Can you freeze oatmeal cookie dough? That’s a good question! With the oats and potential mix-ins involved, it would seem that freezing cookie dough with oats, or any cookie dough for that matter, may have some caveats. So, what’s the truth? It depends! Join me as I spill the details on whether or not it’s a good idea to freeze oatmeal cookie dough.
Table of Contents
- Can You Freeze Uncooked Oatmeal Cookies?
- How Long Does Oatmeal Cookie Dough Last in the Freezer?
- How to Freeze Oatmeal Cookie Dough
- How Do You Thaw Frozen Oatmeal Cookies?
- Can You Freeze Baked Oatmeal Cookies?
- Can You Freeze Oatmeal Cookie Dough? Yes!
- FAQs
Can You Freeze Uncooked Oatmeal Cookies?
Yes, you can freeze uncooked oatmeal cookies. In fact, you probably should.
Freezing oatmeal cookie doughs and other hearty doughs like it usually fare well for keeping cookie dough on hand for whenever you may need it. It is only liquidy cookie dough, like the kind used for madeleines, macarons, and pizzelles that may give you issues.
Can You Freeze Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough?
Besides freezing oatmeal cookie dough made without raisins, you should also note that freezing oatmeal cookie dough with raisins also works well. You’ll follow the same steps for freezing this type as you would an oatmeal cookie recipe without the raisins, all of which we will get to later!
Want to add other mix-ins to your frozen cookie dough? No problem. Add whatever mix-ins you’d like, and you can still expect to be able to freeze your dough. Popular oatmeal cookie mix-ins often include:
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Peanut butter
- Almond butter
- Pecans
- Cranberries
- Shredded coconut
- Chocolate chips
How Long Does Oatmeal Cookie Dough Last in the Freezer?
Most types of cookie dough, including oatmeal or oatmeal raisin, typically last in the freezer for about 2-3 months. This is assuming that you’ve stored them properly and have utilized a freezer bag to prevent freezer burn.
Keep cookie dough balls frozen solid until you are ready to bake them (or eat them, in the case of edible oatmeal cookie dough).
How to Freeze Oatmeal Cookie Dough
At this point, you’re probably wondering if there is a specific process to freezing cookie dough. Actually, there is. You’ll want to use specific items to accomplish this task, as well as specific techniques.
You’ll first need to decide how you want to store your oatmeal cookie dough. While we recommend portioning your dough into cookie dough balls, you can also freeze cookie dough in an entire loaf. Choose which of these methods will work best for you, then follow these instructions to get started.
Freezing portioned cookie dough balls
- Begin by portioning your cookie dough either into individual dough balls or as cookie dough discs.
- Place each ball or disc on a lined baking sheet and pop the sheet into the freezer until the cookie balls are frozen solid.
- Prepare a Ziploc bag (or other freezer safe bag) and drop the already frozen cookie dough into the bag.
- Freezing the dough before placing it in the bag prevents the balls or discs from sticking together. This makes it easier to retrieve only the amount of frozen dough you need at a time, without needing to thaw an entire batch of dough.
Freezing a cookie dough loaf
- Of course, if you don’t feel up to pre-portioning your dough, you could always store the entire loaf to be thawed and portioned later. To do this, simply roll your dough into a long log. If the log is too big to fit in a plastic freezer bag, consider cutting it in half.
- Wrap your log(s) in plastic wrap.
- Place your log(s) in a freezer safe Ziploc bag until they are completely frozen.
- When the time comes to portion your dough, you’ll need to thaw the log in the fridge until it becomes soft. At this point, it is safe to portion the dough and potentially refreeze the remaining dough.
Note: I don’t recommend that you thaw a cookie dough loaf at room temperature. Doing it this way limits you only to 2 hours before bacteria begins to develop. Moreover, thawing your cookie dough this way may prevent you from being able to safely refreeze it.
How Do You Thaw Frozen Oatmeal Cookies?
Now that you know how to freeze cookie dough, you may be wondering how to thaw it.
As mentioned, the best way to thaw cookie dough is to do so in the fridge. This prevents bacteria from growing and also grants you the opportunity to refreeze the dough if there is any remaining dough leftover.
Can You Freeze Baked Oatmeal Cookies?
Yes, you can!
Baked oatmeal cookies freeze up just as well as other cookies. In fact, freezing baked cookies is a great way to enjoy a midday treat without needing to fire up the oven. To do so, simply wait until the cookies are completely cool before placing them on a prepared baking sheet to freeze. Once frozen, place the baked cookies in a freezer safe bag.
It’s that simple!
Can You Freeze Oatmeal Cookie Dough? Yes!
Yes, you can freeze oatmeal cookie dough. Actually, most traditional types of thick and hearty cookie doughs can be frozen. Just remember that when proposing to freeze cookie dough, you’ll need to be methodical about how you do it. Think about whether or not you want to proportion your dough prior to attempting to freeze cookie dough. Also, be sure to thaw the dough correctly to prevent it from spoiling.
I hope this has been helpful. See you next time!
FAQs
What cookie dough does not freeze well?
Cookie dough that is runny typically doesn’t do well in terms of attempting to freeze cookie dough. Therefore, it is recommended that you avoid freezing dough for cookies like madeleines, pizzelles, macarons, and Florentine cookies.
Why freeze cookie dough?
Freezing cookie dough is a great idea when you don’t think you’ll use up the dough before it expires. Remember that homemade cookie dough only lasts about 2-3 days in the fridge. Therefore, it is imperative that you freeze cookie dough if you’ve held onto it for a while. Otherwise, you risk wasting all of that delicious dough along with the ingredients and labor you put into it.
