If you’ve put your cookie dough in the freezer, you might be wondering if you can bake cookies from the frozen dough or not.
Does frozen cookie dough need more baking time in the oven? Does the oven temperature need to be higher? Is freezer burn a concern?
In this article, we will see if you can bake frozen cookie dough and if so, whether any adjustments need to be made when baking.
Can You Bake Frozen Cookie Dough?
Let’s start with the main question. Can cookie dough be baked from frozen or do you need to thaw cookie dough before putting it into the oven?
The answer is that yes, you can bake frozen cookie dough! It doesn’t have to be thawed cookie dough as you can put the dough into the oven straight from the freezer.
Are Cookies Different When Baked From Frozen Cookie Dough?
Even though cookies can be baked from frozen cookie dough, it doesn’t mean that you might want to bake the cookies straight from the freezer. Does baking from the freezer give you the same delicious cookies that thawed cookie dough will?
When cookie dough is frozen, you do change the dough temporarily. We found that if you bake frozen cookie dough in the same method as fresh cookie dough, the cookies will bake a little differently.
Frozen cookie dough means that the butter within the dough is cold, so it can make your freshly baked cookies puffier and taller if you use the same instructions.
Some people prefer their cookies to have as much air inside as possible and to be crunchy outside but soft inside. If you don’t, however, then there are steps you can take to change your baking method and bake perfect cookies from frozen dough.
How To Bake From Frozen Cookie Dough
Let’s look at some methods for baking cookies from frozen dough.
To begin with, we would recommend using frozen cookie dough balls instead of freezing your cookie dough in one large lump.
Wrap your cookie dough balls in plastic wrap, a freezer bag, or parchment paper before you place them in the freezer.
Trying to cut out cookie dough from a frozen block to put on your cookie sheet can be very difficult.
Method 1
Preheat your oven to a temperature that is around 20 degrees higher than the recipe calls for.
Leave it at this higher temperature for three to four minutes and then reduce the baking temperature down to what the recipe states.
This method can produce cookies that don’t taste like frozen cookies and are more similar to fresh cookies.
Method 2
You can also set your oven to be 20 degrees higher and leave it at this temperature throughout the baking time.
Don’t change the cooking time in the original recipe and simply bake the cookies at a higher temperature.
This will give you cookies that are crispy outside but soft and gooey inside. This method is a big favorite with anyone who likes to eat warm cookies!
Method 3
This third method requires baking the frozen cookie dough at 20 degrees lower and around three to five minutes longer than the original recipe calls for.
This will bake the cookie dough more gently. It will bake the frozen cookie dough more evenly. Reducing the oven temperature prevents the cookies from becoming overbaked. This is especially important with chocolate chip cookies.
Method 4
With this final method, don’t adjust the oven temperature. Instead, bake the frozen cookie dough for an extra couple of minutes.
This will give you crispier cookies and is especially great for sugar cookies.
Why Freeze Cookie Dough?
Even if you’re making homemade cookies, there are benefits to freezing cookie dough. Let’s look at some of the reasons.
Saves Time
If you need to make a big batch of cookies then freezing cookie dough ahead of time can help.
Christmas baking can take up so many hours of the holiday, so put your rolling pin and cookie cutters away and prepare ahead of time.
With frozen cookie dough, all you need to do is drop cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and put them in the oven.
Last Minute Cookies
There is always the chance that some unexpected guests will arrive or an unexpected situation will arise that will need some cookies baked quickly.
We don’t always have a fully stocked kitchen and it’s very easy to run out of ingredients such as baking soda or cinnamon sugar.
Having some frozen cookie dough prepared means that you can quickly bake cookies without having to compromise on your favorite recipes. Whether it’s sugar cookies or chocolate chip cookies, just bake them in the oven.
Can Frozen Cookie Dough Be Baked In An Air Fryer?
Yes, you can! If you put frozen dough balls in an air fryer straight from the freezer, you will get tall and round cookies that still taste delicious.
We would recommend using a pan instead of putting the cookies directly into the air fryer basket. If your air fryer is compatible, you can even use parchment paper.
You can bake chocolate chip cookies or any other cookie dough straight from the freezer in this way.
Baking Drop Cookies
Drop cookies such as chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles can be baked from frozen as well. They will taste the same, however, they won’t spread as wide as cookies rolled when thawed.
If you want flatter and larger cookies from frozen drop cookie dough, you may want to thaw the dough first.
Final Thoughts
You can bake frozen cookie dough straight from the freezer without needing to thaw it first.
It is best to prepare the dough into cookie dough balls before freezing and there are some adjustments you can make when baking in the oven to get the best when baking frozen cookie dough.
No matter what type of cookie you like, you can bake delicious cookies from frozen.
