No-Bake Christmas Tree Cookies - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

FAQs

How long before Christmas should you make Christmas cookies? ›

As for the cookies—made for cookie swaps, church potlucks, household snacking, and Santa's plate—there is one little cheat: make now, freeze for later. You'll find that most of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes can be made anywhere from a month to six months before the 25th of December.

If properly frozen, you can freeze unfrosted cookies for up to 12 months. If cookies are frosted, they can be stored frozen for up to three months.

History. Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits, when many modern ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west.

Softer or filled cookies will last on the short end of the range, while biscotti and other hard cookies stay fresher for longer. Auxer suggests storing baked cookies in the freezer for up to six months if you want to enjoy them far beyond that timeline.

Cookies left out overnight are at risk of microbial contamination, especially if they contain perishable ingredients like eggs or dairy. Harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella, can multiply rapidly in these conditions, potentially causing foodborne illness if consumed.

The USDA website says that generally, cookies can be stored at room temperature for two to three weeks or refrigerated for two months. If you find yourself with more cookies than you can eat in that time frame, consider putting the baked cookies in a sealed container in the freezer.

Information. Bakery or homemade cookies can be stored at room temperature two to three weeks or two months in the refrigerator. Cookies retain their quality when stored in the freezer for eight to 12 months. Moist bars, such as cheesecake and lemon bars, can be refrigerated for seven days.

While cookies can last in the fridge for two weeks, eating them sooner is better. (We recommend storing a few in the refrigerator for eating in a few days and freezing the rest if eating more than four days after baking.)

It wasn't until very recently, around 1938, that chocolate chip cookies were first invented. Unlike a lot of other things, the chocolate chip cookie was not invented by accident. During the 1930s, a chef named Ruth Graves Wakefield decided to give something different to her customers.

What is the oldest cookie in the world? ›

Pizzelles are the oldest known cookie and originated in the mid-section of Italy. They were made many years ago for the “Festival of the Snakes” also known as the “Feast Day of San Domenico”.

Slice-and-bake, cut outs, drop, bar, and some shaped cookies (thumbprints) freeze well. Avoid delicate cookies like tuiles, Florentines, meringues, and any sort of wafer cookie. Pre-baked cookies can be frozen for up to six months.

In most cases, I prefer to freeze cookie dough over freezing baked cookies. That way, you still get the nice homemade smell and softness of the cookies when they come out of the oven. But if you want to get the whole job done, you can certainly bake the cookies, then freeze them later.

After baking, allow cookies to cool completely. Place them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet to freeze them, then store them in a freezer-safe zip-top storage bag labeled with the name and date. Squeeze out extra air and place flat in the freezer. To save space, you can flat-stack freezer bags.

If you're a stickler for fresh-baked flavor, you can also make the dough and freeze it, but it is best used within three months—so you can get started in October and have plenty of dough on-hand for December.

“Homemade sugar cookies should ideally be consumed within two to three days, but can last up to one week at room temperature if stored properly in an air-tight container in a dry, cool place,” Mok says.

If you have the willpower not to eat the cookies immediately, store them in an airtight container with a slice of bread. This will help him stay stale longer. If you want to keep cookies fresh for an extended period, put them in a ziplock bag and place them in the freezer.

Stick with room temp

“If you store cookies in the fridge, they will dry out,” Amanda says. The dry, cold air sucks the moisture right out of them. Instead, keep your cookies at room temperature, or freeze them for later.