31 Cookie Dough Recipes That'll Make You Weak In The Knees (2024)

FAQs

What does putting cookie dough in the fridge do? ›

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

It gives the liquid in the egg a chance to hydrate the starch in the flour, making the dough firmer, which helps the cookie spread less in the oven (hello, thick cookies!). And it allows the enzymes in the flour and egg yolk to break down the carbohydrates into their component sugars, fructose, and glucose.

Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies. "The colder and more solid the fat is, the less the cookie will spread," says food stylist and recipe developer Caitlin Haught Brown.

Most cookie dough can be refrigerated, well-wrapped, for 3-5 days before baking. If you want to make it farther in advance, freeze the dough. You can either freeze the entire brick of dough or divide it into portions for quick baking.

“Putting cookie dough in the freezer can speed up the chilling process by a lot,” Hill says. “A good rule of thumb is to freeze cookie dough for 25% of the time you would normally refrigerate it. That means that if a recipe calls for refrigerating the dough for 1 hour, pop it in the freezer for just 15 minutes.”

cookie | TikTok. Scooping then chilling your cookie dough for at least. 2 hours before baking. As you can see, this primarily affects spread and height, both of which significantly contribute to texture.

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. In addition, the sugar in the dough gradually absorbs liquid.

Chilling cookie dough controls spread.

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.

You can get sick if you eat unbaked dough or batter made with flour containing germs. Germs are killed only when flour is baked or cooked. CDC investigated outbreaks linked to raw flour or cake mix in 2016, 2019, 2021, and 2023.

Although the risks are generally low, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises to resist the temptation of eating raw cookie dough to prevent illness. This year, 26 people fell ill due to a salmonella outbreak that left four hospitalized.

Can you eat year old cookie dough? ›

To stay on the safe side, it is probably not highly recommended that you eat expired cookie dough, however you can eat it up to 1 or 2 months past it's best by date, if you ensure that you have stored it properly.

Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.

Chilling Prevents Cookie Spread

Actually, it's not just the fat that contributes to spread, but also the moisture content. Chilling cookie dough gives time for the flour to absorb some of the moisture in the cookie dough, resulting in a drier cookie dough. So, less moisture also leads to less spread.

Transfer the dough, still between the two pieces of parchment paper, to a baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours to allow the dough to firm up, and up to three days ahead.

Scooping then chilling your cookie dough for at least. 2 hours before baking. As you can see, this primarily affects spread and height, both of which significantly contribute to texture.

Chill the ingredients: This is especially important for the butter or margarine, which should be cold but not hard. Cold ingredients make the dough come together easier and be less sticky. Use Shortening: Substitute all or a portion of the butter or margarine in the recipe with shortening.

As Martha Stewart explains, for cookies that are intended to be served thin, crispy, or crunchy, refrigerating raw cookie dough isn't required.

Parchment paper: Scoop the cookie dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and use the paper to wrap the dough into a ball. Place your parchment papered dough into your labeled container. You can store it in the fridge for up to 4 days or the freezer for up to 3 months.