Freezing cookie dough

Storing unbaked cookie dough in the freezer to bake later.

Freezing cookie dough: Round balls of chocolate chip cookie dough, frozen firm and stacked closely in a pile.
  • Techniques and preparation methods

Unbaked cookie dough can be frozen, and University of Illinois Extension lists it as keeping for about three months at 0 degrees Fahrenheit for top quality. The same guidance says to pack food in freezer-safe containers, leave space because food expands when frozen, seal secondary packaging well to keep air out and moisture in, and label the container with the product name and the current date.

Baked cookies keep their best quality longer, about 8 to 12 months at 0 degrees. Shaping the dough before freezing, into balls or a log, makes baking later easier.

When baking, extension educators note that the date on a cookie label should be the day the cookies were actually baked, not the day the dough was made.

Related entries

Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. Freezer Storage, University of Illinois Extension
  2. Labeling cottage food items, University of Minnesota Extension