Works-For-Me-Wednesday

It's time for another Works-For-Me-Wednesday hosted by Rocks In My Dryer. Please visit Shannon's site for more great Works-For-Me-Wednesday tips.

My tip today is Super-Easy-Any-Time-You-Want-It-Cookie-Dough. This is a great one for the winter, or if you have a good sized freezer.

Make a batch of your favorite drop-cookie dough.
Version 1: Line a baking sheet with waxed paper (or tinfoil or parchment paper works too). Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough into balls and release them onto the baking sheet, as close as you can place them together. You will not be baking these immediately, so closeness does not matter at this point. Place the entire tray in the freezer, or in your garage in the middle of winter, or somewhere very cold. The fridge works too, but not as well as the freezer. You can also use smaller dishes to place the dough on if you don't have a large freezer.

Freeze the balls until they are at least mostly hard on the outside. The harder the better. Take them off the baking sheet and place them in a resealable plastic bag. You now have homemade frozen cookie dough, and you can make small batches of cookies whenever you want them. I often do this when I really want cookies but I don't have the time to make them all at once. You can bake the frozen dough as directed in the original recipe. Sometimes they might need an extra minute or two, but for the most part they cook up about the same.

Version 2: Roll the dough out into a rectangle that is roughly 1-inch thick. Chill the dough in the fridge until very firm. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-inch squares, and freeze in a resealable plastic bag.


Chocolate Chip Cookies (perfect for freezing into balls)

½ cup butter

½ cup shortening

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2-¼ cups flour

1 12 oz. package chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350*. Cream butter, shortening, white and brown sugars until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs. Add baking soda and salt. Stir in flour gradually and mix well. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until brown on the edges. Cool on racks.