled and frozen in sheets or frozen as a ball, to be rolled after thawing.

And as for finished, already baked cookies, Kitchn recommends bar cookies, which can be frozen in a full block or after they're cooled and cut. Having a batch of magic bar cookies in the freezer means you'll have an absolutely decadent dessert that you simply need to thaw and serve. With all the prep work and cleanup done ahead, you'll have more time to enjoy guests and put the finishing touches on the rest of your menu.