From chocolate chip to oatmeal raisin, no dessert satisfies quite the way that cookies do. They're easy to make, serve a crowd, and there are so many iterations to choose from. Using high-quality ingredients and a reliable recipe are two ways to ensure a delicious cookie—but there's something else you should do to take the dessert to the next level: refrigerate the dough.
Flour contains naturally-occurring enzymes, which break down as the dough chills, leading to increased browning. The sugar in the dough absorbs the moisture from the flour, causing the cookie to brown and caramelize. Refrigerating the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and helps to make the cookie dough firmer.
Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies. "The colder and more solid the fat is, the less the cookie will spread," says food stylist and recipe developer Caitlin Haught Brown.
More Flavor
Chilling the dough also improves the way your cookies taste. "In terms of flavor, you'll notice more depth of flavor from the vanilla and the sugar will taste sweeter," says Haught Brown. "In terms of texture, chilled cookie dough produces a more evenly golden-brown cookie with a crisper edge and chewier center."
How Long to Refrigerate Cookie Dough
As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that, and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product. Once the dough has chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable (about 5 to 10 minutes). Don't let it get too warm or you'll defeat the purpose of chilling the dough all together.
How to Refrigerate Cookie Dough
To make forming the chilled cookie dough more manageable, pre-portion it by scooping balls of dough into individual cookies, placing them on a sheet pan or in a resealable bag, chilling, and then baking right away.
When Not to Refrigerate Cookie Dough
There are some cases where you should avoid chilling cookie dough. For example, the dough for Alexis's Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies shouldn't be refrigerated, since the goal of this recipe is to create super thin, crispy cookies that spread significantly when baking. Refrigerating the dough would prevent these cookies from spreading the way they're intended to.
"A tuile cookie, where the appeal is based in the thinness or lacy qualities, is another example when you should bake the cookie dough immediately," says baker and food stylist Jason Schreiber. Additionally, if you're making a super soft peanut butter cookie or a cakey snickerdoodle, you may not want to refrigerate the dough before baking.
Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.
Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies. "The colder and more solid the fat is, the less the cookie will spread," says food stylist and recipe developer Caitlin Haught Brown.
The fridge constantly circulates cool air to keep things cold, but this will also result in drying out your dough. (There are some recipes that call for chilled dough and typically the recipe will have been created to account for this.)
Is it true that your cookie dough can be left out at room temperature for up to 21 days? Yes. Our cookie dough has been tested and approved for a rating of shelf stability by Eurofins, the world's largest and most respected food and pharmaceutical testing company.
As you can imagine, utilizing the freezer is an alternative way to chill your cookie dough if you are in a hurry. As a rule of thumb, aim to chill the dough in the freezer for about a quarter of the time you would typically refrigerate it. So, if you can't do an hour in the refrigerator, do 15 minutes in the freezer.
"When your dough is refrigerated, the butter hardens. So when you bake them, they spread less and hold their shape better," adds Epperson. "Which means a better likelihood of a soft, chewy cookie in the center." Chilling the dough creates fluffier cookies with better consistency.
The cookie baked from room temperature, being thinner, has a more uniform texture, while the one baked straight from the fridge. is thick enough to accommodate a softer interior. and crispier exterior. No contest. Generally speaking, you should chill your cookie dough before baking it.
The more liquid absorbed by the sugar, the less spread. If the liquid does not have time to absorb, then that liquid will move around freely in the dough, which causes more spread. This is why when you bake your cookies with room-temperature cookie dough, they tend to spread more.
Yes, you can eat cookie dough that hasn't been refrigerated. However, it is to be consumed within the 5 day window we talked about already. What about after 5 days? Cookie dough that hasn't been refrigerated may contain raw eggs and raw flour, which can carry the risk of foodborne illnesses such as salmonella or E.
After 72 hours, the dough will begin to dry out and you risk it going bad, especially if chilling pre-portioned balls of dough instead of the entire mass of dough. If you want to store longer than 72 hours, see the freezing tips below.
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. You don't have to bake the whole batch at once—you can bake just 1 or 2 when you're craving a freshly baked, warm cookie.
According to the USDA, homemade cookie dough lasts two to four days in the refrigerator and should be stored in small containers. Frozen cookie dough, however, can last up to two months. There are two ways to freeze cookie dough: shaped into ready-to-bake individual cookies or as a whole undivided batch.
Solidifies the fat in the dough, allowing the liquid to dissolve the sugar and flavorings and the flour to absorb them. This improves the flavor of the cookies. Makes the cookie dough less sticky and easier to handle.
Shaping bread loaves after first-rise refrigeration
After a cold bulk fermentation, allow your dough to regain some warmth on the counter for 40 to 60 minutes and become slightly puffy before shaping it. You can help the process along by stretching and folding the dough.
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