Ever wondered if refrigerating your cookie dough truly makes all the difference? Experts recommend chilling the dough prior to baking for better texture and flavor. Of course, we didn't just take the experts' word for it; we put their theory to the test.
We baked our favorite classic chocolate chip cookie recipe three different ways—one batch was baked immediately, one batch was baked after chilling for one hour, and the last was baked after 24 hours of refrigeration. Below are the sweet results, along with how to refrigerate your dough because, spoiler, that's the best way.
- Meredith Tomason is the Test Kitchen Manager for Nestle Toll House.
- David Lebovitz is a pastry chef and author.
How to Chill Cookie Dough
To refrigerate cookie dough, simply scoop out cookie-sized portions of your dough and place them on a sheet pan covered with airtight plastic wrap or into resealable bags. This step will make the process so much easier, so you don't have to scoop already chilled cookie dough. After it's chilled for a minimum of an hour, begin baking.
In general, homemade cookie dough will last in the refrigerator for two to four days or in the freezer for up to two months. You will know if your cookie dough has gone rancid if it smells bad, has visible mold, or if it has any hardened or discolored edges.
Cookie Dough Baking Methods
Baked Immediately, Without Refrigerated Dough
We baked the first batch of cookies immediately after the dough was prepared, which is the method most often noted in chocolate chip cookie recipes. We dropped heaping tablespoons of dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet and anxiously waited for them to be ready. Once they finished baking and cooled on a separate wire rack, we cut, measured, and tasted.
These cookies were just under 1 inch (⅞ inch precisely) at the thickest part of the cookie. The brown sugar flavor was prominent, creating rich notes of caramel and vanilla. However, these were more soft and chewy than crispy and chewy.
If you prefer a cake-like cookie, this classic method lives up to its reputation.
Baked After Refrigerating Cookie Dough for 1 Hour
These cookies were definitely more crispy and chewy than the cake-like cookies from round one. However, these were less thick than the first batch, which was unexpected since chilling is supposed to prevent the dough from spreading.
At ⅝ inch thick, these cookies are certainly thinner. Another surprising result was that the caramel and vanilla notes were less flavorful in this batch. While these were still very delicious, the flavor and texture were both stronger in the first batch of cookies.
If you're team #extracrispy, refrigerating the dough is definitely a useful method.
Baked After Refrigerating Cookie Dough Overnight
This long-awaited batch of cookies was the best of both worlds—they had a crispy, caramelized exterior similar to batch two, with the sweet flavor found in the batch baked immediately. The interior was soft, moist, and gooey in all the best ways.
Their thickness was also a happy medium—about ¾ inch. The extra crispiness also held up well to dunking, which checks off another criterion for perfect cookies. This batch was definitely worth the wait—and now we see why professional bakers favor a lengthy chilling time.
The Verdict
It comes down to personal preference—if you prefer crispier edges and a soft interior, plus deep vanilla and caramel notes, we recommend using refrigerated cookie dough that's been chilled at least overnight.
However, the first no-chill batch had a nice, soft texture and was rich with flavor. If you're like us and get an instant urge to have freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, go ahead and bake a batch without chilling. Either way, we doubt they'll last very long.
Benefits of Chilled Cookie Dough
Our baking experiment taught us a lot about chilled cookie dough, but what do the experts have to say? While they believe refrigerating cookie dough before baking is the way to go, here's why.
The flavors in the cookie dough become more concentrated.
When chilled long enough, cookie dough becomes more flavorful when baked. "Chilling dough prior to baking lends itself to more tender, well-shaped, and slightly stronger flavored cookies," said Meredith Tomason, Test Kitchen Manager for Nestle Toll House. "The flavor-enhancing ingredients such as vanilla, salt, spices, and sweeteners all become a bit more concentrated and heightened."
Chilling cookie dough controls the cookies' spread.
While our experiment surprised us when the cookies spread out more after being chilled for an hour than when left at room temperature, typically, chilling cookies has the opposite effect. When the cookie dough is chilling, the fats in the cookies are solidifying. Because of this, when the cookies are baking, it takes a longer amount of time for the fats to melt, which creates a more uniformly shaped cookie.
Another reason chilling your cookie dough helps to reduce spread has a lot to do with the sugar in the dough and how much liquid it absorbs. When you let your cookie dough chill, it has time to absorb the liquid in the mix. The more liquid absorbed by the sugar, the less spread. If the liquid does not have time to absorb, then that liquid will move around freely in the dough, which causes more spread. This is why when you bake your cookies with room-temperature cookie dough, they tend to spread more.
If you are in favor of a more uniformly shaped cookie, go ahead and give your cookie dough a chill before baking.
The texture improves after chilling.
Refrigerating the dough for even 30 minutes can improve the texture and flavor of even a tried-and-true Toll House recipe. The resting time also gives the butter time to saturate the dry ingredients for softer cookies, said pastry chef and author David Lebovitz. This is why some recipes require melted butter.
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