# Help! Wanna freeze xmas cookies can i?



## rustyspoons (Oct 24, 2008)

I desperately need to get a jump:bounce: on xmas baking and was wondering *if I can bake cookies in advance and freeze them til needed.* :look: 
*Is that possible to do without suffering quality in taste or texture? *For instance I LOVE THOSE LITTLE ALMOND COOKIES that are similar in texture to pingnoli cookies, :lips: you know, where they are soft, almondy, and mushy inside, but alittle crisp outside? But I don't know, ...Can those be frozen without compromise? 

If not, what cookies can anyone suggest to do in advance? 
I would LOVE to freeze something other than standared_ "sugar or butter cookie"_ varieties if possible. Something kinda fancy, like pecan whatever's, tassies, cups, IDK, I'm feeling adventurous this year and wanna try anything and everything. :lips:
Or even something like Paula Deen's "gooey bars"?! THOESE ARE soooo AWSOME, but IDK if i can freeze em? I don't have _too much_ time for _alot of _trial and error this season cuz I'm taking whatever i make with me a week before xmas, to travel afar...  so cant afford the time involved to test it myself so to speak without anyone's prior knowledge and input. 

 (Also, I have a severe form or arthritis and can't always bake when the urge hits me, so baking as much as I can in advance would be a lifesaver for me for sure.) 
I appreciate any and all suggestions, recipies, and helpful hints from "y'all. " 
Thanks everyone!
Sincerely, Rusty:smiles:


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

I have a huge christmas party every year - a full meal with many many courses and about ten types of cookies, and three types of cake, all home made from scratch, and for about 50 people. No way i can do that unless i start baking long before now.
so, 
yes
you can freeze cookies. I've frozen the following, and they all come out fine
all kinds of butter cookie, 
chocolate crackles
swedish spice cookies decorated with royal icing
pecan balls
pecan squares (recipe in joy of cooking)
nut meringues
white chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate in the mix
hermits
fig turnovers
molasses crackles
frosted brownies (i use melted chocolate and butter, spread on top)
refrigerator cookies (pinwheels, brown sugar nut cookies, etc)

i defy anyone to tell if they were frozen


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## rustyspoons (Oct 24, 2008)

Thanks Siduri, sounds like a reasonably long list of cookie varieties to choose from. May I ask you about how far in advance to you start baking and freezing?

Also, :smoking: I *too* host the holidays at my house for my husbands very large and occassionally seemingly ungrateful, (even if only _unintentional..._LOL) Italian family, (_I do this so *my kids* have fond memories of xmas in *their own house*, playing with their new toys, and watching thier xmas video's on their own Tv's etc. so as not to disturb some of the elder relatives etc. Also because at the other relatives homes, they have what some of us NNJ Italians refer to as "museum rooms"  LOL, if you know what i mean, :crazy: you know, the kind of rooms no one can sit in or go in and everything is covered in plastic, lol, so they all JAM themselves into a tiny kitchen and sit at a very uncomfortable table.._.) LOL:lol:, mind you I do say this with fond memories and love. Anyway, I would love to learn some short cuts on "make-ahead-to-freeze-" dishes and stop killing myself by doing it all at once in the kitchen every year. What type of regular foods have you successfully made ahead and froze to heat up on the day of?

*My husbands family can unintentionally be a bunch of FOOD SNOBS*_,_ _which is ironic because most of em can't make toast_, but they ALWAYS TURN THEIR NOSES UP AT FROZEN STUFF, even if its homemade frozen stuff! I tend to end up killing myself every year to try and make everything that morning or afternoon, and not enjoying the meal i work so hard to create because I'm beat! (I cook it all myself because I no longer have any living relatives on _my side_ to help me sadly, but I turn my 2 girls into prep-cooks at least! *lol, which they enjoy as much as I enjoy* and _usually_ works out well, *but I'd still love to have some shortcuts to turn to if possible.* So, if you have some tips on what sorts of items are the best to make ahead for holiday dinning, I'd appreciate that as well. 
Thanks again for the cookie suggestions!
Rusty


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## wheresthegrub (Oct 28, 2008)

First off, why do you have to tell anyone that you froze them? none of their business. If they taste the same, look the same, ARE the same, so be it. Dont justify you hard work to unappreciative "food snobs". *You put the time in making them*, thats all they need to know.

Second, Make and freeze the "easy" ones, and do the fancy shmancy ones at the last minute. This way the bulk of the labor of making them is done.

Looking over my cookie giving list, I will probably be making somewhere around 2000-3000 cookies. You can bet I am not gonna be using the last two weeks before x-mas to kill myself making batches. Ima gonna have most pre-made and pre-measured so all I have to do is thaw and bake.

Easy as cake...er...cookie!

good luck


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I like your golden name. Congrats on supporting the site.

Phil


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## rustyspoons (Oct 24, 2008)

Thanks phatch,I'm enjoying this site very much so far. As for my name, I came up with the "rusty " part when I developed a very painful form of Rhumetoid Arthritis and was forced to put most of my hobbies aside for a very very long time.(its hard to bake, roll dough, stir, or prep when your hands are not cooperating, lol) I thought it was kinda funny and cute.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

i usually begin end of september, beginning of october. I pack them in tupperware and similar, or the more sturdy ones in plastic bags. I don;t have a big deep freezer or anything. I have two small european style fridges, and their respective freezer sections, so there isn;t much space, but packing well i manage to fit a ton of stuff in. 

yeah, i get the picture. My christmas party is only people i really like, so it's a little different. But i would much rather do all the work at my place than have to have an uncomfortable christmas at someone else's

I make many of the dishes for xmas ahead. One specialty is squash turnovers (seethe post in the thread called "grandma was run over by a reindeer" or something like that for the recipe). I jsut made them yesterday and froze them. Strew flour all over the counters before they arrive so they think you just did it. Never, never tell them you froze them. And if they turn up their nose, then don;t give them any. And you and your family eat whatever it is with great gusto and noisy "mmmmm"s

Here, I have to say, I think you're completely wrong. You should do the christmas feast that YOU like and that YOUR family likes. If you go crazy trying to please them ("look at poor me, how much i work and slaved for you and this is the gratitude") you're being passively aggressive. And it's useless anyway. If they're like you say, they will NOT like your food simply ON PRINCIPLE so don't waste your time. It's like worrying what the neighbors will say. Those who want to gossip will gossip, no matter what you do, so you might as well do what you want. 

There is a lot to be said for pretending not to mind. It will get their goat and will frustrate them and in the end they will not be able to do anything about it. so pretend to be cool and collected. If they make comments, smile and offer the food graciously and pretend not to notice. If they're not the monsters you describe, they will take it and thank you, and if they are, they will be furious but can;t do anything about it. 
If someone implies they don;t like what you made apologize profusely, take it off their plate and don;t offer it again, but show YOU are really enjoying it. They will eat their heart out because they will not be able to go back on what they said, but will probably hold back next time. 

Make sure your girls are actually enjoying this, because you can turn them forever against cooking if they are conscripted into service that they don't like and can sense your venom underlying it all. 

What kinds of dishes to freeze will depend on what you generally make. Let me know what your usual menu is. If you're roasting turkey with potatoes in the pan, there is not much you can do in advance. But then this is not heavy cooking and you just put it in the oven and that's it. If you;re making lasagne or ravioli by hand there is alot you can do in advance. Tomato sauce can be frozen, ravioli can be frozen, the entire lasagne can be frozen and then defrosted on the morning and baked right before dinner. Squash can be steamed (cut it but don;t peel it, then when cooked and cooled, scrape out of the skin with a spoon, it's much easier) and then frozen as is. Later on the morning, you can heat it up with butter and whatever if you like it mashed. for instance. (if you eat it stuffed and baked, then you can't freeze it well)
any time


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## bakeaholic (Aug 17, 2007)

siduri that's amazing. I did not know that you could freeze cookies for that long. I was aware that you could freeze them but I never did imagine you could freeze them for such a long duration.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

to tell yuo a little secret, i forgot i still had some cookies i never unfroze for last year's party and took them out - defrosted - and ate them. They were fine! i imagine not all will do that well, but these did. It was about 9 months later.


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## rustyspoons (Oct 24, 2008)

I don't know how to make multiple quote selections to put in one post, please forgive me for the crude attempt I made here...., not too good at this stuff...

:lol:

:blush:I'm sooooo *sorry* and *embarrassed *if I sounded *way angrier* than I am about the "family"... in my 2nd post under the original post.... I never ment to sound so angry, or appear passive agressive... :blush: 
I musta been in a heck of a  cranky mood when I made that post!!! :beer:
*So I appologize to you Siduri, if* I gave you the impression that I was passive agressive towards my family or hated cooking for them,* and I appologive to everyone else here who posted replies to my post as well as to any other readers who may have mistook my grumblings for actual anger...*
*Thats not my usual behavior at all.*

So, after reading everyone's posts, and then After re-reading my 2nd original reply post to Siduri, _and being *more* than just alittle embarrassed,_ :blush: (_because I forget the reader doesn't *know my personality and my humor can be a bit "dry"* which can come off as a bit sarcastic and perhaps angry etc.,) _
_*So, in light of this,*_ *I have EDITED my original post to be a little more friendly*...
I didn't want any *new* readers to think I hated my family, or cooking for them for the holidays... 
Although it may have *seemed *to the contrary and_ now rather dysfunctional_, :blush: I meant what I said about the family and everything *originally with love*. 
*So PLEASE ACCEPT MY APPOLOGIES, NOT ONLY FOR SOUNDING A BIT ANGRIER THAN I MEANT TO, BUT also for editing my 2nd post here under the orginal post. *
I didnt want anyone to think I was _an *angry* nut_ in any future posts...:blush: Now you all can think _*I'm just a nut*_ I suppose...:lol:

*THANKYOU Siduri* for your great suggestions, as well as everyone else and their equally fabulous suggestions, and again, *please accept my appologies for my rantings*.
Very sincerely,
Rustyspoons


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## rustyspoons (Oct 24, 2008)

*I agree with you completely WherestheGrub*,* I NEVER volunteer that sort of information* :lol: !

(The same way _most_ _of us women_ never give out the name of our hairdresser...LOL, sacred stuff....)

*There have been times where they may have seen me pulling it out of the freezer or fridge ready to be put into the oven while waiting to eat* on the day of, because my kitchen, living room, and dinning room is a complete open floor plan so that everyone can be involved in whatever is going on no matter what they are doing... _so sometimes I get "caught" lol_. :lol:

Not that I *really mind* altogether, because _despite_ their remarks, *they do tend to eat it and ask for 2nds, :lol: they just enjoy complaining and mean it in a sort of "i'm trying to improve you and show you how we did it back home in the old country" sort of way....and pretending to be some type of old world superior food analysts. :lol:*

Oh, BTW,... 2000 cookies? ....WOW!!! Thats impressive, _baked ahead or not_. 
Can I ask you if you make _the dough_ early and _freeze the dough?_ or_ is it the cookies you freeze ahead_? *Or a combo of the two, *baking the frozen dough a few days before you need em completing the cookies for the year? Thats fabuous. I really gotta get ontop of things its getting sooooo late in the year!!!


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Dear Rusty spoons, 
I'm sorry, you i must not have expressed myself right. *I don;t *think you are too angry - if anything, i think you weren.t angry enough!

What i meant was don't be *passively* aggressive, that is,*don't feel YOU have to suffer *to make them feel bad - you can *make them feel bad directly, *which is much more satisfying and more honest. No one should slave over a dinner that is supposed to be pleasant to please people *who will never be satisfied*. You make your own family, kids, feel bad, and you feel bad, and exhausted, and you don;t gain any points with them. They couldn;t care less if you're tired or overworked, and in fact, i guess they probably like it. So you only hurt yourself. You should ignore their stupid comments, and go ahead and make what you really like to make and what your immediate family likes. Period.

And i have to say, that kind of guest is rude and nasty and has been trying to make YOU feel bad for years, so i am actually more angry at them than yuo are!

My point was if you pretend to be gracious and offer them food and they turn up their noses at it, then you can just say "oh, i'm sorry, it's ok, you don;t have to eat it" and take it off their plate. They can;t change their mind then or they'd lose face, because youi've been "nice" and they will have to watch others eat something that is delicious but they've already put it down. If they protest and say, no it's ok i'll eat it, you can be even more gracious and say no, it's not that good, you're right, and i would never impose anyone to eat something they don;t like!

By doing this, you show them how rude they are, and you don't act rudely in return. But you make them feel like idiots. Which, sorry, they are. And you don;t kill yourself trying to please people who neither will appreciate it nor deserve it. You also let your kids enjoy you on christmas, which is a much more important thing than pleasing these relatives. They would rather their mother be happy and relaxed and not stressed to the maximum trying to mkae a dinner for people that put her down. And you give them a lesson in standing their ground, so they don;t end up in the same position later!

I think, to tell you the truth,. that you are afraid to show your anger and so it comes out in indirect ways and mainly onto yourself, hurting yourself in the process, and the sparks fly onto your kids as well, but _if you can allow yourself your fully justified anger_, you will act in a way that will make your point and not hurt yourself!

please don;t apologise! I hope i haven't been offensive, i'm on your side
siduri


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## wheresthegrub (Oct 28, 2008)

[/quote]Oh, BTW,... 2000 cookies? ....WOW!!! Thats impressive, _baked ahead or not_. 
Can I ask you if you make _the dough_ early and _freeze the dough?_ or_ is it the cookies you freeze ahead_? *Or a combo of the two, *baking the frozen dough a few days before you need em completing the cookies for the year? Thats fabuous. I really gotta get ontop of things its getting sooooo late in the year!!![/quote]

I have a bunch of people on my "cookie list". family, friends, past clients, my dentist, my doctor, heck, If I like you, i put you on my cookie list.

I make four or five different types of cookies and package them and give them as christmas gifts... (I stopped buying gifts for people years ago, when I never saw that item or the gift being worn; figured it was re-gifted or tossed. that ain't happening with my cookies!). This week is sugar cookie week, I am making 5 batches of 50 cookies each batch. Next week, I will make choc chip cookies, double of the sugar cookies. By end of November, all should be done.

Over the last year, I go yard saling and pick up cookie tins. I have 26 of them and some are old...like 1950's old (those stay home). Close friends and family get tins, the rest I just wrap them in plastic and then wrap in gift paper.

I freeze the dough until the last week, then thaw. I never thought you could freeze the actual cookie.

I am debating on whether to take up a friends offer to use his pizza ovens after he closes shop (he owns a pizzaria). He has three stacked ovens and I believe I can make 200 cookies at a time. this could make my life easier!

Oh yeah, I added to my gift items this year. the first dozen friends get some preserves I canned. Coconut pumpkin butter; fig jelly; pomegranate jelly; grapefruit jelly.

isn't christmas fun???:bounce:


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## kelleybean (Oct 12, 2005)

I just wanted to chime in here and say *THANKS* for posting this subject. This will make the holidays SOO much easier. I never even thought about freezing cookies ahead of time. DAH!


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## top chef (Nov 7, 2008)

One of my relatives freezes all sorts of homemade Christmas cookies. 
They are always delicious...
Here are a few I can remember sampling:
Mexican wedding cookies, chocolate chip, almond crescents, shortbread sandwich cookies with lemon icing filling.
Recipes, cookware reviews, and kitchen appliances in one cooking blog. - Cooking and Blogging


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## phoebe (Jul 3, 2002)

This will be my first time making baskets of different cookies as presents, so I'm VERY grateful for this string. But I have a couple of questions:
1. So you can make ANY dough and freeze it before baking? That includes doughs with raw eggs or anything else?

2. How is the dough frozen? I understand that if the dough is the type you roll into a log and slice, then it's easy enough to slice when just a little defrosted and left to defrost before baking. But what about dough where you use spoonfuls to create the cookie on the baking sheet? And what about cut-outs? Do you create and separately wrap each cookie before freezing?:crazy:

Thanks for the help.


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## rustyspoons (Oct 24, 2008)

[/quote]
This week is sugar cookie week, I am making 5 batches of 50 cookies each batch. Next week, I will make choc chip cookies, double of the sugar cookies. By end of November, all should be done. 
I freeze the dough until the last week, then thaw. I never thought you could freeze the actual cookie. 
I am debating on whether to take up a friends offer to use his pizza ovens after he closes shop (he owns a pizzaria). He has three stacked ovens and I believe I can make 200 cookies at a time. this could make my life easier!
Oh yeah, I added to my gift items this year. the first dozen friends get some preserves I canned. Coconut pumpkin butter; fig jelly; pomegranate jelly; grapefruit jelly.
isn't christmas fun???:bounce:[/quote]

_DUDE!! WHERESTHEGRUB YOU ARE A BUZY BEE!! AND CANNED ITEMS TOO!!! YOU *ARE* A GOOD FRIEND INDEED!! *YUMMY! :lips:*_

_I *love* your idea of using your friends pizza ovens!_ Sounds like an awesome way to get a lot acomplished as long as you can adjust the temp and use cookie sheets so you don't have to try and put those little cookies on a "piel" to get 'em outta the oven! (did i say or spell that right?, you know, the technical term for "pizza remover thingy"?)

_As for freezing the cookies themselves_, "*Siduri*" here on _*this* thread named loads of cookies she freezes!!_, also, a "chef instructor" in another thread which I cannot remember right now told me of_* many cookies*_ also that can be frozen* without the cookies suffering in texture or taste, etc*. so I am gonna try *that* route *too* this year and see what happens...

Good luck with all your cookies WTG, hope you get to try out the pizza oven, _lucky you ! ... _to be done within 2 weeks at this point!! I haven't even _started_  *xmas* *shopping* yet, and usually by now, I'm almost done...
:crazy:Rustyspoons


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## iappreciatebn (Nov 19, 2008)

I am so glad I stumbled upon this forum! I already knew that cookies could be frozen, but I never knew exactly how to go about freezing them and I had never considered freezing them because I thought that quality would be compromised. 
I usually make a wide variety of Christmas cookies to give as gifts to my friends (I'm only a high school student, so I don't exactly have much money to spend on store bought gifts). Normally I try to cram all of my baking into the last few days before Christmas and since I do almost all of the baking by myself it can be a lot of work. However, this year I was worried that I might not have time to make all of my cookies (due to my crazy school and work schedules).
Now that I've read this thread, I've decided that freezing cookies is the way to go. If anyone has suggestions as to which cookies I should freeze and which ones I should make closer to Christmas, please let me know. The cookies I'm thinking about making this year are chocolate chip, sugar, gingerbread men, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, peppermint, and egg nog.
Thanks!


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## wheresthegrub (Oct 28, 2008)

I pre-spoon the amount of dough I am going to make. When I am ready to bake, I pull them apart and thaw them individually.

Cut outs I freeze in 1/2 inch sheets. Way easier to thaw that way.

I freeze all types of cookies; it all works out.

The only time I individually wrap is when they are done and baked.

Until recently, I would wrap, double wrap and triple wrap, to avoid freezer burn. Now I use my vacume bag gadget.


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## wheresthegrub (Oct 28, 2008)

Hey Rusty! Pizza peal is the name.

I would primarily use his "back up" ovens, which are actually baker ovens and not really "pizza" ovens. He only turns those on when he feels a busy night coming (use the force, Luke). So I can adjust the temp to what would be a cozy heat for cookies.

Also, he has HUGE trays that he stores his dough on. I would use those; probably get 50 cookies on each. So, the tray thing is covered.

Gonna be fun. I'll post pics when done!


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