Do you like to bake for the holidays? We all love to make Christmas cookies from scratch, but How Far in Advance Can you Bake Christmas Cookies so they will be just as tasty as when they came out of the oven?
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Christmas cookies are one of the most classic ways to make any holiday party shine. But holiday parties are a lot of work, and those cookies aren't going to bake themselves. You may be left trying to figure out what you can do to prepare so that you aren't left with tons to do at the last minute.
Follow along with this handy guide for the best tips to keep your homemade cookies fresh and delicious.
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🎄Holiday cookie baking
When should I start?
Depending on how you are going to store them, Christmas cookies can be baked as early as 3 months before you plan to eat them. If you plan to keep them at room temperature, it's best to make the cookies about 2 weeks or less in advance.
According to Prepared Cooks, homemade sugar cookies can last two weeks if stored in an airtight container.
Let’s learn all about saving your Christmas cookies so that they will be super fresh at the time you choose to consume them.
How Do You Keep Your Christmas Cookies from Going Stale?
No matter how you store your Christmas cookies, always make sure they are in an airtight container. This is because keeping your cookies away from outside air will keep them fresh for longer. If you don't have an airtight container, you can also store the cookies in a sealable plastic bag.
Add an apple slice along with your cookies in an airtight container will help keep your cookies soft.
If your cookies have already started to harden, you can also add a slice of white bread in with them. The moisture from the bread will get absorbed into the cookies, making them softer again and reviving their freshness a little bit. This works great if you are planning on eating the cookies within a couple of days, but don't expect it to be a long-lasting solution.
If you have different flavors of cookies, keep in mind that it's best to store them in separate containers. Stronger flavors of cookies can contaminate the other cookies in the jar, and the next thing you know all of your cookies have a strange minty taste to them! So, make sure you are storing different flavors in separate containers.
🧊Can You Freeze Christmas Cookies?
- Freezing Christmas cookies is an easy way to preserve them for longer than they would stay fresh at room temperature. If you freeze your cookies, they will stay at peak freshness for about 3 months. Just make sure you freeze them in an airtight, freezer-safe container, and give them time to thaw before you want to eat them.
- Make sure your cookies are cooled down all the way before freezing them. Then, all you need to do is put them in your container with layers of wax paper in between the cookies. This prevents sticking when you take them out to thaw.
- When you thaw your cookies, take the container out of the freezer and leave it as is when you set it on the counter. The cookies should thaw within 1-3 hours, depending on the type of cookie and the environment.
- If your cookies have softened too much in the freezer and you want them to be crisp, don't panic: there is a simple solution! Just throw them in the oven at a low temperature for about 5 minutes, and this will crisp them back up and leave the house smelling like fresh baked cookies.
- Bake a batch of these Spice Cookies with a Christmas tree cookie cutter. Freeze the baked cookies and when you are ready to serve, simply defrost and decorate.
Make sure you have the proper freezer storage container for your cookies. This is one I use and is freezer safe and seals tightly.
❓What Happens If You Make Christmas Cookies Too Far in Advance?
If you get a little hasty and bake your cookies too early, the worst that could happen is that they go stale and aren't very tasty anymore. Luckily, it's pretty easy to time out when you make your cookies, and you can always put them in the freezer if you don't think they will keep long enough at room temperature.
If you want to make Christmas cookies in advance, just make sure that you are timing it so that they won't go stale. Aim to make them about 2 weeks in advance at the most if you are keeping them at room temperature. Making them 1 week, or a few days in advance is even better if you are going for the freshest possible cookies.
Remember that you can always make a new batch if you accidentally keep your cookies out for too long and they become stale. Though it's not ideal to start over from scratch and waste a bunch of cookies, it is something you can do if you've already messed up and made them too soon.
🍪How do you know if your cookies are still tasty?
Christmas cookies that are still good to eat will have a good taste and texture. They should be pretty similar to how they were when they first came out of the oven. Generally, Christmas cookies will be soft and sweet. If your cookies aren't like this, they might not be the best to eat anymore.
The best way to tell if a Christmas cookie is still good is to bite into it. Cookies that taste stale or are hard to chew aren't good anymore. You probably could still eat them and be just fine, but they wouldn't be that enjoyable and it's best to just throw them out when they get to this point.
If your cookies have been around for a while, they may even start to grow mold if they haven't been properly stored. If this is the case, they obviously aren't good anymore. Your cookies should be discarded immediately if you find mold on them since consuming mold could lead to sickness and you definitely don't want this.
More cookie recipes
Who doesn't love pretty sprinkle cookies, these Christmas Sprinkle Cookies are always a favorite and they even have a surprise red velvet filling.
These Fruit and Nut Biscotti are filled with colorful pieces of fruit and almonds. These crunchy jeweled cookies last for weeks and make a perfect holiday cookie.
Final Thoughts
Baking your cookies in advance can be a great way to be prepared for the holidays, but it's important that you time it out correctly and know how to store them. As long as you store your cookies correctly and plan accordingly, they will be delicious and ready to eat by the time the holidays roll around!
We hope that this article helped you understand more about Christmas cookies, and maybe even inspired you to do some early holiday baking yourself.
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About Jere'
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.
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