You absolutely can bake ahead and freeze. If I couldn't do that, I'd go crazy around Christmas from the stress. I bake cut-out cookies with very elaborate icing and decoration. I have to make maybe 25 or more different cookies for roughly the same number of recipients. That's a lot of work to do at the last minute. I start in the Summer. I bake the cookies, decorate them completely, pack them carefully, and freeze them. That way I can work at a leisurely pace and they're ready to go in December. Do not use a self-defrosting freezer. Any non-spreading cookie dough works well and, when defrosted, the cookies look beautiful and are delicious.

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