Here's one way to alleviate Christmastime stress: Start baking cookies as early as you can! That's what I do. Certain cookies lend themselves well to baking, freezing and thawing — the trick is just finding the right recipes. Others can be baked, decorated and kept a room temperature for a week or two. Even better, if you don't eat all the cookies you bake and freeze over the holidays, you can get them out post-Christmas and relive the flavors of the season into the new year.
Here are some excellent make-ahead cookie recipes:
Soft and tender, these classic Italian cookies will melt in your mouth. Try the chocolate-glazed version too.
Glazed Vanilla Almond Cut-Outs
The classic cut-out cookie goes glam with almond flavors and the easiest icing ever. Decorated cookies last a week in an air-tight container.
Impress everyone at the cookie swap with this cookie version of chocolate-dipped orange slices.
These are always a crowd favorite. Frost and decorate after the cookies are cool or sprinkle with sanding sugar before baking if you're short on time.
Ginger cookies get the grown-up treatment with these sparkly and spiced gingerbread sticks.
Cranberry-Orange Spice Cookies
Crystalized ginger and dried cranberries give these cookies a fabulous texture and flavor.
Green tea powder gives these delicious butter cookies their festive green hue.
Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Sticks
These two-toned cookies look and taste like real candy canes.
Give the standard thumprint cookie an almond-honey twist.
These caramel-filled treats are a Latin staple and can be stored in the freezer a month ahead of time.
Must-Know Tips for Freezing Cookies
• Freeze your cookies in sturdy containers to protect them from breaking. I like to use stackable shallow plastic containers.
• Let cookies cool completely before wrapping and freezing. If you don't, condensation will form inside of the packaging causing freezer burn and damp cookies later on.
• It's 100% okay to decorate cookies with royal icing before freezing. Arrange them on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze (uncovered) at least 1 hour or until the icing is hard, then gently stack the frozen cookies between layers of wax or parchment paper in a tightly sealed container. For extra protection, put each cookie in its own resealable plastic bag or wrap with plastic wrap before stacking in the container.
• If you're freezing a few different types of cookies, pack them in separate containers to keep their flavors from blending together during storage. Store the cookies in the back or middle of the freezer, not the door. You want to make sure they stay as cold as possible to maintain freshness. They'll keep for 1 to 3 months this way.
• Let the cookies defrost at room temperature without unwrapping — condensation will form on the container/wrap and not directly on the cookies.
• Can't wait for the cookies to defrost at room temperature? Warm unwrapped cookies in a 350˚ oven for 3 to 5 minutes (but do not do this if the cookies have been iced or drizzled/dipped in chocolate).
