How Do You Freeze Cookies Between Baking and Decorating?

After baking, make sure your cookies are cooled completely before putting them in a baggie. I cut and slipped a piece of cardboard inside the baggie to keep the cookies on a flat surface. You can suck the air out of the baggie with a straw. . . . or not. It works! Make sure that cardboard does not come from a pizza box or your cookies will pick up the flavor. I know . . . I did it! Duh!  Imagine the puzzled look on my face when I ate one of my cookies.

You can also use a plastic container made for freezing. Put wax paper or parchment between layers of cookies. My cookies got jumbled together one time and did not stick together. They were fine.

I agree with the previous comment.  I have frozen cookies before.  I don't particularly like the consistency of the cookie after being frozen so I try not to do it.  Use a container that will not leave a lot of air space once the cookies are in.  Layer with parchment or wax paper.  I will put in a little bit of paper towel bunched at the top if there is too much air space.  This also helps if the container gets tipped in the freezer.  Definitely do not thaw in the refrigerator (can cause moisture).  I thaw on the counter completely without opening the container.

Thanks for your responses.  I'm still so new to all of this and have agreed to do 300 for my cousin's graduation and I am so worried about being able to get them all done, so being able to freeze ahead of time will take some stress off of me.  I am really only looking at freezing them for a week before I begin decorating them, so I wonder if simply keeping them in airtight containers without freezing them would be okay. 

Sheila, as far as the change in consistency after freezing, does it make them more dense or what?

They don't get soggy if you thaw them correctly but I think they have different taste and maybe a little less crisp.  I hope that makes sense.

I agree with Sheila's comments about the flavor and texture after freezing. The changes can be subtle, depending on how well you packaged the cookies before freezing, but I try to avoid freezing when I can. Storing your cookies for a week in the freezer, or even at room temp (if properly contained), should likely not affect them much though. Good luck!

For big orders I always freeze them after baking, and haven't had any change in taste...but they usually aren't in there more than a week.  I make sure they are cooled for at least six hours before i put them in a tupperware container. I do not worry about bagging them or wax paper.  If they are completely cooled, there shouldn't be any sticking. When I take them out of the freezer, I leave them on the counter overnight to make sure they are completely thawed before i mess around with them.   

Since cookie making is not my primary work, I have to use the freezer to help out.  I wish I could just decorate from beginning to end without freezing!  

I think it depends upon the recipe that you use...I have frozen some and they still taste ok but I have one recipe that I use and can freeze those and when thawed they taste wonderful...I have kept them frozen for up to a month with no problem.  The way I store them is just double bagging them in Ziploc freezer bags...works great!

I usually just place them in freezer zip-lock bags, with the cookies back-to-back. For some reason, I don't like the fronts of the cookies to be touching another cookie. I keep imagine grease transfer! If I want them to be extra safe from breakage, I then place the bagged cookies inside tupperware. I haven't noticed any difference in texture or flavor in the frozen cookies. I've also just stuck them in our spare refrigerator for a week, and they were fine.