10 Ways To Prolong The Shelf Life Of Cookies - Survival Freedom (2024)

Cookie making is a seriously labor-intensive endeavor, especially if you make them from scratch. You worked really hard to bake a batch, and it’s only normal to want the ability to enjoy every last cookie you made. The problem is, eating them all before they expire can wreck a diet, and at times, you might have way too many leftovers.

There are many ways to prolong the shelf life of cookies. Ten of the most common methods are:

1. Freezing Them
2. Adding Preservatives To Them
3. Vacuum Packing Them
4. Adding Raisins
5. Adding Honey
6. Using Salted Butter
7. Storing Them In A Container
8. Using A CO2 Pad
9. Use An Oxygen Absorber Packet
10. Using A UV-C Lamp

Besides using preservative ingredients and storing your cookies in airtight containers, the best “trick” you can employ is #8 and throw a CO2 pad, like these found on Amazon, in the container to displace oxygen.

Some of these methods are easy to work with,while others are more commercial. Each shelf life extension method has its ownperks and pitfalls every baker, home chef, and cookie enthusiast should know.Let’s bite into this subject a little more, shall we?

How To Prolong The Shelf Life Of Cookies

Most cookies, if left out in the open, won’tlast very long. Some won’t even last more than a couple of days! The good newsis that this problem isn’t a new one by any means of the word and that thereare several methods you can use in order to have your cookies taste fresh forlonger.

Each method tends to attack different aspects ofrot, staleness, and mold. The method you choose should reflect the problemsyou’re concerned about having with your new batch of baked goods.

Does Shelf Life Extension Change Cookie Flavor?

Sometimes, it can. If you are concerned aboutflavor, using additives like honey, raisins, and even certain chemicalpreservatives like citric acid can change the flavor of cookies. That beingsaid, not all forms do.

There are options that can help extend cookies’shelf lives without having serious issues arise with flavor or recipeingredients. If you are concerned about the cookie’s flavor or texture, usingvacuum packing, freezing, or any other treatment that limits the exposure ofoxygen to the cookie is best.

How To Choose A Shelf Life Extension Method

Every option below will improve shelf life, butsome are definitely better for certain cookies than others. Each option has itsown perks and pitfalls, and it’s up to you to figure out which has the bestcombination for you. When picking your method, remember to consider thefollowing factors in your decision:

• Budget
• Shelf Life
• Flavor and Texture Impact
• Health and Safety

Budget is often one of the bigger issues forhome chefs. Generally speaking, commercial preservation methods are far morelikely to be high-budget than home methods. Thankfully, there are effective andcheap options you can use too.

Method 1: Freeze the Cookies to Extend Shelf Life

The easiest way to prolong your cookies’ shelflife is to do the same thing you do for meats, seafood, and ice cream: freezethem. Freezing slows (or even halts) the growth of bacteria and mold on food.Most freezers also help prevent staleness by keeping a fairly stable level ofhumidity as well.

Want to give this method a shot? It’s simple.Lay your cookies out on a sheet and freeze them. Once they’re completelyfrozen, transfer them to a plastic container and return them to the freezer. Itdoesn’t get any simpler.

Of course, there’s a difference in the quality of frozen cookies based on how you handle them prior to freezing. The following tips will help you maintain higher-quality cookies upon freezing:

1. Wrap your cookies. Leaving your cookies on trays without a way to seal them will still expose them to oxygen and humidity fluctuations, which can make them go stale.
2. Never freeze cookies before they’re completely cool. This can cause freezer burn and may damage the texture of the cookie.
3. Remember that they can’t last forever. Most cookies will last at least 1 to 3 months in a freezer.
4. Cookies that are powdered, frosted, or have delicate flavors shouldn’t be frozen. The cold will just not work out well with their chemistry. In many cases, this can lead to a bland cookie.

Notes About Freezing Cookies

For the most part, freezing cookies as a way topreserve them will not harm the flavor or texture of the cookie. That beingsaid, there are some bakers who are not fans of freezing cookies due to thefact that defrosting cookies can cause condensation on the cookie that can harmtheir texture.

Freezing dough that you later use to make the cookies is often the best workaround for this issue. If you know that your cookie recipe makes a particularly large batch, your best bet is to think ahead and freeze a portion of the dough for a later batch. Not only will this reduce the chances of cookie failure, but it also will reduce the amount of storage space you need.

Make sure you use a freezer-safe container for storing cookies. Here is one (Amazon link) that works really well.

Method 2: Add Chemical Preservatives To Prolong Cookie Shelf Life

Preservatives were made with the intention ofmaking it easier to extend the shelf life of all foods for commercial purposesand storage purposes alike. You don’t have to be a pro baker to use them thesedays, either.

If you go online, you can find plenty of different preservatives to choose from. Most cookies will work fairly well with citric acid, a naturally-occurring compound found in citrus fruits. The acidity slows both mold and bacteria growthBHT, another common bakery additive, is a close second.

Most preservatives are best used by simplyadding a small amount to the dough before you cook your goodies. That beingsaid, some tips can help you bolster your success rate with this option:

1. Follow the instructions you find on your preservative package, or ask a pro. Preservatives are generally not dangerous, but using too many of them can make the dough a little wonky. It’s a good idea to look for professional advice on the preservatives you’re using.
2. Taste test the dough and do a trial run. Some cookies just don’t take well to preservatives. It’s better to do a taste test on a small batch before you make a larger mistake!
3. Read up on the preservatives you pick. Some will only add days to your cookies’ lifespans, while others can keep them for weeks.

Notes About Adding Chemical Preservatives To Cookies

As more studies than ever before reveal the dangers of chemicals originally deemed safe, people are starting to grow increasingly suspicious of preservatives. BHT, for example, is now under scrutiny due to alleged health risks.

If you are concerned about potential exposure to harmful chemicals, it’s understandable why you may want to avoid this technique. That being said, no studies have shown citric acid to be anything other than safe for human consumption. So, if health is a concern, it’s best to stick to that preservative.

Method 3: Vacuum Pack Cookies to Extend Shelf Life

The lead reason why food goes stale or starts torot is exposure to oxygen. By removing oxygen from the food’s environment, youmake it possible to extend its shelf life impeccably. That’s why delicate foodslike guacamole are sold in vacuum packs, after all.

Vacuum sealing your food used to be something only commercial groups could do, but that’s not the case anymore. You can actually get a vacuum sealer, like this one from Amazon, for personal use plus the supplies you need.

This is also one of the best long-term foodsolutions on the market. You can expect your vacuum-sealed cookies to lastaround 2 to 3 years.

Method 4: Add Raisins to Cookies to Extend Shelf Life

Did you ever wonder how bakers managed to make food last in the days before refrigeration and chemical preservatives? The truth is, it involved a lot of experimentation. That experimentation resulted in a strange discovery: raisins are a natural preservative.

Pretty much any cookie that has raisins added to them will last for two weeks without growing mold or getting stale. That’s not a bad increase in lifespan, considering how natural and old-school this particular method is.

That being said, there are some tips that canmake the “raisin trick” work better for your recipes:

1. Use common sense. Not all cookies should have raisins in them, nor will all cookies work with them. Don’t add raisins to a recipe that would get ruined by them.

1. Add around 1/10th of the weight of the flour you used. A lot of preservation additive use, even when it comes to older options, involves proportions. A cookie that has around 10 percent of its flour weight in raisins is a cookie that will keep longer.

1. Use golden raisins. Golden raisins have sulfur dioxide in them due to the way they were preserved. This is what makes raisins a natural preservative. Most other raisins don’t have this compound and won’t work.

Among bakers and food enthusiasts, it’s a known fact that honey has no expiration date. Sugar, on the other hand, does. What a lot of savvy bakers used to do is add honey as a sweetener that doubles as a preservative. It’s a trick that has been used for thousands of years.

Method 5: Add Honey to Cookies to Extend Shelf Life

This natural preservative has mixed results, but most bakers will see a difference in shelf life after switching 20 percent of the sugar in a recipe for honey. That being said, there are some tips that you can use to make this work for your cookies:

1. Keep some of your sugar in there. The majority of your cookie dough’s sweetness should still come from sugar. Just a tablespoon or so of honey in a typical batch is enough to help preserve it.

1. Use common sense. Honey can’t really work as an additive in all cookie recipes. If it’s a recipe that can’t handle honey, such as meringues, you’re better off skipping this option for something else.

1. Taste test the dough. Honey and sugar have different levels of sweetness. You don’t want your cookies to taste too sweet or not sweet enough, so a taste is a good idea.

Method 6: Use Salted Butter When Baking Cookies to Extend Shelf Life

If you’re not totally in the mood to drasticallyalter your cookies’ recipes with raisins or honey, you’re in luck. There’s aneasy way to extend the shelf life of your cookies without an overtly noticeablechange in flavor. Just switch your unsalted butter with a salted version.

Butter can go “off” pretty quickly in cookies,but only if it’s unsalted. Salt is a known preservative. In fact, it’s one ofthe oldest preservatives in history. Even a little bit of salt can extend theshelf life of fresh-baked cookies for a couple of days. Better still, the saltis barely tasteable.

In terms of short-term preservation, this is a great choice. Obviously, if your cookie recipe doesn’t really work well with butter of any type, this won’t be a viable option. Even so, recipes like that are rare and are more an exception than the rule.

Method 7: Store Cookies in an Air Tight Container to Keep Them Fresh

Let’s say that you’re not really looking for avery long-term way to extend your cookies’ shelf life. Let’s say that you wantto be able to sink your teeth into their sweetness whenever you want, withoutthe worry of soggy or stale cookies. That’s okay; there are ways around it.

The way this works is very simple. Closed containers prevent exposure to oxygen in large amounts and can keep moisture or dry air from changing the texture of the cookies. It also can help prevent mold from forming, but that’s more of a secondary effect.

These quick tips will help you make the most of your container storage:

1. Use an airtight container. This seems like it’s common sense, but it’s always worth pointing out once more. I like to use this type to keep my cookies fresh. They are nothing fancy but they do the job very well.
2. Consider adding a secondary preservative method, too. Container storage alone is great, but combining it with other methods will make this method twice or even three times as effective.
3. Choose your container add-ins wisely if you’re using them. Oxygen absorption works well if you want to keep cookies crunchy, while CO2 pads will keep chewy cookies moist.

Unlike most of the other shelf-life preservationoptions, using a container to block cookies off from the environment is greatfor every type of recipe. When in doubt, using this method will serve youbest.

Method 8: Use a CO2 Pad to Keep Cookies Fresh

If you haven’t noticed, most of the methods thatwere discussed so far involve an active effort to help reduce your cookies’exposure to oxygen. Oxygen promotes microbial and fungal growth, and can alsocause cookies to dry out. Reducing the amount of oxygen near cookies is smart,which is why CO2 pads are now popular preservation products.

CO2 pads, like these on Amazon, emit carbon dioxide that displaces the oxygen around food. Placing one in a container with your cookies can help extend shelf life for up to three weeks.

If you’re worried about safety from chemicalswhile keeping delicate cookie flavors intact, this is a great choice. Generallyspeaking, this choice doesn’t change cookie flavor or texture. Since it doesn’tinvolve chemical additives, CO2 pads are also seen as a chemical-free option byfood health gurus.

Method 9: Use An Oxygen Absorber Packet to Extend Cookie Shelf Life

If you’ve ever opened up a packet of beef jerky or dried fruit, chances are that you’ve seen oxygen absorber packets placed in the bottom of the bag. This is done for shelf life extension purposes and works by getting rid of the oxygen that encourages rotting.

Chefs concerned about mold growth might want togive these a try as well. These packets also prevent mold formation byabsorbing water molecules in the local environment, which makes the containerholding the cookies fairly inhospitable to mold spores.

The length of time these packets will extendcookie shelf life varies, but it’s generally seen as a good add-on for regularcontainer storage. The only thing you should watch out for is using this methodwith cookies that need to retain moisture. Since the packets dry outsurroundings, this could potentially make your baked goods a little dry.

Method 10: Use a UV-C Lamp to Preserve Cookies

UV-C rays don’t only kill off bacteria that cause cookies and bread to rot, but also change the surface of the cookie so that mold and other pathogens can’t grow on it. This chemical-free preservation option is effective enough to be used for large-scale commercial purposes.

That being said, getting a UV-C lamp isn’t very easy to do if you are just a home baker who wants to save a couple of cookies. UV-C lamps are fairly expensive (See Prices on Amazon), with a typical preservation lamp sometimes costing hundreds of dollars.

It’s also worth pointing out that directly exposing yourself to UV-C light can cause fairly painful burns to your skin. If you are sensitive to light, using this option might not be the best choice.

Related Questions

How long can you keep homemade cookies? Stored loosely in a clean container, homemade cookies are typically good for between 2 and 3 weeks.

Can old cookies make you sick? Cookies past expiration date will taste stale but will not typically cause illness as long as the oils within the cookies have not gone rancid.

How do you freshen stale cookies? Steaming stale cookies in a microwave by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and microwaving it for 10 seconds is a common and effective way to freshen a stale cookie.

For more, check out Does Cake Need to Be Refrigerated? | How to Store All Types.