If youre an ambitious gift-giver and a proud home baker, you probably plan to do a lot of cookie-baking for Christmas. Its helpful to know how to store the most popular cookies as well as how long each will keep. This guide will cover it all!
Shortbread and spritz cookies are longer-lasting cookies, which means they are perfect for holidays when there is some competition on the table. After all, Christmas in many homes is celebrated with a variety of dishes and sweet treats.
Shortbread and Spritz Cookies
- At room temperature: Eat these types of cookies within two weeks
- In the freezer: You can keep shortbread and spritz in the freezer for up to six months.
- Cookie dough: You can make these types of cookie dough in advance. Cookie dough for either recipe can be made up to three days ahead of time (chilling is actually recommended for shortbread). You can also pop disks of dough into the freezer for about three months.
Twice-baked cookies like biscotti and mandelbrot have a longer shelf life than most other homemade cookies. These are the perfect cookies to start your holiday baking with—they wont be stale by the time you finish the rest of your cookies for your cookie trays.
- At room temperature: Keep them sealed up in an airtight container. Theyll be good for two weeks.
- In the freezer: Keep them in the freezer for up to six months. If you need to revive them and crisp them up, a few minutes in a 300ºF should do it.
- Cookie dough: Its best to make biscotti and other twice-baked cookies right away. Dont make this dough in advance and store it.
- At room temperature or in the refrigerator: Cookies that are topped with cream cheese frosting or whipped cream should be stored in the fridge. Frostings like royal icing can be stored at room temperature. Eat both within two or three days.
- In the freezer: Frosting and decorations dont hold up to the freezer.
- At room temperature: Eat these cookies as quickly as possible—within three days is best. If you have cookies with fillings, like brandy snaps, keep them in the fridge.
- In the freezer: Delicate cookies like these do not store well in the freezer.
- Cookie dough: These batters should be prepped and used immediately. Dont make the batter in advance.
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How Long Do Cookies Last?In general, baked cookies will be fine at room temperature for about five days, but only if stored correctly. For most kinds of cookies, there are essentially two ways to store them: in an airtight container at
Drop cookies are a great go-to cookie style. Chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies and cowboy cookies are all examples of this type of cookie.
Because these cookies are fairly sturdy, they can be stacked without fear of crushing or ruining any sort of decoration. Keep these cookies in an airtight container. If they get a little too crunchy for your liking, heres how you can soften them up.
- At room temperature: At room temperature, drop cookies should last about a week. Just keep them sealed up.
- In the freezer: Baked drop cookies will be good in the freezer for six months.
- Cookie dough: You can store drop cookie dough in the freezer for up to six months. To make things easy, pre-portion the dough with a cookie scoop, freeze and pop in an airtight container for long-term storage in the freezer.
Cutouts—be they sugar cookies or gingerbread—are musts around the holidays. They dont last forever but are good candidates for freezing.
- At room temperature: Try to eat cutout cookies within a week of baking
- In the freezer: Baked cutouts can be stored in the freezer for six months. Be sure to freeze them undecorated. Frosting and glazes dont hold up well in the freezer.
- Cookie dough: You can stash the cookie in your refrigerator for two to three days (cutout dough often needs to be chilled anyway). Cutout cookie dough can be kept in the freezer for up to six months.
Like drop cookies, icebox and slice-and-bake cookies are pretty sturdy. Baked cookies can be kept stacked in an airtight container or popped in a zip-top bag.
- At room temperature: Eat baked icebox or slice-and-bake cookies within five days so they taste their best.
- In the freezer: Baked icebox cookies can be frozen. Just eat them within six months.
- Cookie dough: This kind of cookie is designed to be made in advance and stashed in the fridge or freezer. Keep logs of icebox cookie dough in the fridge for up to three days or in the freezer for six months. Be sure to wrap the logs tight and place them in an airtight bag before popping them in the chill chest.
George Strait – Christmas Cookies
FAQ
What Christmas cookies stay fresh longer?
What kind of cookies keep the longest?
How far in advance can Christmas cookies be made?
How do you keep Christmas cookies from going stale?
How long do Christmas cookies last?
They can still be edible after 5 to 7 days, but they’ll typically harden and lose their freshness due to drying out. You can extend the freshness to around 5 days by keeping the cookies protected from air, whether by wrapping them up or keeping them in an airtight container. What Is the Best Way to Store Christmas Cookies?
Can you make cookies for Christmas at the last minute?
No! You can’t make all of the desserts and cookies for Christmas at the last minute and still enjoy the holidays. Fortunately, plenty of cookies keep well—and some actually improve with age.
How long do Insomnia Cookies last?
Understanding how long different cookie types last will help you determine how to store them, says Melanie Auxer, a food scientist and vice president of Insomnia Cookies. You can expect these treats to stay fresh between 3 to 14 days when stored at room temperature, she explains.
How long do Christmas cookies take to cool?
Generally, Christmas cookies will take about 10 to 20 minutes to cool after you take them out of the oven. If you baked batches of different cookies, each type should be stored in its own container. Not only will this keep the flavors separate, but it will also prevent the cookies from absorbing unwanted moisture from nearby treats.