Storing cookies question..

I have read thru the conversations about storing cookies. Today is May 20 and I need to bake a bunch of cookies (no cllue on the count-just going by feel, a nice assortment to fill a large tray of regular cookies and a second tray of GF cookies) to be served on June 1. When I bake my holiday cookies I store them in plastic containers, 1 kind per container, and stack in my freezing cold laundry room. Not an option this time of year. I know lots of folks recommend freezing them but I have very little freezer space (would help if I would roast that 20 lb turkey in there, LOL!!) . Would it be a deal breaker to refrigerate them? Will they deteriorate in texture/taste too much for 10 days or less of fridge time? I do have a vacuum sealer that I could use if that is a good option.

We were taught NOT to store baked goods like cakes and cookies in the refrigerator when I was in culinary school.

I would make my assorted doughs, freeze those, then thaw and bake closer to the date. During holidays we kept them in airtight tins for a couple weeks. The only holiday cookie I make that I don’t like to make ahead is snickerdoodles. It’s not bad, but I, the princess and the pea, can tell the difference.

Marilyn is going to be the ultimate authority though. She’s done hundreds ahead of time!

Did I hear my name mentioned in a caloric sense?

So here is what I delivered to Christiana's wedding last May:
(yes, it's a spreadsheet...have you not met me?)

Some of the doughs I made ahead, refrigerated and then baked the week of the wedding.
Some I baked in NC and brought up with me. All of the GF were last minute and baked in Pittsburgh.

Rugelah: Prepped into strips, froze unbaked in NC. Baked in PA. Sealed container
Ginger Biscotti: Prepped into strips, baked strips/froze in NC. Cut into slices and rebaked in PA. Sealed container
Brownies: Made/baked in NC, wrapped in plastic/foil/froze. Thawed before wedding.
Brindle (Chocolate Chip): Dough prepped (dough kept in NC refrigerator for 2 weeks), then scooped/flatted/frozen before I left, then baked the week of the wedding. Sealed container
Sable: (almond flour sugar cookie) Dough prepped (dough kept in NC refrigerator for 2 weeks), rolled and baked in Pittsburgh the week of the wedding. Sealed Container
Tassies: Made/baked in NC/refrigerated. Sealed container
Lime Meltaway: Made/baked in NC/ NOT refrigerated. Sealed container
Peanut Butter Kiss/Almond Butter Kiss: Dough prepped (dough kept in NC refrigerator for 2 weeks), scooped into balls, then froze. then baked the week of the wedding in Pittsburgh. Sealed container
Oatmeal cookies: Dough prepped (dough kept in NC refrigerator for 2 weeks), then scooped/flatted/frozen before I left, then baked the week of the wedding. Sealed container
Krumkake: made in NC, put in plastic containers with dessicant packs. Drizzled with chocolate in PA.
Apricot bars: Made/baked in NC, wrapped in plastic/foil/froze. Thawed before wedding.
Life of spice cookies: basic soft cookies. Baked in NC, rolled in powdered sugar in PA. sealed container.

I used a LOT of plastic containers that sealed well and stack. I also pressed Saran wrap directly on top of the dough to keep it from drying out.
My drive to Pittsburgh is 8.5-10 hours so the frozen dough kept everything chilled that needed to be chilled.

Here is Mom's table and my car with my contribution on the way to the reception hall that Wednesday/Thursday. Wedding was Saturday. My sister (mother of the bride), her best friend and I prepped all the cookie trays (6 people baked in total) and lined up 47 linear feet of cookies in the hall for the event staff to store for the wedding.




So all cookies (other than refrigerated cookies like my lemon cream tarts) were delivered on Thursday. This meant it was packaged before that.
Cold items were brought in the day of the wedding.

Cookies from my nephew's cookie table in 2021 that I decided NOT to make for Christiana's wedding, based on fussiness and/or cost

• Chocolate/raspberry tarts (way too expensive to turn out 100 of those AND 100 lemon tarts)
• Nut horns (yeast-based dough). Great but best eaten that day. Got stale too quickly.
• Cake pops: Too messy for display table
• Almond cherry bars: (way too expensive to turn out 100 of those...I ordered bing cherries and apricots from Olson's in CA. Those were $85 dollar ingredients

marilynfl said:

Cookies from my nephew's cookie table in 2021 that I decided NOT to make for Christiana's wedding, based on fussiness and/or cost

• Chocolate/raspberry tarts (way too expensive to turn out 100 of those AND 100 lemon tarts)
• Nut horns (yeast-based dough). Great but best eaten that day. Got stale too quickly.
• Cake pops: Too messy for display table
• Almond cherry bars: (way too expensive to turn out 100 of those...I ordered bing cherries and apricots from Olson's in CA. Those were $85 dollar ingredients

Click to expand...

Oh Olsen’s is near me! They’ve had a roadside stand since I was a kid. Right next to the city museum Blenheim apricot Orchard.

The undisputed queen of cookies!

Here is the apricot souffle that I made with the Blenheim apricots you sent me back in 2016.

I am exhausted all over again.

marilynfl said:

Here is Mom's table and my car with my contribution on the way to the reception hall that Wednesday/Thursday. Wedding was Saturday. My sister (mother of the bride), her best friend and I prepped all the cookie trays (6 people baked in total) and lined up 47 linear feet of cookies in the hall for the event staff to store for the wedding.
View attachment 2762

View attachment 2763

So all cookies (other than refrigerated cookies like my lemon cream tarts) were delivered on Thursday. This meant it was packaged before that.
Cold items were brought in the day of the wedding.

Click to expand...

You are amazing Marilyn!!!

Well, life can throw you a curve ball or two when least suspected!! My double wall oven died and I can not bake any cookies at home. So, I have been inviting myself to the home of various friends to for a baking day. Bummer was, first home I went to I think her oven temp was significantly off as NONE of my 5 batches of cookies baked up well. I went home heart broken. Yesterday was much better success at the home of another friend and I invited my self back for another day of baking tomorrow. We have found a very knowledgable appliance repair person and he is familiar with the problem and thinks he can fix it. We asked him to expedite the shipping of the necessary parts but of course it is a holiday weekend. Who knows when he will get here, but he does know I am desparate!!!

Cookies are needed next Sat so I am packing in plastic containers like Marilyn did and am stacking them in the basement which is still fairly cool. I think I will be okay til they will be served.

Thank you to everyone that responded!!!

In this journey I have also discovered that there are upright freezers than are specifically made to go in garages!!!! DH always felt it was not a good idea to put one in the garage, but now, all bets are off!!!! LOL!!!

marilynfl said:

Did I hear my name mentioned in a caloric sense?

So here is what I delivered to Christiana's wedding last May:
(yes, it's a spreadsheet...have you not met me?)


View attachment 2760

Click to expand...

My hero!

barbara-in-va said:

Well, life can throw you a curve ball or two when least suspected!! My double wall oven died and I can not bake any cookies at home. So, I have been inviting myself to the home of various friends to for a baking day. Bummer was, first home I went to I think her oven temp was significantly off as NONE of my 5 batches of cookies baked up well. I went home heart broken. Yesterday was much better success at the home of another friend and I invited my self back for another day of baking tomorrow. We have found a very knowledgable appliance repair person and he is familiar with the problem and thinks he can fix it. We asked him to expedite the shipping of the necessary parts but of course it is a holiday weekend. Who knows when he will get here, but he does know I am desparate!!!

Cookies are needed next Sat so I am packing in plastic containers like Marilyn did and am stacking them in the basement which is still fairly cool. I think I will be okay til they will be served.

Thank you to everyone that responded!!!

In this journey I have also discovered that there are upright freezers than are specifically made to go in garages!!!! DH always felt it was not a good idea to put one in the garage, but now, all bets are off!!!! LOL!!!

Click to expand...

Oh Barbara - I can appreciate your disappoint (friend's oven) and stress (your oven died). What I do to try to keep cookies fresh is to store in store in ziplock bags (I have the big 2 gallon size that I reuse over and over again) and suck out all of the air with a straw.

barbara-in-va said:

Well, life can throw you a curve ball or two when least suspected!! My double wall oven died and I can not bake any cookies at home. So, I have been inviting myself to the home of various friends to for a baking day. Bummer was, first home I went to I think her oven temp was significantly off as NONE of my 5 batches of cookies baked up well. I went home heart broken. Yesterday was much better success at the home of another friend and I invited my self back for another day of baking tomorrow. We have found a very knowledgable appliance repair person and he is familiar with the problem and thinks he can fix it. We asked him to expedite the shipping of the necessary parts but of course it is a holiday weekend. Who knows when he will get here, but he does know I am desparate!!!

Cookies are needed next Sat so I am packing in plastic containers like Marilyn did and am stacking them in the basement which is still fairly cool. I think I will be okay til they will be served.

Thank you to everyone that responded!!!

In this journey I have also discovered that there are upright freezers than are specifically made to go in garages!!!! DH always felt it was not a good idea to put one in the garage, but now, all bets are off!!!! LOL!!!

Click to expand...

Oh I’m so sorry your oven died! I can completely appreciate other peoples ovens being way off. When a friend remodeled and got new double wolf ovens, it was so wonky I tested a batch of cookies in them for the repair person On the oven floor. My mil‘s oven took a full hour more than mine to roast a chicken, and my neighbors oven is so uneven all baked goods come out lopsided. I don’t know how people live with them! All were newer than my oven. It’s given me a deep appreciation of my mom’s, now mine, 1959 pink ge wall oven. I love it so much that if I ever move, I’m probably taking it with me.

Aw, I would love to see a photo of that oven..............

Still looks like new. Not a scratch or nick. I should’ve cleaned it before taking a photo, but this is how nice it looks everyday, before a deep clean. The cooktop matches it.

Aw, isn't she lovely?! With a timer and an auto oven. I remember my mom's old Frigidaire stove from about 1954. There was no auto oven available so eventually she bought a timer gadget that connected on the top and performed that function.

It's hard to imagine that there was a cooktop way back in '59.

Thanks for the trip.

BTW, in my house, I had double wall-ovens, GE, 1976, with all kinds of wonderful functions. But the timing mechanics, looking a bit like yours, got all misted up from the upper oven and eventually, the timer function on the self-clean stopped working. I had to time it manually. That surprised me. Well, isn't that just fascinating?

Marg CDN said:

Aw, isn't she lovely?! With a timer and an auto oven. I remember my mom's old Frigidaire stove from about 1954. There was no auto oven available so eventually she bought a timer gadget that connected on the top and performed that function.

It's hard to imagine that there was a cooktop way back in '59.

Thanks for the trip.

BTW, in my house, I had double wall-ovens, GE, 1976, with all kinds of wonderful functions. But the timing mechanics, looking a bit like yours, got all misted up from the upper oven and eventually, the timer function on the self-clean stopped working. I had to time it manually. That surprised me. Well, isn't that just fascinating?

Click to expand...

The clock, timer, etc no longer work, but I’ve read this is normally something repaired by a good internal cleaning of the clock works by a repair person. Some day maybe. My next fridge I am going to have painted to match, when I bought new and nixed the pink fridge, the stainless just doesn’t go with The rest.