Homemade Frozen Ready-Bake Cookies

I love cookies. My husband loves cookies. We love fresh, homemade cookies. But I HATE standing in the kitchen for 20 minutes whipping up a batch of cookie dough, then waiting another 15 minutes while my husband whines that it's taking too long. And then, I've forgotten that I made the dough, and it goes to waste.

For a while we resulted in buying those ready-bake cookies in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, but it gets EXPENSIVE, and not to mention, it's chock full of preservatives!!

So my mom and I came up with a great idea to have cookies ready-to-bake all the time!

Here's what you need:

Cookie Dough
Ice Cream Scoop (the "clicking" kind,) or two spoons, or your hands to form balls
Waxed Paper or Seran Wrap
Baking Sheets
Freezer Space

Here's how we do it:

Whip up your favorite batch of cookie dough. Or if you're a freak like I am, whip up seven batches (hey, I like to be prepared.)



After you have your cookie dough, line a baking sheet with some waxed paper or seran wrap, either will do. One sheet will do about 35 cookies if you make them 1 1/2".

Take your preferred method of scooping the dough out and make cookie dough balls the size you prefer. Don't be stingy on space when you're filling your tray up! You're not baking them right now, just freezing them. They don't "spread" in the freezer.



If you're like me and you have children in the house, this is the time when they decide they're "done" with whatever they were playing with. You have to decide if cookies really are for you right now, and if you decide yes, then you can try this idea I came up with for distracting your toddler:



(And no, I'm not cruel; the girl LOVES magnets.)

Now you're going to lightly flatten the cookie balls into "patties." Don't squish them flat; you want them to still have some height.



Stick the tray/s in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until they're stiff. It's okay to leave them longer, but try not to let them stay in there for three days like I did with my last batch, because the seran wrap "froze" and it was interesting watching it break apart instead of cling to the sheet.

Take your cookie balls out of the freezer and place them in a freezer-safe bag, and transfer them back to the freezer as quickly as possible. You don't want them melding together! It should look something like this:



Now the next time your hubby or kids ask "I want some cookies" you can say, "Coming right up!" and you can make however many cookies you want, two, eight, sixteen. Just put the dough balls on the tray and bake as usual. I've noticed that they MAY require an extra minute in baking, depending on the cookie recipe.

For more Works For Me Wednesday posts, visit Shannon at www.rocksinmydryer.net