No-bake cookies are quickly becoming one of the favorite cookies among people who have busy schedules and don’t always want to deal with the finicky act of baking and trying to make sure that all the measurements are exact and perfect.
Rather than messing around with all of that, no-bake cookies are an alternative that don’t take much time and are often healthier, and are easier to adapt to various diets ranging from paleo to vegan and gluten free.
As you become more interested in no-bake cookies, you might begin to wonder how exactly you should go about storing them. More often than not, no-bake cookies don’t have the same perishable ingredients that you have to bake, so it would make sense that they can last longer, but the question of how much longer, and whether or not you should store the cookies in the freezer still remains.
One thing to keep in mind is that all no-bake cookie recipes are different, and some recipes may instruct you to freeze the cookies as part of the recipe, and with these cookies, you should follow the recipe and what it tells you to do. If there is a recipe that instructs you on not freezing the cookies because the ingredients in them don’t allow for it, then you should also keep that in mind.
When it comes to freezing your no-bake cookies, the most important thing to remember is to always trust the recipe that you are working with, as there’s a good chance that the recipe’s creator has worked with the cookies a fair amount and knows how to handle them.
Once you have experience in handling various no-bake cookies, you can begin experimenting with freezing them and storing them as you please.
The Rules of Freezing Cookies
In general, freezing cookies of any type is the best way to go about storing them. Freezing your cookies will help to keep the perishable ingredients (often milk and eggs) in good condition and prolongs their life to the point where you can eat them a fair bit later.
There are very few cookies that you shouldn’t freeze, and the cookies that you shouldn’t freeze often don’t apply to no-bake cookies, as the reasons why you shouldn’t freeze them relate to the batter of the cookies and this isn’t applicable to no-bake cookies. This means that freezing your cookies should be an easy and relatively hassle-free experience.
When freezing your cookies, there are a few things to keep in mind that apply to all frozen goods similar to cookies. For one, you should put them in an airtight container, as the environment of the freezer is harsh and can mess with an uncovered cookie, and the container you are freezing them in should be dated so that you have a sense of how long they have been in the freezer.
Unless you don’t mind breaking frozen cookies apart and potentially having unevenly broken cookies, you should make sure to separate the cookies until they have frozen solid. You can also make use of parchment paper to keep them separated, though this won’t harm the taste or texture of the cookies as much as the quality of life of trying to break them apart.
You can also store your cookies in airtight bags in the freezer but be mindful that this means they can potentially be crushed and lose their shape. This is not exclusive to no-bake cookies, but it is still something to keep in mind when you are freezing your cookies.
Working with Your No-Bake Cookies
While most people enjoy their no-bake cookies enough that they don’t need to worry about storage in the freezer, if you are making them in large bulk batches, you can store them in the freezer as you please.
More often than not, you don’t have to give much thought to this process, as no-bake cookies are simple enough.
Most no-bake cookies will last for around two months in the freezer. After this period, they will still likely be safe to eat, but the taste may have changed or it may have become ice-burned.
This can make them not nearly as good to eat as they would have been before, which is why it is a very good reason to consider marking the date on the cookies so you know how long they have been in the freezer.
No-bake cookies often don’t have anything special about them that you should be on the lookout for when you put them into the freezer. Again, you should be mindful that you store them in a way so that they don’t fuse together or become crushed in the freezer, but this is not unique to no-bake cookies.
Alternative Storage Methods
No-bake cookies are relatively unique in the fact that you don’t have to worry about how long they will last. This is often mostly dependent on the recipe that you are working with, but for the most part, no-bake cookies don’t have extremely perishable ingredients in them that would require special storage.
What this means for you is that you can easily keep them on the kitchen counter for up to two weeks’ time before you should begin trying to preserve them differently. The only storage options you should consider when doing this is simply that they should be in airtight containers so that they do not attract bugs to your countertop.
You can also store your no-bake cookies in the fridge and depending on the recipe that you are working with, it is often a part of the preparation process to leave them in the fridge to set into a real cookie-like form.
More often than not, you can just keep them in the fridge after they have set, especially if you don’t mind the chilled taste and texture of no-bake cookies.
All you have to do once they have set is take them off their baking trays, place them into an airtight container, and store them in your fridge. They can last for about two weeks in the fridge as well before they can begin to lose their taste and become stale.
No-bake cookies are loved for their versatility in storage.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.