
Delicious and time-saving!
Slice and bake cookies are useful year-round, but I find them especially helpful for summer entertaining. Make the dough, refrigerate or freeze it and it will be ready whenever you need it. When ready to use, slice the cylindrical dough into as many cookie slices you need, and bake. The recipes can be versatile – just a few changes and additions can give you a completely different cookie. What could be easier? Please note that while these might be frozen before you use them, they are still homemade, and will taste much better than anything similar you might buy at the supermarket!
Find a base dough you like. Most of them are either similar to a sugar cookie dough, or chocolate chip cookie dough without the chips. Add the ingredients to give the cookie its identity.
A basic dough from the Smitten Kitchen:
2 sticks (8 ounces; 230 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (80 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla or almond extract
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
See full recipe for additional instructions.
A base dough variation on the above:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- Pinch of salt
- Add-ins as desired (see below for suggestions)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- See full recipe for additional instructions
A basic dough with brown sugar (like chocolate chip dough minus the chips):
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- See full recipe for additional instructions
Possible additions to your basic dough:
Chocolate Chips
Nuts
Nutella
Peanut Butter
M&Ms
Dried fruit
Citrus Zest
Sprinkles
Additional recipes:
Pioneer Woman Yummy Slice and Bake Cookies
Chocolate Chip slice and Bake Cookies
Slice and Bake Chocolate Almond Cookies
See our earlier article on Frozen Cookie Dough.