The #1 Reason Why You Should Chill Your Cookie Dough (2024)

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The #1 Reason Why You Should Chill Your Cookie Dough is simple: it vastly improves your cookies in both taste and texture.

If you’re like most, you don’t want to take the time to chill your cookie dough. I totally get it – who wants to wait for cookies!? But here’s the thing if you REALLY want the best cookies… you know a little patience goes a LONG way.

Just take a look at the difference chilling makes:

MAGIC!

The #1 Reason Why You Should Chill Your Cookie Dough

This chilling period does quite a few things:

Most importantly, it allows the flavors to develop and intensify! You can think of it like marinating meats – everything intensifies and gets better with time.
It gives the liquid in the egg a chance to hydrate the starch in the flour, making the dough firmer, which helps the cookie spread less in the oven (hello, thick cookies!).
And it allows the enzymes in the flour and egg yolk to break down the carbohydrates into their component sugars, fructose, and glucose.

The short of it? Chilling cookie dough makes the cookies much more flavorful, with that blissful caramelized butterscotch flavor, and it makes them thicker, chewier, and browner.

How Long Should I Chill Cookie Dough to See These Benefits?

In the photos here, you can see this play out with myBakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Each cookie was baked on the same baking sheet, at the same temperature, for the same amount of time. The taste and texture improved with every batch… until 72 hours. Then I noticed diminishing returns. I think that’s because this particular recipe has a lower hydration level so after a certain point the dough starts to dry out.

Oppositely, I notice 72 hours of chilling time are my favorite cookies when I’m using myUltimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. That one has a higher hydration level and yields well, chewier cookies.

Either way, I’d HIGHLY recommend chilling for 24-48 hours the next time you bake any drop-style cookie. Bake off a few immediately so you can compare the chilled ones (like in the image below)!

The #1 Reason Why You Should Chill Your Cookie Dough (3)

But Tessa … What if I Really Can’t Wait to Enjoy a Cookie?

Totally understandable! When I can’t wait, I simply bake off a few cookies immediately after making the dough, then send the rest to chill in the fridge. You can even save a few of the ones you baked immediately to compare the results of the chilled ones!

Should I Chill The Entire Mass of Dough, or Portioned Cookie Dough Balls? Does it Matter?

You can do either! Here’s how:

If chilling the entire mass of dough, place it in an airtight container. After the chill period, allow the dough to sit at room temperature until it’s malleable enough to safely scoop (which can take over an hour depending on your kitchen environment). This method allows you to get away with storing the dough for a little longer without risking it drying out.
The easier method is to scoop the dough right after you make it, then place the dough balls in a single layer in an airtight container or cover very tightly with plastic wrap. This method reduces the amount of time you can store the dough without it drying out, but this way, you can bake the cookie dough balls directly from the fridge. No waiting for it to come to room temperature!

How Long Should I Chill Cookie Dough?

Anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. The longer you chill the dough, the more flavor will develop. The flour will also absorb more of the moisture so the thicker and chewier the final texture will be.

How Long Can Cookie Dough Last in the Fridge?

After 72 hours, the dough will begin to dry out and you risk it going bad, especially if chilling pre-portioned balls of dough instead of the entire mass of dough. If you want to store longer than 72 hours, see the freezing tips below.

Can You Freeze Cookie Dough?

If you want to freeze the cookie dough (specific directions on that here), simply do it after the 24 – 72 hour chilling period. Do not skip the chilling period. Once you put the dough in the freezer, the moisture in the dough will freeze. If you freeze right away and skip chilling your dough, you won’t get the same benefits; it’s like the dough is in suspended animation and the flour/starch won’t be able to absorb moisture because the moisture is frozen. The chemical processes that happen while the dough is marinating canonly happen in the fridge.

Can I Chill ANY Cookie Dough?

This most directly applies to chocolate chip cookie dough, but any time you want to develop stronger flavors and a thicker, chewier texture in any drop-style cookie dough, chilling will be your friend. When making cookies with oatmeal, it’s best not to refrigerate more than 48 hours at most, as oats are such a drying ingredient, and you don’t want the dough to dry up too quickly.

Does Chilling Cookie Dough Work with Cookies Containing Baking Soda as the Leavener?

It’s important to remember that baking soda will begin its chemical reaction when it encounters the acidic components of the cookie dough (brown sugar, in the case of most chocolate chip cookies), and baking powder will react to the liquid in the dough. Both occur before the dough hits the heat of the oven. Baking soda will alter the dough’s pH to help promote some spread and browning when the dough is baked. Since cookie dough is relatively low in moisture (compared to muffin or cake batter), the chemical reactions occur more slowly anyway. Also, cookies rely less on leavening than say muffins or cakes. That’s why we see an improvement in the taste and texture when chilling cookie doughs! Read more about Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder here!

So what do you think? Will you chill your dough next time? Will you do a side-by-side experiment?

Be sure to post on Instagram and tag @handletheheat if you do!

FAQs

The #1 Reason Why You Should Chill Your Cookie Dough? ›

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

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Why is it important to chill cookie dough? ›

The colder your dough is before it heads into the oven, the less it will spread during baking, which makes for loftier cookies. The chilling phase also gives the flour in your dough time to hydrate, just like pie dough, which translates into a cookie that's more chewy than cakey.

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Why should dough be chilled? ›

Refrigerating the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and helps to make the cookie dough firmer. Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies.

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What happens if you don't chill sugar cookie dough? ›

Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.

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Why is refrigerated cookie dough better? ›

"When your dough is refrigerated, the butter hardens. So when you bake them, they spread less and hold their shape better," adds Epperson. "Which means a better likelihood of a soft, chewy cookie in the center." Chilling the dough creates fluffier cookies with better consistency.

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Does chilling cookie dough make it less sticky? ›

Solidifies the fat in the dough, allowing the liquid to dissolve the sugar and flavorings and the flour to absorb them. This improves the flavor of the cookies. Makes the cookie dough less sticky and easier to handle.

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What are two benefits to chilling your dough before baking? ›

It gives the liquid in the egg a chance to hydrate the starch in the flour, making the dough firmer, which helps the cookie spread less in the oven (hello, thick cookies!). And it allows the enzymes in the flour and egg yolk to break down the carbohydrates into their component sugars, fructose, and glucose.

What is the point of refrigerating dough? ›

Slowing fermentation down by using the fridge helps to give the dough time to develop more complex flavours without over proving, as it would at room temperature.

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How long should I chill cookie dough in the freezer? ›

Placed rolled cookie dough onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan, and freeze for an hour until solid. Transfer to a ziploc bag or airtight container and label. Store in the fridge until ready to bake.

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Does chilling cookie dough dry it out? ›

Even a short shift in the fridge will do, however, long periods of chilling time (such as 3 to 5 days) allows the cookie dough to dry out, Hill adds. This is actually a good thing; it leads to even more concentrated flavor.

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How long should I chill sugar cookie dough before baking? ›

Transfer the dough, still between the two pieces of parchment paper, to a baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours to allow the dough to firm up, and up to three days ahead. Proceed with the recipe as written - such as my easy sugar cookie recipe.

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Should you roll out cookie dough before chilling? ›

In many roll-and-cut cookie recipes, such as sugar cookies, there's a step between mixing the dough and rolling it out where you chill the dough to allow the flour to hydrate, the gluten to relax, and the flavor to develop. Using Greenspan's method, you roll the cookie dough directly after you mix it.