Best cookie baking idea ever - And it works!!!
By coffeebreak
@coffeebreak (17797)
United States
June 6, 2008 11:50am CST
I am a great cookie baker from way back. Don't do it much as it is just me and I can't afford to eat them all! But I just learned something and tried it and it has to be the best cookie idea ever!
My daughter - who does next to no baking, and not much more cooking, brought this box of cookie dough - they were individual cookie mounds (with M&M'S!) and they were frozen. You just took out how ever many you want, and bake them. No more mixers and preparing the dough (which I very much enjoyed doing!) just literally "pick and bake" thing.
So that gave me the idea...why can't I do that? THey are just the unbaked cookie dough, frozen. I bake the dough and freeze it in bulk, so why not make them in cookie form and then freeze?
I tried it. First I just made the usual mounds of dough on a paper plate, and put that in the freezer. When frozen I took some out, baked in my toaster oven and in 10 minutes I was enjoying the best chocolate chip cookie ever (I have that recipe - it is literally the best!) Worked great! So today I went to do the rest of the huge batch of dough and instead of using the plate, I have a mini cup cake pan - holds 24 mini cupcakes, I made the dough mound then lightly pressed it into the cupcake molds. Froze that and then took them out of the pan and placed them in a freezer bag - 2 layers. I"d a rather used tupperware, but no room for something that big in my freezer.) In the bags, they fit perfectly on the door of hte freezer. WOrked out Fantastic!!!
You ought a try it! I have only used the chocolate chip dough, although you know you can use chips, m&m's, and most any other little munchie like that. But I will try with some other receips. ONly mound/drop cookie receips will work, but hey...fabulous cookies in minutes, especially with the summer heat coming on....can't beat that with a stick!
Give it a try!
5 people like this
9 responses
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
6 Jun 08
Wow, that's a great idea! My oldest daughter and I get into a cookie baking mood once every couple of months so it would be great to have some of that dough in the freezer for those times that I wished I had some home made cookies left. I'm going to share your idea with her so maybe we'll give it a try this weekend.
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
6 Jun 08
The batch I just made was for 7 dozen chocolate chip cookies! I have done this with all of them. It is amazing - the perfect thing. I love to have homemade cookies, not store bought. They are just never as good as homemade. So I will be doing this more often! Good luck to you and your daughter's baking weekend. I do that with my grand daughter and it is the best time ever!
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (208890)
• United States
7 Jun 08
That does sound good. I must admit I never thought about doing that before. The problem with me is that I don't have alot of room in my freezer. I just have the little one on top of the fridge and it is usually pretty stuffed. I'd have to find room in it.
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
7 Jun 08
I love baking bread to although rather spoiled now with a bread machine! But Banana Nut Bread - still the best when made the "old fashioned" way! Can't think of a single store cookie that is worth paying for! My husband won't eat anything I make and would always buy cookies - I'd taste the dry, tastless things and wonder where his taste buds were! Then months later I'd throw out the half a box left overs that he didnt eat and said he wouldn't now that they were so old! But my homemade ones are gone in days and always asked for seconds!
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
7 Jun 08
Some don't seem to, but that is cause they are so dry and flavorless when you buy them that there is nothing left to age!
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
7 Jun 08
But see, this is perfect for you! Take one afternoon and bake a batch of 7 dozen and then just spoon them to cookie size, freeze and when you want homebaked fresh cookies, you grab 6 out, pop them in the toaster oven and while you are getting dressed, they are baking and when you are done, so are they and off you go!
3 people like this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
7 Jun 08
No - you don't understand! This is the perfect way to have that special snack (and enjoyable calories) and NOT gain weight! See, I'd make the batch of 7 dozen and for the most part - I"d eat them all!!! I'd give some to the kids and then I had the rest! `Then their busy schedules started and I'd have them eaten before the kids could get back over! SO this way, I can grab 6 cookie mounds, bake them in the toaster oven and that was my limit for the day! And I don't do it every day as sometimes the 6 will last me another day! And since they were in the freezer, I forget about them and not make them for a few days! Oh no, definately, this is the way to go!
1 person likes this
@my52cents (569)
• United States
6 Jun 08
I love your idea, to do it yourself. Advantages I can think of - it has to be cheaper to DIY plus you know exactly what's going into the dough and won't be adding any preservatives or anything else that might be in the commercial version. Of course baking a few cookies in the toaster oven is a wonderful energy saver and would keep the house cooler in the hot weather, but then I love to just eat the dough before it's cooked and having it frozen would make a wonderful hot weather treat. Way to go, Coffeebreak! Thanks for the suggestion!
2 people like this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
6 Jun 08
Hey my52cents -long time, no hear! Yeah, in addition to enjoying amazing cookies anytime you want, throw in all these plus's and to buy cookies at the store is now a crime!!!
2 people like this
@bfarrier1 (2082)
• United States
7 Jun 08
I am with your daughter on baking and cooking its the easy way for me,I have had to cook meals for years so now that it is just myself and the husband I go any easy route I can find.
you have a great evening.
you have a great evening.2 people like this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
7 Jun 08
She knows she doesnt' have to do it as Mom will do it for her! And I'm glad she will ask sometimes, gives me a reason to do it! I just don't enjoy it in the end when all those cookies are there and I am the one and only to be eating them!
2 people like this
@bfarrier1 (2082)
• United States
7 Jun 08
Oh yeah that is a good way to gain weight LOL you have a nice evening.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
7 Jun 08
You know, I've heard of that but have never done it myself. If anything, I'll make up all the cookies and then put a few in the freezer after they're baked. They still taste fresh after being frozen that way, but I would imagine would be just the same with being frozen in the 'dough' stage.
I wish I had a toaster oven because I sure would do this. But for now, I'd rather heat up the kitchen just once and get it done, then freeze them (although if I'm making chocolate chip cookies, they don't usually last long enough to freeze them!)
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
7 Jun 08
My mom put micromave in the pantry that is right at a good location to use it. Her's is small to, only she has it filled with her tea pot collection! But it works well for her to have the microwave in the pantry right at eye level. Maybe you could do something like that?
Minei s not much bigger but the TO has to have priority as I use it all the time. Toaster is on shelf in the cabinet, stand alone mixer is on the counter and the bread machine. All the things I use most. But that TO - that is my life line!
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
7 Jun 08
That is how I used to do it too. I'd mix the batter and then freeze it until ready to bake. This was a good way to do it in the summer - at least I only had to deal with the oven and not all hte prep of the dough. I'd make the slice and bake kind too. I'd do it in Nov and hten bake in Dec cause I was always doing cookie baskets for people and would do 8-10 different kinds of cookies.
But my all means - get a toaster oven! I swear by mine! Regular oven is hardly ever used. I bought specific dishes that fit in the TO and it just does fantastic and seems to bake/cook in half the time as the big oven. It only has to heat that small area, instead of the whole big area of the oven. I use mine for baking meals, biscuits (I do buy those when they are 4/$1 and use them as burger buns!) A toaster oven can do all a reg oven can (Okay, not the turkey, but most everything else!) and It is also much easier to clean and just my best friend!
1 person likes this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
7 Jun 08
I know, and I'd absolutely love to have one, but there is not one spare inch of space in this kitchen. I'm in a very tiny home, and even have to move the toaster and can opener around to where I can find a plug when I need to use them.
1 person likes this
@sherrir101 (3670)
• Malinta, Ohio
7 Jun 08
What a great idea. I have a couple of those mini muffin pans. When I bake, I always bake too much at one time. This would definately help me in that department. Then Bruce (Significant Other)could bake his own cookies when he wants them and I cannot do it for him.
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
8 Jun 08
The perfect solution for 2 different tastes! You both can mix up your favorite drop cookie dough and make cookie mounds and then back what just you want! I also baked to much, altho it was cause for 30 years, that is what I chose to do. Now, no need, cause if I bake it, they will come - - - to my hips, waist and theighs!!! This way, I can close the door and tell them to go bother a tree!
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
25 Jun 08
Another great idea, you really were on a roll LOL
I am certainly going to try this one because it's just great specially since the kids suddenly feel like cookies and often feel like cookies now !!!! hehehehe
I'm not sure which cookie dough I will use, but I will try that :)
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
25 Jun 08
It's just the best. You could use any drop cookie recipe. Or, for cut outs, if you want to cut them out and then freeze them. Another good way is to make a cookie roll - where you roll the dough into a log and freeze and then slice and bake? Make really small logs, or freeze the log, slice and then refreeze the slices. THey won't thaw enough to make a difference. THen bake the slices 6 at a time! Lots of ways to make cookies fast! I still do it about twice a week!
1 person likes this
@skinnychick (6905)
• United States
7 Jun 08
Thanks so much! I just bought a toaster oven and I was thinking I wasn't going to use it much. I was going to start a discussion on it to see what people used their toaster ovens for. I was writing it when this email came in. That's weird. Anyway, thanks for the great idea, I will have to give it a try.
@skinnychick (6905)
• United States
9 Jun 08
Sounds like a winner and with the weather heating up here, I would like to leave my oven off. Thanks so much! I'll let you know when I try these. I'm craving them now- LOL!
