Your hard work has paid off yet again, and you’ve made some epic cookies for your friends and family. Or just for yourself, I’m not judging. There’s nothing better than a freshly baked treat straight out of the oven. But what happens if you can’t eat them all? They certainly can’t go to waste!
You deserve cookies that are the perfect balance of crunchy and soft. You need fresh, first-day quality cookies. Here are 50+ ways to make those dreams a reality.
1) An apple slice keeps your cookies nice
I’m not exactly a poet, but it’ll help you remember!
Put a couple of apple slices in your cookie container or jar and leave it for a few hours or overnight if possible. This will help soften up the cookies.
2) Warm them in the oven
It might seem counter-intuitive to put the cookies back in the oven – you certainly don’t want to overcook them! But if you pop them back in for just a couple of minutes and even sprinkle a bit of water on top it’ll soften them right up and keep them tasting fresh.
They will harden up again if they cool, so make sure to get ’em while they’re hot!
3) Use brown sugar
So maybe not every cookie recipe calls for brown sugar, but if you’re looking to store or send some cookies to your friends and family, you should use a recipe with brown sugar!
Brown sugar holds moisture and prevents your cookies from getting hard or stale.
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4) Make sure they’ve cooled down before storing
Wait until your cookies have cooled down entirely before storing them anywhere.
If they’re too warm it will create moisture in the bag or container and make the cookies too soggy.
5) Freeze them
Give a small batch of cookies their own space. Avoid layering cookies in one plastic bag so they don’t all stick together.
This is the best option for long term storage!
You can freeze them for up to five months ( pro tip: make a note on the bag so you don’t forget how long they’ve been there!)
They will thaw at room temperature in about 15 minutes.
6) Airtight cookie jars
This is important! If you don’t already have anything suitable, there are airtight jars designed specifically to keep cookies fresh.
Screw top lids or jars with that satisfying rubber seal will keep your cookies crisp and fresh-tasting for longer than an average jar.
Those old-fashioned cookie jars are adorable, but they’re not as practical.
7) Under-bake them
Check on your cookies a few minutes before they’re due to come out of the oven. If they look just about ready, with a soft and gooey centre, take them out.
They’ll harden up when they start to cool and will hold moisture longer when you store them.
8) Use corn syrup
It’s not the healthiest of ingredients, but it’s a dream for making the perfect soft cookies. You can find regular corn syrup (as opposed to high-fructose) at the grocery store, which is much better.
Even adding just a little bit to your recipe will keep cookies crisp on the outside and deliciously gooey on the inside.
9) Store each type of cookie separately
If you have thick, gooey gingerbread cookies and thin crispy chocolate chip cookies, it’s best to store them separately.
Storing them together will cause the opposite effect of what you intended, making your gingerbreads crispy and your chocolate chips soft.
You might also find it a little odd when you go to taste a peppermint cookie that was stored alongside a pumpkin. Yuck.
10) Store with white bread
Before storing your cookies in an airtight container, put a piece of white bread in the same container to absorb the moisture and keep them nice and crunchy!
You can achieve a similar effect with other bread, but white bread works best.
11) Soften them in the microwave
Put the cookie(s) on a small plate and fill a cup with a bit of water. Put them both in the microwave together for 30 seconds.
The water will evaporate and soften the cookies while warming them up a little too! Win-win-win.
12) More butter
If you find the recipe you love leaves your cookies getting a little too dry too quickly, then just add a little bit more butter than normal and see how that batch fares. Chances are it’ll help them keep their softness for longer.
13) Use freezer bags
Freezer bags are thicker than regular sandwich bags and come with sturdy seals. It’s worth it to pay a little extra for the fancy bags!
You’ll thank yourself when you’re biting into a cookie 3 months later that tastes like it was baked yesterday.
14) Scoop the dough in mounds
Instead of flattening your cookies on the baking sheet, keep the dough in balls so that they bake with a softer center and stay chewy!
15) Minimize airflow
When storing your cookies in a bag, do your best to get as much air out as possible before sealing it. The less airflow the better, because it won’t dry out your cookies!
16) Dry rice
To keep your cookies crunchy (not all cookies are made equal, and some were not destined to be soft) put a layer of uncooked rice at the bottom of your container so it absorbs moisture.
Voila, consistently crispy cookies.
17) Avoid air pockets when baking
The more you whisk the ingredients together the more air pockets will bubble up.
If you carefully fold your ingredients with a wooden spoon – the old fashioned way! – the cookies will keep their moisture when baking, and come out soft and gooey.
Otherwise, the more modern version is a food processor, which will prevent air pockets too.
18) Don’t add milk
This is a myth that some people believe will help to keep cookies soft but really it will just ruin the consistency of your cookies and do nothing to aid in keeping moisture.
If you are looking to make cookies softer, try adding a little butter or egg yolk instead.
You can always have more milk with your cookies, but not in them.
19) Let cookies dry naturally
When cookies first come out of the oven, they need some time to cool. Don’t try to speed up the process just because you can’t wait to taste your delicious creations!
Put cookies on a regular drying rack and leave them to sit for a few minutes. Don’t put them in front of a fan or something of the like, because it will just dry them out.
Good cookies come to those who wait.
20) Chill dough before baking
This trick doesn’t have a massive effect on the overall softness of the cookies you bake, but it will prevent them from coming out greasy.
This is especially helpful if you’re trying a recipe with extra butter to keep them moist. If you don’t chill and solidify the butter a little bit first, they may come out of the oven a little greasier than usual.
21) Don’t overcook
The recipe isn’t always 100% correct, and sometimes 20-25 minutes is too long. Don’t forget that the cookies will continue to cook a little longer once you’ve taken them out of the oven.
Check-in a little before the timer is due to go off and consider taking the cookies out early.
If they’re overcooked they’ll lose their softness!
22) Use a little apple sauce in the recipe
It may sound crazy, but if you use a little applesauce in place of some oil (not all the oil, but about one quarter of it) the cookies will stay softer longer.
They’ll also absorb a little bit of that sweet apple flavour, which compliments cinnamon nicely.
23) Moist paper towel
Placing a most paper towel over a plate of cookies before placing them in the microwave to reheat will restore the cookies softness.
24) Use butter instead of shortening
Shortening is 100% fat and contains no water. Butter melts at a lower temperature and moistens cookies differently.
While shortening is a delicious ingredient commonly called for in cookies, butter will make cookies softer and chewier.
25) Use the right baking sheet
Who would think that the type of baking sheet you use has that big of an effect on the outcome of your baking! But with cookies, it certainly does.
Use aluminum to prevent the cookies from sticking.
If they stick, they won’t get the airflow they need to cook evenly and will dry out and possibly even burn on the bottom.
26) Use baking soda to keep cookies crisp
Put some baking soda inside a coffee filter and staple it so it doesn’t make a big mess.
Place the makeshift pouch of baking soda inside an airtight cookie jar, and find crispy fresh tasting cookies for days to come.
27) Store cookies in a cool, dry place
The back of your pantry or another shaded area which is room-temperature-to-cool, is the best spot to store your cookies.
If they get too cold they’ll crack, and if they’re too hot they’ll get greasy or melty (not in the nice fresh out of the oven way, either).
Of course, they need to be stored in something as well. You won’t want to find a loose cookie at the back of your pantry. Trust me.
28) Store bars in their original dish
Cookie bars will stay at their freshest if they’re kept in the original pan you used to bake them in.
If you have a resealable plastic bag large enough to fit the pan, that’s preferred for optimal moisture. Otherwise, you can simply cover the pan with aluminum foil.
29) Use fresh flour
You won’t get beautiful, fresh tasting cookies if you use flour you found in the back of your pantry from 2014.
The more fresh your flour, the better.
Pro tip: buckwheat flour is a healthy alternative to white flour, but don’t replace it entirely. Mix about 1/3 of buckwheat with 2/3 of your regular white flour to make a healthier batch of cookies with the same great taste!
But too much buckwheat will change the flavour, so don’t go wild.
30) Add a little extra egg yolk
Tweak your recipe just a smidge by adding some extra egg yolk to the mix. It will keep your cookies more moist and they’ll stay tasting fresh for longer.
31) Don’t go wild on the flour
If your cookies are crumbling (literally, not figuratively), reassess how much flour you’re using when rolling and cutting your cookies before baking.
You just need a little more liquid in your cookies, and the flour is probably drying that up before they make it to the oven.
32) Use bananas
Okay, you’re going to think I’m some fruit fanatic, but the moistest ingredients you can use in a recipe the better to optimal softness!
There are lots of recipes out there that use bananas or other fruit that will keep your cookies softer for longer as a result.
It’s science… and it’s healthy!
33) Store them with a moist paper towel
Leaving a lightly wetted paper towel over the cookies you’re storing in an air-tight jar will keep the moisture inside.
Of course, don’t soak the towel, just lightly wet it. Otherwise you’ll have an unpleasant surprise when your delicious cookies are soggy!
34) Glass containers for crispy cookies
If you’re after crispy cookies that stay tasting fresh, try storing them in a glass container.
35) Avoid frosting until after storing
The frosting will harden and dry out if you dress your cookies before you store them. So best to keep the cookies separate from the frosting until the last minute.
You can prepare the frosting in advance and leave it in a sealed plastic bag, then cut the corner off when you’re ready to decorate!
Efficient and fresh.
36) Choose the right cookies
Not all cookies are the best for storing, so you’ll do best if you choose your recipes wisely if you know you’ll be storing some of the batch for later.
Cutouts, icebox, shortbread, icebox, hearty bar and drop cookies all survive well in storage.
Anything with meringue, for example, will not.
37) Store at the right temperature
Once cookies are baked they shouldn’t go back in the fridge.
Room temperature? Absolutely.
Freezer? You betcha.
But not the fridge. It will dry them out and you’ll be sad.
38) Crispy cookies need air
Unlike our efforts to save our soft cookies with freezer bags and airtight containers, crispy cookies need air.
The cute little vintage cookie jars you see are perfect for this, or anything else you fancy that isn’t entirely sealed.
39) Protect cookies from getting damp
Some treats like caramels, nougats, and popcorn balls need special attention and will die if they get damp.
Save them by covering each individually with clear plastic wrap.
40) The tortilla method
Ready for it? Hear me out… Cookie. Tacos.
Just kidding. But what do cookie tins and tortillas have in common? Their shape!
Using a combo of both flour tortillas and parchment paper you can store your cookies and keep them moist for days.
You’ll need parchment paper on either side of every tortilla so that no cookies are touching a tortilla directly (it’ll just get sticky!).
What you want is a pattern:
Parchment, tortilla, parchment, cookies, parchment, tortilla, parchment, cookies, again and again until the tin is full.
Return for a snack later and find deliciously soft cookies!
41) Cookie decorations will lose their flavor when stored
It’s not just the cookies themselves that are at risk of losing quality when stored. If the cookies have any sprinkles, candies, sugar balls or anything like that on them, they will dry up and lose their flavor too.
They may even fall off if they get too dry!
42) Layer, layer, and layer some more
Place your cookies on layers of parchment paper. If you pile them all in on top of each other they’ll get stuck together and lose their freshness!
43) Package appropriately when sending
If you’re sending cookies to your friends for Christmas or another occasion (or no occasion at all!) you’ll need to make sure you package them well so they make it to their destination safely and with their freshness still in tact!
Take note of how much room the cookies will take up in your desired gift box, and how much room you’ll need to fill. You’ll want to fill the space with some cushioning so they don’t get too shaken up on their journey.
44) Line the container
Always line whichever vessel you choose to send your cookies in with wax or parchment paper. You can decorate around it but the lining is key.
It will keep your treats from sticking, and keep them tasting fresh!
45) Bake cookies in a muffin tin
If you give your cookies a limited space to fill, they won’t be able to spread out, get thinner, and as a result, harder.
It also makes them the perfect shape if you’re OCD like that, and gives them a fantastic soft chewy centre. The dream!
46) Store cookies with sticky toppings in a single layer
Cookies with toffee, caramel, or other sticky toppings should not be layered. Give them some special treatment with their own air-tight container and do not stack them on top of one another.
You’ll thank me later when there’s no mess!
47) Let gingerbread sit
All cookies should be left to cool before they’re stored, but this is especially true of gingerbread.
The flavors continue to develop over time so there’s a sweet spot between getting the fullest of flavors, and finding a stale cookie.
Give it a day or two and make sure they’re sealed air-tight!
48) Use pudding mix
Pudding? In cookies? Have I lost my mind? Hear me out!
Mix up some pudding (vanilla, chocolate, whatever your poison), and toss it in to your cookie dough.
It will result in soft, gooey, chewy, and delicious cookies sure to impress! And, if it makes you feel better, you can take that secret ingredient with you to the grave.
49) One word: mayonnaise
Oh, you thought the last one was crazy? Well we’re not done yet. I present to you, mayonnaise.
If you think about it, cookies already contain eggs. So it’s not that weird… but I will admit, it sounds that way. I can feel you cringing and I won’t have it!
Mayonnaise is the secret ingredient you’ve been looking for to soften and smooth out those cookies! Use it to replace eggs and/or butter. I promise it won’t make your cookies taste of straight mayo, even the mayo-iest of mayo lovers would not be keen on mayo flavoured cookies.
50) Separate cookies when sending
Everyone loves a mixed box of cookies. But as we’ve learned, you can’t just toss a load of different cookies together and have them all thrive. And we want them to thrive!
You also probably don’t want to package and/or send 6 individual boxes with different types of cookies if you can avoid it.
Life hack: make little dividers or wrap the individual cookies to keep them from touching each other and cross contaminating flavours.
51) If your crispy cookies become soggy…
There’s still hope! Heat them in the oven at 300 degrees for up to five minutes.
Please don’t do this if you’ve already decorated them though. That won’t be pretty.
52) Soy milk for perfect peanut butter cookies
Peanut butter cookies are some of the toughest to perfect and keep soft.
But by adding just a little heated soy milk, you’ll find your cookies turn out soft and even better – stay that way!
53) Use wax paper for layers and a lid
You may think it’s enough to put a layer of wax paper in between each layer of cookies, but don’t forget to cover the top as well!
It’ll help keep that top layer fresh – and make a good first impression!
54) Freezer paper
If you’re storing your cookies long term and plan to freeze them, it’s worth it to wrap them with special freezer paper to keep them safe.
It’s basically a cross between wax paper and parchment paper, because it’s only coated on one side. It’s possibly to make your own freezer paper if you’re feeling extra crafty!
It will prevent freezer burn, and absorbing any smells from the foods sharing the space around the cookies.
55) If worst comes to worst, you can always up-cycle your cookies
If you know your cookies are falling apart and beyond repair, you don’t have to throw them away!
Why not diversify and make something with a cookie crumble crust?
There you have it! Tons of options to keep your cookies fresh in any situation. Of course, the exact science will depend on the type of cookie, so try different methods to see what works best for your favorites!
Okay, I’m hungry. Gotta go put on my baking apron.
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