What is this, "leftover cookie dough" of which you speak? Frozen cookie dough is for eating, straight out of the freezer. Assuming it isn't eaten straight out of the bowl.

I second EMB343's comment. I have never had extra dough left over. The only dough that ever made it to my freezer was dough that was specifically made to be baked at a later date. LOL

I hear you EMB343 and ALISON6971, but as a it is just me and my husband and who doesn't want to polish off an entire batch of cookies within a week (who likes stale cookies anyway?) so I bake a dozen at a time. I drop the cookies onto a cookie sheet with wax paper layerd on it, and flash freeze. Then I dump them all (minus one or two frozen cookie dough balls that get eaten) into a freezer bag. I can't tell you how many times we've had guests that drop by and I have nothing for them, so I pop them in the oven and in 10 minutes there are fresh baked cookies.

Also, have you ever needed cookies for a snack at lunch and didn't have any? My husband LOVES it when I bake them in the morning before work- they are still warm by the time he gets to work and the house smells great!

I've always had trouble with my cookies flattening into pancakes in the oven. A tip in Cook's Illustrated suggested rolling and cutting the cookies (or scooping into portions), then freezing them before baking. And guess what? It worked!

The next logical step was to do this, then just take a few cookies out and bake them as needed. Now we have fresh cookies every other night without the temptation to eat the whole batch.

Year-round I keep logs of cookie dough in several flavors in the freezer but it's the only safe way I can have cookie dough in the house. Baked cookies = eaten + crumbs. This way I have more cookie variety, and can bake just a few, especially if I have unexpected guests or house guests who want something to go with a late night conversation.

@SMOORE-Check your recipe, maybe it is for flatter cookies and not thicker, soft cookies? Otherwise, make sure you're measuring (use a scale for better accuracy) and mixing per instructions. I bake my cookies right out of the bowl and don't have a problem.

@mochene - I'm mainly talking about chocolate chip (Tollhouse recipe). Mine always turned out way too thin, but maybe that's how it's supposed to be. It was all remedied though with the chilled/frozen dough. If I recall correctly, Otis Spunkmeyer cookies also go strait from freezer to oven.

I love that you referred to the extra dough as orphaned dough!! There's just 3 of us in my household, so if I make a recipe with 2 dozen cookies, I've started freezing half of the dough. That way we don't get burned out on a single cookie, and we can have fresh baked cookies whenever a craving strikes or we're out of other dessert options!

I have a bag of frozen cookie dough in my freezer, and it is burning a hole in there! I can't stop baking them! It's too convenient, I think, so I end up eating a bajillion cookies, more than if I just baked them all at once and then foisted them off on coworkers. Not that I'm complaining, though, I loooooove cookies. I wish I had a toaster oven, though, so I didn't have to heat the entire oven for 2 or 3 cookies.

Yeah.. I usually make my cookie dough days in advance of any family events, then bake as needed. Even if I'm only baking cookies for the boyfriend and I, I'll freeze the dough into pre-portioned balls in a bag, and only bake one batch at a time. He loves warm and chewy--bordering on undercooked--cookies. This way he gets spoiled with warm, squishy cookies, and we can make them at a moment's notice, but we aren't constantly gorging on cookies just because they are going to 'go bad'.

Right now I have Cinnamon Roll Cookies, Blueberry Cookies, Gingersnaps, and Chai Latte Cookies in the freezer, alongside my savory staples (Turkey and Chicken stocks, Pizza Dough).

Make sure to flatten your dough a bit, so it's more like a disc, for more even baking or thawing.

I do like freezing dough balls so I can bake just 4 or so in the toaster oven. No long wait for preheating and I'm not tempted to eat more than I should.

But EMB343 is right. In fact, my husband gets so sad if I clear the bowl with a spatula rather than "accidentally" leaving wads for him to eat with a spoon.

I long to be the kind of person who freezes leftover cookie dough. As opposed to scarfing it in 3 seconds flat. :(

Smoore-- how are you handling the butter when you make cookies? My husband melts his, and so the cookies spread in the oven, but I just soften mine slightly and cream it with the sugar, and I'll put the bowl of dough in the fridge if it's ready before the oven is. Same idea as freezing, but more instantly gratifying than if you have to freeze the dough before you can bake it.

I ALWAYS do this. I make the NY Times chocolate chip cookies and freeze dough balls in a single layer, then transfer to freezer bag. I have delicious chocolate chip cookies ready to bake anytime friends drop by! Those NY Time cookies are the only chocolate chip cookies I make anymore.... YUM!!!!

I think they taste better when frozen before baked anyway.