I don’t have a lot of experience with freezing cookies decorated with royal icing.
UNdecorated ones; no problem! Freezing them in airtight containers between layers of parchment paper, and then thawing them to room temperature before decorating, has always worked for me.
In fact, it’s a great time saver if I’d like to make my cookies for a certain date, but know I won’t have tons of time. Making and freezing the cookies ahead means I can just do the fun part (decorating of course!), when the time is near.
So why the nutcracker here?
I made him before Halloween. Ahem… um, yes, before Halloween – I was itching for Christmas this year 😉 and needed to freeze him so he’d be fresh for the Christmas season. (Click here for the recipe and more pics).
Once he was thawed, the colors didn’t bleed like I had anticipated, but I noticed little splotches on his navy legs. (See below).
To Freeze or Not to Freeze? That is the question…
In this post, I have questions for you about freezing decorated cookies:
- What has been your experience with freezing decorated cookies?
- Was bleeding an issue?
- Were spots an issue?
- How do you thaw decorated cookies? -In the fridge or at room temperature? -Is the container lid on or off when you thaw them?
- Why would only the dark color (navy) on the nutcracker, have spots and not other areas?
- What are your tips for successful freezing of decorated cookies?
As an aside as well, I’ve recieved many emails about spots on cookies which have nothing to do with freezing… and I’m wondering if the two issues are related.
If spots form on the surface of your royal icing just after drying (or during the drying process), it’s possible the fats from the dough are penetrating through the icing. I haven’t experienced the spotting issue (except for this cookie which I froze), and am not certain about the cause, but suggest the following ideas as solutions if spotting happens even before you freeze your cookies:
- Less butter in your dough (maybe try a different recipe)
- Dry cookies in an environment free of humidity/moisture
- Avoid letting them dry in the sun
- Make your cookies a little thinner
- Make your royal icing thicker (consistency) or try a different recipe (I love Antonia74’s)
- Make sure all ingredients used in the royal icing are fresh
- Sift icing sugar and meringue powder when making your royal icing
*
Please leave me your feedback in the comment section below and/or on my facebook page here.
Looking forward to learning from you!
xo,
Marian
Jessica says
I was wondering if I could freeze already baked cookies (undecorated), and theres my answer!! Thanks for such an awesome blog, didn’t even have to ask the question!!
Cristin (Pinkie) says
I don’t have any tips of advice, but just had to say YOUR NUTCRACKER COOKIES IS GORGEOUS!!! I have frozen cookies when I’ve needed to. I put them in their regular cookie bag tied with a ribbon or with stapled with a cookie tag and then I also put them in a sealed tupperware container or if it’s a small amount, then a freezer ziploc bag. I haven’t noticed the spots and most often don’t see bleeding (but once in a while with black & white), but I’ve noticed the colors become somewhat dull… Thanks for posting concerns so we can all figure out solutions. We need to get some engineers turned cookie decorators to help us out! 😉
sweetsugarbelle says
I have tons to say! I’ve frozen decorated cookies once, and no prob, but the lady that advised me said to absolutely under no circumstance open them because they will condensate and splotch. and I’d never do this on a regular basis. It’d kill my nerves! Also, I don’t dry cookies in the sun because warming them seems like it would release oils that might leach into the icing. I always use my icing on the thickish side…
As for freezing, I used to not do this, but now since i have more time I do often. I dont even paper between them. I just pop them in. 3 hrs prior or so I thaw them at room temperature and they are like they were the day I froze them.
Interesting post. I shall be waiting eagerly for more observations!
Jen says
I tried to freeze decorated cookies before when I had to do a bunch for a friend’s wedding. Bad results for me. The cookies were white and I hand painted them with cherry blossoms. I ended up with splotches on the white after they had thawed (left in the unopened container) and when I tasted them, some parts near the splotches were a bit bitter. Thank goodness it was just the test run of the cookies! Now I just keep my dough cutout and frozen ready to hit the oven. Or I will freeze the undecorated cookies. (I use the NFSC and Anotonia’s RI recipes.)
Andi says
Hi Marian!
My cousin owns Bundles of Cookies(www.bundlesofcookies.com) and she suggests freezing decorated cookies in a sealed container (for up to 3 months)and when ready to eat, remove the container from the freezer and let the cookies come to room temperature in the sealed container before opening to prevent the cookies from sweating caused by the drastic change in temperature.
Hope this helps!
Andi
LisaWinks says
Love your site. I have had fairly good luck freezing cookies. But I’d rather just freeze the cut-outs until I need them. That way they’re baked and decorated fresh. I haven’t tried freezing the baked cookies yet. I may see how that works. We just ate a giant decorated Valentines cookie that I had in the freezer since the end of January at least. I didn’t really care for how it came out. It wasn’t as good as fresh. When I thawed that one, I left it wrapped up completely until after it thawed. It was softer than it was originally.
Did you eat your gingerbread man?
Liz says
Hi Marian!
I usually send my mom a big batch of cookies and she freezes them for months. Then when she wants to eat some she takes them off the freezer and puts them in the refrigerator after a couple of hours she takes them off the refrigerator and they are ready to eat, no funny taste or spots, she always saids that the cookies tates just has when they were made. I live in Florida and my mom in Texas.
Liz
Noelle says
Hi Marian,
I have only gotten splotches like the ones you show when I made stockings this year at Christmas. I used red and they splotched, for some reason. I found that heating them in the toaster oven seems to even out the color, but then I worried about overcooking them. They seemed OK, but that’s not something I would prefer to do often.
I have frozen cookies several times with mixed results. Like others have said, I always thaw them in the freezer container so that they don’t sweat. I’ve always had success with the exception of one batch of cookies where the icing separated from the cookie in a sheet. Very weird as well as distressing, since I wanted to give them to someone. Not too sure if I had too much meringue in the icing or what. But my concern would be what type of freezer is being used.
A quick lesson for those who may not know – manual defrost freezers maintain a constant temperature, but self-defrosting freezers constantly cycle between freezing temps and just above freezing to melt any ice build up. I had those cookies in a self-defrosting freezer, so I wonder if that was the issue. Just don’t know.
Maysem says
I’ve frozen decorated cookies once as a tester…I became interested in this idea after learning that someone had a 5,000 cookie order and completed it in a 5 week span! I assumed she had to of frozen her cookies to keep them fresh! Anywho on to the testing… I placed the cookies in a properly sealed container with parchment paper (or wax paper) between each layer. Part of the decoration was a fondant flower too (wanted to see how fondant freezes too). I kept the container in the freezer for a few days. On thawing day I just took the container out of the freezer and left it sitting on the kitchen counter with the lid on (even if I wanted to thaw the cookie out of container I couldn’t because lid was frozen shut:P ). I gave it about an hour to thaw. The cookie was perfect…no flaws in RI and fondant flower. But that was just one test and with lavender, pink and lime green colored RI. So I’m interested to learn more now that I read your post.
The Sugar Tree says
I’m so glad you posted this! I have wondered about freezing them. Looking forward to the replies.
Maysem says
Oh..to add..the cookie tasted as good as fresh!
Jill says
I can’t speak to the freezing (although I am very interested in this topic), but I have often found that I get splotches when the icing is drying unevenly. An hr or so in a *very, very* low oven (as low as it will go) has always done the trick for me.
Leana says
Thanks for sharing the decorated cookie. Never tried freezing a decorated cookie hear mix reviews about the colors bleeding, etc. I do freeze lots of regular cookies. I put them containers with wax paper in between, never a problem with taste. But I do keep a box or two of baking soda in my freezer so smells with not get into my cakes or cookies. Love the toy solider, very cute
Lora B says
I had trouble with my red color spotting and that was when it wasn’t frozen. I thought it might be due to the Wilton color, so I switched over to AmeriColor. Haven’t had any spotting since but not sure this is why. What brand of coloring do you use, Sweetopia?
maria elena says
Yo siempre conjelo mis galletas,por un tema de organizacion y poco tiempo,las conjelo en recipientes hermeticos,envueltas en papel de hornear,aveces si tengo poco espacio en el conjelador,incluso en bolsas de autocierre!,las saco si puedo la noche anterior a decorarlas y otras veces 2 o 3 horas,y las dejo en el propio recipiente hasta que se ponen a temperatura ambiente.
Nunca he tenido problemas de manchas!.
Bss.
nyanyels says
Wow! It’s an amazing job. I love everything what you do.
Hugs!
DANIELLE says
HI MARIAN! I FREEZE DECORATED COOKIE REGULARLY!!!! THE ONLY TIME I EVER HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SPLOTCHES IS WHEN I USE A LIGHT ICING COLOR LIKE BABY PINK. OTHERWISE, I HAVE HAD GREAT RESULTS! LOVE YOUR SITE AS ALWAYS!!!!!!!
marian says
@ Jessica: Thanks!
@ Cristin (Pinkie): I agree! We need a cookie scientist/engineer! 😉
@ sweetsugarbelle, @ Jen,@ Andi:
Thank you SO MUCH for your input!
@ LisaWinks: Thanks for your feedback and no, I didn’t even end up eating him! I kept him though; it’ll be interesting to see if the icing bleeds over a loooong period of time (even though it’s in an air-tight container).
@ Liz: And Mom knows best! =) Thanks for sharing!
@ Noelle: I had no idea about this freezer fact; “… manual defrost freezers maintain a constant temperature, but self-defrosting freezers constantly cycle between freezing temps and just above freezing to melt any ice build up.” I def. learned something completely new today – thanks!
@ Maysem: Sounds like we can hire you to experiment 😉 Awesome!
@ The Sugar Tree: I look forward to learning more too! (Oh and I’ll have to get to that ‘packaging cookies video).
@ Jill: I’ll have to try putting them in the oven on low – thank you!
@ Leana: Another great tip – baking soda! Merci!
@ Lora B: I use Americolor too. Perplexing!
@ maria elena: Gracias!
@ nyanyels: Right back at you! xo
marian says
@ DANIELLE:
Your comment snuck in there as I was replying to the others. That’s interesting that yours only spots with the LIGHT colors. There seem to be so many variables.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Alison says
Hi Marian!
Ok I actually went through some intensive testing with freezing decorated cookies. My mother in law wanted to be able to freeze cookies so I could just send her a big batch and she could eat them at will. I seal them in individual baggies just like I would to ship them. Pop them into the freezer (I’ve frozen them for up to 2 weeks). When I take them out of the freezer I let them sit at room temperature for at least 8 HOURS in their sealed bags. I have never had a problem with bleeding or spotting. MIL says they taste just as good. Now, I don’t do this too often so my testing is limited….but every time I have frozen decorated cookies this system has worked like a charm for me. 🙂
marian says
Hi Alison! Thanks for sharing; I will (and others will too I’m sure!) definitely try that!!
LAURA CALDERON says
I have been baking, decorating, freezing them ahead of time for almost up to two weeks with no problems what so ever. I criss crossed the cookies & put parchment paper between. I have to do this because it takes steps that take time, drying, etc.
I am so happy I can do this with no problems.
marian says
Thanks Laura! How do you thaw them?
Jessy@FairytaleFrosting says
I freeze decorated cookies from time to time. I always wrap well in plastic wrap and put in an air tight container. When thawing, I put the entire container on the counter and bring to room temperature, then carefully unwrap the cookies.
I haven’t had any problems with the spots, but maybe I’ve just been lucky! 😉
Gaby says
Marian! No sabia que hablas español. Que hermosa esta la galleta. Me encanta tu blog. Saludos desde la Ciudad de México
ChapixCookies (Myri) says
I have not had the need to freeze cookies a lot, but right now I have 2 in my refrigerator, they have lived with me, the same time as your nutcracker with you. Currently I keep them in a sealed bag, a few days ago I had to get them out to show them, they reached ambient temperature without a problem and then I returned them to the refrigerator, now that I see this post I went to observe them and I did not see any change, at least in decoration terms.
I had problems with spots when I worked with CK’s RI, I spent a lot of time thinking about it and concluded the same as you, the fat passing through it, no matter if the color was clear or was dark, but it was more obviously in dark colors like red or blue. Plus it’s hard to work with it because it dries to quick when you are flooding, and at the same time, it takes ages to dry inside, then appears bleeding problems. My conclusions about why these spots appeared at that RI, was because I use to applied thin layers, because if I applied a thick one, it hardens like concrete making almost impossible to bite.
Currently I work with Antonia’s recipe too and I love it, because I can apply several colors in a single day and no problems with bleeding!. Besides I can apply a thick layer and still is chewy, it leaves all the teeth in place. Since I use this recipe and a thicker layer, I have not seen a single spot in my cookies ever! And my cookies are not thin.
Sometimes I let dry my cookies at the sun and have not been affected, I thought that this would cause problems with fat, but not at all, it has made my job faster and no problems, (at least for me) I guess it’s because my layers are a little thicker than normal.
So I conclude that for this process succeed, we have to decorate it with a slightly thicker layer of RI, let it dry completely, seal the bag perfectly, and when it should be thawed, wait until it reaches ambient temperature inside the sealed bag, I think this will bring good results. At least that’s what I see with my cookies. I hope this helps a little.
Nicole (Life's a Batch) says
I’ve had only a few instances of freezing decorated cookies. In late October, I was contacted for a donation in December, but the rally wanted a variety of several cookies (more or less, to “show my work”). I wanted the cookies to be fresh, so I began making an extra pair of cookies with each order I completed from that time forward. I froze the extra two cookies from each batch immediately. Like Alison said above, I had already individually bagged & ribboned each one, and then I popped them into an old ice cream bucket with a lid.
When December rolled around, I had 41 different types of decorated cookies ready for the donation, and I pulled them from the freezer about 6 hours before I needed to package them into trays. Every one was still perfect!
marian says
@ Jessy@FairytaleFrosting: I’ll try it for sure (and hope I’m lucky too 😉 Thanks for responding!
@ Gaby: Entiendo un poco, pero también utilizan traductor Google. Gracias por visitarme aquí!
@ Myri:It’s nice to see you here! Interesting that drying them in the sun works – it must be the thick layer of icing like you said. I think the navy on the nutcracker wasn’t too thick (although I use Antonia74’s icing), so I’ll definitely make sure I always do thick layers. Thank you so much for your long and detailed response Myri!
@ Nicole (Life’s a Batch): That’s also good to hear; I’m beginning to be less afraid of freezing;-) Thanks for sharing!
ChapixCookies (Myri) says
Sorry my long explanation 😛 I thought that writing my experience with CK’s RI would help to understand, (once again for me) why those spots appeared, I really think is a matter of thickness.
About the sun, let’s ask Callye, what is the current appearance of the cookies that I sent her, these cookies were dried in the sun because I had a short time to do them. The 2 cookies I have in my freezer were dried the same way 😛
Thanks Marian for make such helpfull blogs, it’s nice to see you on FB too! Missing you on Flickr! 😀
P.S. Sorry my English above I wrote it late at night and tired!
marian says
Myri, I’m missing flickr too!
Thanks for your valuable input! I’ll dry mine in the sun if I’m in a rush then too. Always great to learn something new! (and your English is excellent b.t.w!)
Kat says
Thanks for this post Marian – I’m planning on making iced cookies as wedding favours, and it’s great to know I can freeze the undecorated cookies. I’ve frozen raw dough before, but not baked cookies. I think I’d be a bit nervous about freezing decorated ones.
Thank you for all your advice and inspiration!
marian says
Kat, I’d like to learn more about this freezing thing too… I’ll be making a wackload of cookies for my brother’s wedding in Sept. All the best with yours!
Linda says
I freeze all my cookies all the time. I use a soft sugar cookie dough and corn syrup glaze icing. (I don’t like the taste and hardness of royal icing.) I make my icing a little thicker, and I wait longer enough between colors and layers to avoid bleeding. After decorating, I let them dry on wax paper for 24 hours before I freeze them. I do not dry them on racks because it makes them dry out. To freeze them, I wrap individually in Saran/plastic wrap and then place in a freezer bag or other container. Take individual cookies out as needed and thaw at room temp inside the Saran wrap. All the condensation forms on the outside and the cookie looks and tastes as if it were just baked. I also freeze choc chip cookies, molasses crinkles, etc. the day that I bake them. After they are completely cooled, just put them all together in a freezer bag. Thaw whatever you need at room temp. I like to use butter in my cookie dough, and it goes stale more quickly. So freezing keeps everything fresh. I know its not royal icing, but I hope this helps some of you. I have frozen cookies up to 4 months and they are fine. But I do have a separate freezer. They do not freeze well in a fridge freezer that gets opened all the time.
Laura says
@ marian:
Hi,
When I freeze them in a plastic Tupperware type container for cupcakes I just keep them in there & let them thaw at room temperature.
Thanks
Ethan Redwine says
Keep us in the loop about the cookies for your brother’s wedding. I started decorating cookies a few months ago to be able to do my own wedding favors. I would love to learn any tips about preparing a bunch of pretty cookies for a big event!
Thanks and thank tou for your blog it has bee a huge help!
Tiffany (I’m on my fiancé’s iPad so it logged in as him not me 😉
marian says
@ Laura:
Thanks so much for sharing Laura. I think they key is to leave the lid closed, from you comment and others. I will try it!
@ Ethan Redwine: (I mean Tiffany) 😉 You’re going to have a pretty sweet name… Tiffany Redwine. Ethan is a great name too.
ANYways, yes, I’ll keep you posted. Do you know the Martha Stewart ‘cookie cake’? The one with about 6 cookies stacked to look like a cake? My future sis-in-law and brother need 130 of those. That’s 780 cookes plus extra for breakage. Gulp.
Jessica Wilson says
Wow! This post and all of the comments have been so helpful! I started my cake/cupcake/cookie decorating company in January and freezing cookies has been one of my biggest questions. I’ll have to try it out this next month for my local street fair booth. Thanks again!
marian says
@ Jessica Wilson:
It has been GREAT to hear everyone’s input! Jessica, keep us updated with your progress please. =)
LAURA says
Hi,
I am fairly new reading your post but can you tell me how long can you keep dough in the refrigerator before you have to use it?
Thanks
Donna Carroll says
I freeze decorated cookies in a sealed tin all of the time and have no problems. My family has raved about batches that come out of the freezer, so I know it doesn’t affect the taste or freshness of the cookie.
sweetiepetitti says
Freezing decorated cookies in my climate (the mid south) is impossible because we are rarely without humidity. I can see them sweating profusely. I sent an order to So. California and she put them all in the freezer with no ill effects. Geez. Great hair, great skin, and the ability to freeze royal icing. I need to move to a drier climate!
Create4fun says
We have just started our Cupcake Challenge Blog: http://create4fun-cupcakechallenge.blogspot.com/
It is in Dutch, but I think you will understand anyway….! 😉
We always give a new theme on the 1st of the month. For April this will be strawberries.
Hope you want to join our challenge!
Jolanda
bridget {bake at 350} says
I’ve frozen decorated cookies quite a bit and have never seen the spots from the freezer….hmmm…
* What has been your experience with freezing decorated cookies? It’s not my first choice, but I HAVE done it….lots of times.
* Was bleeding an issue? Nope.
* Were spots an issue? Nope.
* How do you thaw decorated cookies? -In the fridge or at room temperature? At room temp, in the packaing that I froze them in.
*Is the container lid on or off when you thaw them? Either.
* Why would only the dark color (navy) on the nutcracker, have spots and not other areas? THAT is a mystery.
* What are your tips for successful freezing of decorated cookies? Double-bag or double-wrap them. I typically individually bag the cookies, then put those in a large freezer bag. Those baggies get put in freezer plastic containers to prevent them from getting crushed. I thaw at room temp…in the bags.
Great post…i would love to know what caused those spots!
Rola says
that is soo amazing.. i love it soo much… your so creative ^.^
Rachel Taylor says
I don’t ever freeze baked or decorated cookies. If I need to get some of the work done in advance I mix all my dough, cut out my shapes and stack them with meat patty paper squares between them. I get them at a local restaurant supply place. They’re those papers that are between the frozen burgers you get from the grocery store. I stack all one shape in dozens and wrap really well before freezing. I find rolling out and cutting dough to be the most labour intensive and time consuming part of cookie making.
Then with the freezing happening at this stage in the game I can still call my cooking “freshly baked”. Plus with the cookies baking from frozen there is very little distortion on the shape of the cookies.
I’ve considered freezing decorated cookies but wasn’t sure if it was worth risking.
Karen Lizzie says
This has been very interesting to read. The standard advice in the UK always seems to be that the only kind of icing that is suitable to be frozen is butter icing. However reading the comments here would suggest that is not true.
It does occur to me that how fast the cookies freeze may affect the icing. Some freezer have a fast freeze setting which you can turn on a while before you do the freezing which would speed things up and therefore reduce the possible build up of moisture around the cookie.
I am sure that manufacturers freeze iced products in order to produce enough for Christmas, but they may solve the problem by using a blast chiller.
Lisa C says
Quick question about royal icing…I just finished decorating a variety of cookies for my friend’s birthday tomorrow. One of the cookies was a large bottle of Malibu Rum. My question is, why do my dried cookies sometimes develop a thin crack? The larger cookies tend to develop the hairline crack more often then the smaller ones. What should I do?
marian says
Hmmm, that happens to me when I move the cookies before they’re completely dry. Is that something you’re possibly doing?
Lisa C says
@ marian:
Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly! You know what….that could very well be it! In order to add more layers of details, I guess I get a bit too impatient. How long do you suggest letting the “main flooded” area dry before adding the details?
marian says
12 – 24 hours depending on where you live Lisa. (humid climate – wait approx. 24 hours).
Hope that works for you!
Lisa C says
@ marian:
Thanks Marian!!!
Marian (Sweetopia) says
Whoops! How did I miss these?
@ LAURA:
Usually 24 hours. You can freeze uncut, undecorated dough without problems though. (I freeze mine for up to 3 months and the cookies taste fresh).
@ Donna Carroll; Thank you!
@ sweetiepetitti: Humidity is a huge culprit! Frustrating sometimes isn’t it!
@ Create4fun: Looks like fun!
@ bridget {bake at 350}: Thanks for your thorough reply! I’m so glad to hear you haven’t had issues with freezing; I’d like to freeze some cookies for my brother’s wedding and don’t want to mess up!
@ Rola:Thanks!
@ Rachel Taylor: What a great idea! -Patty paper squares! Thanks for your reply!
@ Karen Lizzie: Another brilliant idea – a blast chiller. Thanks so much for your input Karen!
Blue Buffalo Coupons says
Wow, that must have taken some time to prepare. I must say I’m impressed with the detail of the cookies.
The closeup of the second image really underlines the quality of the detail.
Nicely done…
29999 says
Ca me tente bien ! Bisous et bon mardi !