Bake n' Freeze

This week on our CLMM we are talking about the freezer. Lovely freezer. It's so nice to have things at the ready and not too much worry about food going bad. Freezing saves time and money and Jess and I have some great ideas for you this week!

Today, I'm talking about how to freeze the things you bake.

We have shared a lot of yummy recipes lately and the great thing about them is that they can all be frozen! Let's take my Pumpkin Pie Cookies for example, here are some tips that work for these cookies and most of our baking recipes:

1. Double the recipe! The Pumpkin Pie Cookie recipe is double what you normally use for a single batch of cookies- this is because it's easier to use a whole can of pumpkin, but with any cookie recipe, you can double the ingredients and freeze the extras.

2. Use freezer bags. I know this sounds obvious, but the kind of bags you use to freeze your baked goods make all the difference. There's nothing worse than thawing out your cookies or bread and tasting plastic. Gross. I love Ziplock but there are lot of brands that make bags especially for freezing.

3. Let foods cool all the way. This is important because if you have any heat left in the cookies or pancakes, waffles, etc. it will create condensation as the food freezes. This means extra moisture and your cookies will stick together! You also run the risk of soggy food when they thaw. No one wants soggy cookies.

4. Freeze before the second rise. This doesn't apply to cookies, obviously, but it's worth remembering for yeast breads, rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc. With my favorite Honey Whole Wheat Bread, I bake a loaf and freeze a loaf before the second rise using a freezer bag that has been sprayed with cooking spray. This way, when you set the frozen food out to thaw you will also get the second rise- then you bake as directed in the recipe.

Freezing is a great way to mix once and have baked foods like cookies, cinnamon rolls, bread, and rolls for a while!