In general, baked cookies are fine at room temperature for about 5 days, but only if stored correctly.
Most homemade cookies will retain their flavor and texture for up to 3 days. If left too long, cookies will begin to harden or dry out. To prevent cookies from going stale, cover them with plastic wrap or store them in an airtight container.
Store at room temperature in Tupperware or other airtight containers. Store different flavors separately. If possible, store each flavor in a separate container, as over time, stronger flavored cookies such as molasses or mint will permeate other cookies.
Leave cookies in the oven overnight, with the door closed to prevent heat from escaping immediately, for about 10 hours .
Time to refrigerate cookie dough . As a general rule of thumb, cookie dough should be refrigerated for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
Pfeffernusse: These should be made at least a few days or up to 2 weeks before serving depending on the recipe and will keep for several weeks. Shortbread and Shortbread Cookies: These will keep for at least one month. Springer-less: These should be made 2 weeks before serving and can be stored for several months.
Do not refrigerate baked cookies.
Storing them in an airtight container will keep those cookies crispy. Some people throw a loaf of bread in with the cookies to help absorb excess moisture. Baking them on a wire rack in a 300-degree Fahrenheit oven for a few minutes can also make them crispy again.
They will begin to dry out, going from soft to hard, starting right after you take them out of the oven. (Yes, you can do this.) Any moisture left in the cookie is in a constant state of evaporation. At the same time, the sugars and starches harden.
A typical homemade cookie will last 4-5 days when stored at room temperature in an airtight container and up to 9 months in the freezer. However, this is a generalization, and different cookie types will have different answers, so please read below for more information on how long cookies last.
Keep Them Sealed The key to keeping cookies fresh and soft is to seal them in an airtight container like a resealable freezer bag. And here’s a nifty little trick: add bread to the bag. You might think the bread trick works because the cookies absorb moisture from the bread.
Freezing is the best way to keep cookies fresh if you want to make cookies in advance. Then remove them from the freezer a few hours before you need them and serve. You can also refreeze the cookies, but be aware that if you do this too many times the icing will begin to deteriorate.
Edible cookie dough should not be removed from the refrigerator for more than 2 hours. Leaving perishable foods at temperatures of 40-140°F for more than 2 hours increases the likelihood of illness due to bacterial growth.
Most cookie dough can be wrapped well and refrigerated for 3 to 5 days before baking. For faster baking, freeze the dough. For more information, see our earlier post on freezing cookie dough. If you need holiday baking ideas, check out our cookie recipe collection.
In general, if stored properly, cookies will last about 3 days at room temperature. They will last up to 6 months in the freezer. The following is a guide to the shelf life of different types of cookies.
Unfrozen sugar cookies that have not been properly stored will last up to two weeks in the refrigerator, but may go stale after about a week. If you want sugar cookies to be completely fresh, freezing them is your best bet.
Unpackaged chocolate chip cookies that have not been properly stored can last up to two months. If opened, they can last up to three weeks. Packaged store-bought cookies last considerably longer than homemade cookies.
Cookies can last two weeks in the refrigerator, but are better eaten sooner. Store cookies in the refrigerator in a completely sealable plastic bag or plastic container.
When the dough is refrigerated, it becomes buttery and hard. Therefore, when baked, they spread out and hold their shape better,” Epperson adds. This means the cookies are more likely to be soft and chewy in the center.” Therefore, chilling the dough before baking means a better consistency and a nicer cookie.
Popping the dough into the refrigerator will chill the fat. As a result, the cookies expand more slowly and retain their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you will likely end up with a flat, sad disc instead of a nice, chewy cookie. Cookies made with cold dough are also much more flavorful.
How to Make Crispy Cookies
- Use a higher ratio of white to brown sugar. Brown sugar keeps the cookies moist, soft and tender, while white sugar and corn syrup will make the cookies spread and crisp in the oven.
- Do not chill the dough. To achieve crispy cookies, skip the rest in the refrigerator.
- Pound the dough and beat the pan.
If you need a few more minutes, you can always return the cookies to the oven. You can also rebake long after the cookies have cooled to restore crispness and freshness.
Cornstarch helps products softer cookies and thicker cookies. More brown sugar than white sugar will soften moist cookies. Extra egg yolks increase the crunchiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls into something tall and lumpy rather than wide and smooth gives the cookies a thicker bakery-style texture.
Double the egg yolks Most cookie recipes call for at least one egg. You can try omitting the white of each egg. Each egg tends to dry out when baked and is replaced by an additional egg yolk plus. Yolks have more fat than egg whites, which helps keep the cookies moist and chewy.
Baking requires precision, and if you find that your homemade cookies are falling apart, you may be using too much flour (through fine cooking).
A. To prevent chewy cookies from drying out and becoming brittle, store them in a room temperature zip lock bag with a small pan (no more than half of a slice) inside.
Basically, cookies made with butter spread more and are flatter and crisper when baked long enough. However, they are more flavorful than cookies made with shortening. Cookies made with shortening will be taller and softer, but not as flavorful.
The cooler cookie dough makes the cookies more flavorful and has that blissful caramel butterscotch flavor, making them thicker, chewier, and browner. In the photo above, you can see this play out in my bakery-style chocolate chip cookie recipe.
The dough can be made in advance, but refrigerated overnight in an airtight container, you will find it too hard to scoop and bake in the morning.
As a general rule, cookie dough left on the counter at room temperature will be good for 2-4 hours, but risks going bad, especially if it is already past its “best” date. A cold, dark, airless container in the refrigerator or freezer is the best place to maximize cookie dough life.
Homemade cookie dough should be stored in a small container in the refrigerator for two to four days or frozen for two months. Alternatively, if desired, a small amount of dough can be frozen and thawed in the refrigerator.
Can you leave dough with egg overnight?
Can I leave the dough with the eggs overnight? If the eggs were previously stored in the refrigerator, they will sweat as they warm to room temperature. This encourages bacteria to grow. It is best not to leave dough containing eggs for more than two hours.
The famous Jack Torres chocolate chip cookies featured in the New York Times mandate at least 24 hours and up to 72 hours of rest. More browning and caramelization.
Folded into neat packets and placed in ziptop bags, the cookies can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for three to six months. Stella also recommends labeling the bags with the type of dough, date made, and baking instructions.
Store them flat in Ziptop freezer bags with a layer of parchment paper between them. This allows them to be easily separated for serving with minimal damage. It also makes for more organized storage in the freezer. Cookies should be thawed at room temperature outside the bag for 10-15 minutes.
If you need to bake rich cookies, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or place them in an airtight container for up to 2 days. You can also freeze them.
Once the Sugar Cookie recipe is fully baked and decorated, store them properly “when cool”.
Storing sugar cookies in the refrigerator is not something we recommend. They do not necessarily need cool temperatures, rather a cool, airtight space. However, if you are having trouble finding a cool, dry space to store sugar cookies, a refrigerator will work fine.
As we mentioned, most cookie recipes last for up to three months in a freezer bag or container when stored without freezing the cookies. Get all the freezing information here.
Cookies in unsealed cookie jars usually do not last longer than 3 days. Cookie fat tends to harden and flour becomes stale in unsealed cookie jar cookies. Bacteria, humidity, dirt, and dust can reach the cookies, making the cookies moldy and unpleasant.
Cookies that are too hot will likely fall apart in your hands. However, as we all know, warm cookies are wonderful. So cool the cookies until they hold their shape (usually after about 5 minutes on a cookie cooling rack) and taste as warm as possible. Here’s how to store the rest
Line a baking sheet when making cookies: parchment paper not only helps the cookies bake more evenly, but its non-stick quality also helps prevent them from cracking or breaking when lifted off the sheet. Homemade decorations: parchment paper makes a great wrapper for baked goods.
Refrigerate cookie dough: To store cookie dough in the refrigerator, cover the mixing bowl with an airtight sheet of plastic wrap or transfer the dough to an airtight container. For best quality, use dough within 3 days.
Do not refrigerate baked cookies.
Allowing cookie dough to rest in the refrigerator can make it difficult to scoop out individual pieces. To counter this, scoop and roll the cookie dough before placing in the refrigerator. It is very easy to scoop out freshly mixed dough, and you also get the benefit of letting the dough rest.
How to Keep Cookies Crispy
- Allow cookies to cool completely before storing.
- Do not store soft and crispy cookies together.
- Glass containers are ideal for storing crispy cookies.
- Use containers with lids, not plastic bags.
- Refrigerating the cookies will help them stay crispy.
If the cookies are very hard, according to this site, it is most likely due to excessive sugar content, which will cause the cookies to harden, darken, and flatten when baked. Bake or Break adds that over-mixing the dough can also be the cause. When flour is blended with other ingredients, gluten begins to form.
(Hi Bob), “Dense, chewy cookies incorporate more moisture into the dough . This can be accomplished by substituting ingredients or changing the way certain ingredients are incorporated. In addition, the specific baking method and the way the cookies are stored also play an important role.”
If the cookies do not come together enough to be removed from the baking sheet with a spatula, or if some of the cookies are still very sticky/runny, they are undercooked. Otherwise, it is advisable to try the samples (after they have cooled sufficiently).
Is it possible to refresh them and get back that fresh cookie taste? Yes, it is. All you need to do is place the cookies on a baking sheet (with or without parchment paper) and put them in the oven at 350F for 3-5 minutes.
Most cookies will still be soft after baking (and harden as they cool) and will continue to bake on the cookie sheet after you remove them from the oven. As soon as they are firm enough, remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and use a spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack or paper towels to finish cooling.