Frugal Recipes 

Michelle's Meals on a Budget
(featured column)

Frozen Gourmet Cookie Dough
Copyright © 2001, 2006 by Michelle Jones, editor of BetterBudgeting.com

For cookie lovers around the world there are not many things better than a warm, freshly baked, chocolate chip cookie right from the oven.  But after you bake the first batch the rest usually go into a container to be enjoyed at a later time.  They still taste great, but not quite as good as the very first batch.

Then one day I decided to start saving the remaining cookie dough in the fridge to bake later in the week so my family could have those warm fresh baked cookies every time. I did this for many years, until I learned how to make homemade Frozen Gourmet Cookie Dough!

A few years back two of our children had a fundraising program at school selling frozen gourmet cookie dough.  To help the school out, we ordered just one of the outrageously priced 3 pound containers, for about $12 (and along with helping the school with their fundraising, as an avid cookie baker, I also wanted to see if the cookies were any good!).  And they were very good.  After I had used up all the cookie dough I checked out the variety of packaged frozen cookie doughs at the grocery store and their prices were also outrageous.  Everyone knows homemade cookies are the best anyways… and cheaper!

So, I came up with a better plan.  Not wanting to waste extra money on something I can make myself (but loving the general idea and convenience of frozen cookie dough), I put that $12 empty container of frozen cookie dough from the school to good use.   It’s perfectly sized for the freezer, kind of like a large Kool-Aid mix container.  With a black permanent marker I wrote through the company name and now it reads right on the lid, Mom’s Gourmet Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Now, when we make chocolate chip cookies I bake just one dozen, giving each of our six family members two cookies each (this also ensures no one eating too many in one day).  Then I place the remaining dough into my Gourmet Cookie container (a Rubbermaid®, Tupperware®, or plastic ice cream bucket would work just fine) and place in the freezer so the dough will stay nice and fresh.  And the best thing is there's no rush to bake all the cookies up in one week since the dough keeps fresh in the freezer for 3-6 months.

In addition to making chocolate chip cookies, you could make and freeze just about any kind of cookies you want.  Peanut Butter, Sugar, White Chocolate, Chocolate Chunk, M&M’s, Chocolate Chip Pecan… you name it!  

Here’s a basic Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe in case you don’t have one…

In a small bowl, combine flour, soda and salt.  Set aside.  In large bowl beat butter until soft, then add sugar and vanilla and beat until creamy.  Add eggs and beat just until blended.  Gradually add flour mixture and blend well.  Stir in chips and drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto cool, ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned, do not over bake.  Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container.

When using the frozen dough, just scoop it out of the container by the spoonful and place onto the cookie sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes in a 350-degree preheated oven.  The cookies will be thicker than usual and absolutely delicious!  Sometimes, if my freezer is running too cold (it does that if you have it packed full), I'll leave the container out on the counter for just a few minutes to let the dough soften.)

I hope you enjoy these freshly baked cookies straight from your own freezer as much as our family does, you can also visit our Cookie Club site for more delicious cookie recipes all throughout the year!

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