Your official holiday cookie timeline
There's a lot of cookie baking to do! Here's how to start planning.
Does anyone else make an ambitious list of holiday cookies to bake, only to realize you should have started baking two days weeks ago? There’s dough to chill, cookies to cut and bake, and then, of course, the all-important decorating … and it’s nearly impossible to figure out how to pack it all into a weekend.
That’s where this holiday cookie timeline comes into play. Here, we’ll break down the most common types of holiday cookies and how to best plan ahead. Whether you’re ready to start making dough now to stash in your freezer, bake off some cookies that will last days in a cookie tin, or just need a handful of recipes you can knock out in a single day, here’s our guide for how to make those ambitious holiday cookie dreams reality.
Need cookies right now?
Same day bake, no rest
Drop cookies are basically instant gratification — mix your dough, shape into balls, then bake immediately. Or to avoid shaping dough entirely, make cookie bars, which just require pressing the dough straight into the pan. It’s great to sprinkle these cookies in between lengthier project bakes or longer rests. Another pro tip: If you're making multiple cookie doughs in a single day, start with the light-colored dough, then work up to the chocolate or heavily spiced doughs so you just need to wipe the bowl clean in between.
Recommended recipes: Sugar Cookies, Chocolate Peppermint Snaps, Gingersnaps, Almond Cloud Cookies, Pignoli (Italian Cookies with Pine Nuts), Snowball Cookies, Fast Frosted Gingerbread Bars, Neapolitan Sugar Cookie Bars
Recommended tool: Evenly portion out all your cookies with a handy set of scoops.
Need cookies in a few days?
Rest the dough overnight (or longer)
Mixing your cookie dough one day, then letting it rest in the fridge overnight (or longer) before baking can be an efficient way to break up kitchen tasks. You can dedicate one day to mixing doughs, then spend the next day shaping and baking.
This isn’t just a timesaver: Most cookies will benefit from an overnight rest, as it helps the ingredients fully hydrate, improves the flavor, allows fats to solidify, and helps prevent too much spreading. Almost any basic drop or roll-out cookie doughs can rest in the fridge for up to five days. Any longer, and they should transfer to the freezer. (More on that next.)
Recommended recipes: Rugelach, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Cream Cheese-Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies, Spiced Hot Cocoa Cookies with Marshmallow Middles, Glazed Ricotta Cookies
Recommended tool: The key to storing cookie dough in the fridge is keeping it tightly covered so it doesn't dry out. This sturdy storage bowl with a lid is airtight!
Bake now, eat later
Cookies are typically best the day they’re baked, but there are several types that will stay crisp and snappy for several days or even a week. Think biscotti, brittles, barks, and meringues. Typically, you can make any of these at least five to seven days in advance. (Which also makes them great candidates for shipping!)
For cookies that don’t have as long of a shelf life, you could opt to freeze them instead. To thaw, let them defrost in a fridge overnight to avoid any sudden temperature changes that can mess with their texture.
Recommended recipes to store at room temperature: Cranberry-Lime Swirled Meringues, American-Style Vanilla Biscotti, Free-Form Hazelnut Florentines, Peppermint Bark, Lebkuchen, Brownie Brittle
Recommended recipes to store in the freezer: Eggnog Rum Balls, Fudge Brownies, Rugelach, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Chocolate Magic Cookie Bars
Recommended tool: Keep your cookies tasting as fresh as the first day in an airtight container.
Need cookies all season long?
Freeze the dough, then bake anytime
As mentioned, roll-out cookie dough can rest in the fridge for several days, but what if you wanted to prep ahead and start your gingerbread and butter cookies weeks or months in advance? We recommend this method of rolling out dough to your desired thickness between layers of parchment, stacking the layers and wrapping tightly, then sticking in the freezer. Since the dough will already be thinly rolled out, it’ll only take about five minutes to defrost on the countertop. Plus, extra-cold dough will make using cookie cutters even easier and ensure sharp, clean edges.
Of course, you could also freeze drop cookies already shaped into balls in the freezer as well. Be sure to let them freeze on a sheet tray before transferring to a ziptop plastic bag. (If they go straight into the bag, they’ll clump together.)
Slice-and-bake cookies are also ideal for storing in the freezer. Keep them shaped into a log, then when it’s time to bake, defrost the dough and start slicing.
Recommended cut-out cookie recipes for the freezer: Light Spice Holiday Cookies, Eggnog Cookies, Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies, Gingerbread Cookies, Holiday Butter Cookies, Spiced Star Speculaas Cookies, Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
Recommended slice-and-bake cookie recipes: Peppermint Bark Cookies, Polvorones, Cranberry-Studded Melted Butter Shortbread, Glazed Ginger-Citrus Shortbread, Checkerboard Sablés, Pistachio-Crusted Icebox Cookies
Recommended tools: Pre-cut parchment paper that lays flat is a cookie baking secret weapon. For your drop cookies, this freezer tray is a great alternative to ziptop plastic bags, and for slice-and-bake cookies, this handy dough keeper makes storage even easier. (Bonus: There are even score marks that will help guide your slicing.)
Have a few days to bake?
Spread the joy (and work) of cookie baking
Cookies with multiple components — whether its stacked layers or fillings — are much less daunting when you don’t try to do it all in one day. On day one, make the fillings and bake the cookies — no need to rush the cooling process. Then on the next day (or day after), focus on assembling.
Recommended recipes: Italian Rainbow Cookies, Cola de Mono Alfajores, Organic Cookies and Cream Sandwich Cookies, Linzer Cookies, Ombre Chocolate Cake Bars
If you're baking for a party or sending out cookie boxes, make it easier on yourself by using a combination of these methods. Bake some cookies ahead and store them in airtight containers; prepare some doughs and freeze them to bake off the day you're serving (or shipping); make a few doughs the day before that can rest in the fridge; pull a few fully baked cookies from the freezer to thaw. Happy holiday cookie baking!
Now that you have your holiday cookie game plan, are you all stocked up with gifts for your favorite bakers?
Photography by Danielle Sykes; food styling by Liz Neily
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