25 Freezer-Friendly Holiday Cookie Recipes You Can Start Today (2024)

FAQs

What Christmas cookies are good to freeze? ›

Slice-and-bake, cut outs, drop, bar, and some shaped cookies (thumbprints) freeze well. Avoid delicate cookies like tuiles, Florentines, meringues, and any sort of wafer cookie. Pre-baked cookies can be frozen for up to six months.

Wait for the cookies to cool completely, then transfer them to a reusable freezer-safe bag or container lined with wax or parchment paper. I like to place them in a single layer to avoid any cookies breaking. Cookies will keep well for up to 2 months. Once ready to eat, simply thaw out at room temperature and enjoy.

Peanut Butter Blossoms are America's favorite Christmas cookie, based both on total number of pageviews from the U.S. population as a whole, and number of states that ranked it as their top cookie (which is six, by the way).

You'll find that most of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes can be made anywhere from a month to six months before the 25th of December. (Consult this handy how-to guide to the matter.) Generally, most recipes will be best if baked and then frozen.

Do not freeze frosted, glazed or drizzled cookies because they can become too moist under the frosting, glaze or drizzle. Thaw the cookies in the plastic food container at room temperature. Remove from container any cookies that should be crisp when thawed.

Cookie dough freezes well for up to 3 months, so it's a great way to get ahead for the holidays or other busy times.

As a general rule of thumb, 'drop cookies,' which include oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies, and 'cut-out cookies,' such as gingerbread and sugar cookies, are freezer-friendly.

We had far better results when we froze raw slices of the log, then baked those direct from the freezer. But with the drop cookies, we found the difference in freezing methods was negligible. Frozen portions of raw dough baked directly from the freezer and thawed fully cooked cookies were equally delicious.

In most cases, I prefer to freeze cookie dough over freezing baked cookies. That way, you still get the nice homemade smell and softness of the cookies when they come out of the oven. But if you want to get the whole job done, you can certainly bake the cookies, then freeze them later.

Among those who can make a single choice, frosted sugar cookies lead the list (32%), with gingerbread (12%) and chocolate chip (11%) rounding out the top three. Snickerdoodles (6%) come in fourth place, followed by butter (4%), peanut butter (4%), and chocolate (4%) tying for fifth.

What is the most popular cookie in December? ›

What are the most popular Christmas cookies? Our survey found frosted sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies to be the most popular Christmas cookies in the country. They were the fan favorites in 39 states.

The USDA website says that generally, cookies can be stored at room temperature for two to three weeks or refrigerated for two months. If you find yourself with more cookies than you can eat in that time frame, consider putting the baked cookies in a sealed container in the freezer.

And if you want to freeze cookie dough for later, both our cookie dough rolls and our Pillsbury™ Ready to Bake! ™ cookie dough can be frozen up to 2 months in advance. You'll need to defrost the rolls of cookie dough before slicing and baking, but our Ready to Bake! ™ cookies can be made straight from the freezer.

Room temperature: Use airtight containers, cookie jars, or plastic bags to prevent air exposure and moisture loss. Keep cookies in a cool, dry area. Refrigerated: Use airtight containers or sealed plastic bags to store cookies in the fridge. Monitor the moisture level to avoid condensation.

While most cookies and cookie doughs freeze beautifully, there are a few that you should shy away from. The basic rule is that cookies with a liquidy batter don't hold up well in the freezer — these are usually thin, delicate cookies like tuiles, florentines and pizzelles.

Shortbread cookies and spritz cookies are real holiday troopers, lasting a bit longer than the rest. These buttery and crumbly cookies are a great option for a holiday cookie. Shortbread is known for its rich flavor, while spritz cookies are often made with a cookie press.

Drop cookies such as chocolate chip, oatmeal, and snickerdoodles are sturdy enough to freeze and keep on hand. Cut-out cookies including sugar cookies and gingerbread can also be frozen, along with bars and thumbprints. It's best to avoid freezing softer cookies such as meringues, madeleines, and cookies with frosting.

Sugar cookies, like most cookies, can be frozen, but if you are planning to decorate your sugar cookies with frosting, freeze before decorating. As with most cookies, you can freeze sugar cookie dough or freeze baked sugar cookies.