Freeze cookie dough now, bake fresh cookies all December

December baking competes with everything else in December. The cookies for the school party, the neighbor plate and the office swap all land in the same two weeks as the concerts, the shopping and the wrapping.

The fix is to move the mixing to November. Make one dough a weekend, freeze it in portions, and label every bag. When December arrives, a tray of fresh cookies takes the time it takes to heat the oven and bake, with no bowl to wash.

Which doughs freeze well

Most sturdy cookie doughs freeze well. A few are better made fresh.

• Drop cookies: chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter, snickerdoodles and molasses cookies. Scoop them first, then freeze.
• Slice-and-bake: shortbread, sugar cookies and icebox cookies. Shape the dough into a log and slice it while it’s still firm.
• Cut-out dough: sugar cookie and gingerbread dough. Freeze it in disks, then thaw and roll.
• Better fresh: thin batters for lace cookies and wafers, and meringue-based cookies.

Scoop, freeze on a tray, then bag

Scooping before freezing is what makes the dough useful later. A frozen block of dough has to thaw before you can do anything with it. Frozen dough balls go straight onto the baking sheet.

1. Line a sheet pan with parchment or a silicone mat.
2. Scoop the dough into even balls with a cookie scoop and set them close together. They don’t spread in the freezer.
3. Freeze the tray uncovered until the balls are firm, about one to two hours.
4. Move the frozen balls into a freezer bag, press out the air and seal it.
5. Label the bag with the cookie, the oven temperature, the baking time and the date.

The label matters more than it seems. In three weeks, nobody will remember whether those were the snickerdoodles at 375°F or the oatmeal at 350°F.

Logs and disks

For slice-and-bake cookies, shape the dough into a log about 2 inches across, roll it in parchment and twist the ends. Wrap it again in plastic or slip it into a freezer bag. To bake, let the log sit on the counter for five to ten minutes so a sharp knife goes through without cracking it, then slice and bake.

For cut-out cookies, pat the dough into disks about an inch thick, wrap each one and freeze. Thaw a disk in the fridge overnight before you roll it out.

How long it keeps

Ohio State University Extension’s food storage chart gives cookie dough about two months in the freezer for best quality. The chart notes that freezing keeps food safe indefinitely, so the times are about quality, not safety. Dough made in early November is at its best through December, and any dough still in the freezer in January is safe to bake, though it may be a little drier.

Baking from frozen

Most drop cookies bake straight from the freezer. Set the frozen balls on a lined sheet pan with room to spread, and add a minute or two to the baking time. Bake one test tray first, since every recipe behaves a little differently. If they spread too little, let the next tray sit on the counter for ten minutes before it goes in.

Don’t taste the raw dough

It’s tempting to snack while scooping. The CDC advises against tasting or eating raw dough or batter, because most flour is raw and hasn’t been treated to kill germs such as E. coli and Salmonella, and raw eggs can carry Salmonella. It also says not to let children play with or eat dough made with raw flour.

The same CDC guidance covers cleanup: wash your hands with soap and water after handling flour or raw eggs, wash bowls, utensils and counters with hot, soapy water, and keep flour and eggs away from food that’s ready to eat. Flour is a powder, and it spreads farther than you’d think.

A November plan

• First weekend: chocolate chip, scooped and bagged.
• Second weekend: shortbread logs.
• Third weekend: gingerbread disks for cutting out later.
• Fourth weekend: one more drop cookie, such as snickerdoodles or molasses.

By December, four kinds of cookies are waiting in the freezer, and any weeknight can produce a dozen in under half an hour, oven heating included.

What to actually buy

The scoop. An OXO Good Grips medium cookie scoop that holds 1.5 tablespoons of dough and makes cookies about 2.75 inches across, so every dough ball bakes in the same time.

The pan. A USA Pan nonstick half sheet pan in aluminized steel, 17.75 by 12.75 inches, for freezing the scooped dough and baking it later.

The mat. An OXO Good Grips silicone baking mat, 11.5 by 16.5 inches, reusable and nonstick. It replaces parchment for scooping, freezing and baking.

The bags. Ziploc quart freezer bags with a stand-up bottom, 60 count. Quart bags keep each batch small, so you take out one tray’s worth at a time.

Who this is not for

• If you bake one batch a year, mix it the day you need it.
• If your freezer is already full of meals, freeze dough logs, which stand upright in a door shelf.
• If you’re baking for someone with a food allergy, label the bag with the full ingredient list, not only the cookie’s name.

Start on any Monday

This week, pick four recipes that freeze well and make a shopping list for all of them. Clear one freezer shelf.

This weekend, mix the first dough, scoop it, freeze it on the tray and bag it with a full label. Repeat once a weekend through November.