18 Icebox Cookie Recipes for Fresh Slice-and-Bake Treats Anytime (2024)

FAQs

How do you slice icebox cookies evenly? ›

Now you're ready to make perfectly round Pistachio-Crusted Icebox Cookies. Now onto the final step: slicing! As you cut your dough log into individual cookies, give it a quarter-turn every three or four slices to ensure that the knife doesn't flatten one side repeatedly against the cutting board.

For slice and bake recipes, you can freeze the cookie dough wrapped up tightly in plastic wrap in a disc or cookie dough log, then defrost overnight. Recipes such as roll out sugar cookies, cut-out cookies and shortbread cookies don't freeze as well - I prefer to freeze the baked cookies rather than the cookie dough.

Wait for the cookies to cool completely, then transfer them to a reusable freezer-safe bag or container lined with wax or parchment paper. I like to place them in a single layer to avoid any cookies breaking. Cookies will keep well for up to 2 months. Once ready to eat, simply thaw out at room temperature and enjoy.

“It gives the dough time to really firm up and the ingredients time to marry together, which can change the texture and even the flavor of the baked cookie.”

Why You Need to Chill Your Cookie Dough. For starters, chilling prevents cookies from spreading out too quickly once they're in the oven. If you use a higher fat butter (like Kerrygold), chilling your dough is absolutely essential. Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool.

Putting cookie dough into the freezer before baking can help solidify the fat from the butter in your cookies, which in turn keeps them from spreading too much in the oven. Colder dough will not expand as much as warm dough does. This will produce a higher, thicker cookie.

In most cases, I prefer to freeze cookie dough over freezing baked cookies. That way, you still get the nice homemade smell and softness of the cookies when they come out of the oven. But if you want to get the whole job done, you can certainly bake the cookies, then freeze them later.

Cookie dough freezes well for up to 3 months, so it's a great way to get ahead for the holidays or other busy times. For drop cookies, you don't need to wait for the dough to thaw—bake from frozen.

Do not freeze frosted, glazed or drizzled cookies because they can become too moist under the frosting, glaze or drizzle. Thaw the cookies in the plastic food container at room temperature. Remove from container any cookies that should be crisp when thawed.

After baking, allow cookies to cool completely. Place them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet to freeze them, then store them in a freezer-safe zip-top storage bag labeled with the name and date. Squeeze out extra air and place flat in the freezer. To save space, you can flat-stack freezer bags.

How do bakeries keep cookies fresh? ›

To extend the shelf life of products, many bakers use specially formulated enzymes for preservation. These naturally occurring protein compounds can keep baked goods soft while preventing crumbling and staling.

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.

If the dough is chilled before baking then the cookies will be slightly more rounded, so if you want slightly flatter cookies then bake them as soon as you have mixed up the dough. But we would not recommend flattening the cookies completely as this will affect the texture.

Wrap the dough

Set the glass on its side in the refrigerator. The round glass helps the dough keep a round shape and prevents the bottom of the dough from flattening out. Turn the logs periodically while refrigerating. Once chilled, the dough becomes hard enough to be sliced into round cookies and baked.

Try cutting everything in two at every step. It's often a lot easier to visually estimate halves than any other fraction. Cut the whole tray in two, then cut each half in two, then each remaining segment in two, and so on until you have pieces that are about the size you want. That's the method that works for me.

Simply measure and mark the desired width of each slice along the edge of the pan, then use a sharp knife to cut along the markings. This method can help ensure that each slice is perfectly uniform, even if you're working with an oddly shaped pan or unusual dimensions.