Age Your Cookie Dough For Unbeatable Spiced Sweets

Freshly baked cookies are a tough treat to beat. The delicious dessert hits all of our senses — eliciting warmth and coziness. For spiced yet sweet cookies — like gingerbread cookies — the fragrance slaps your nostrils and tastebuds especially hard.

Once cookies cool off, they're still a treat. However, some of that ooey-gooey magic disappears. Over time, their flavor diminishes and they can seem more soft than chewy. Still, a homemade cookie is better than no cookie! But have you ever noticed that the cookies from bakeries are super chewy and taste better? There's a reason for that. It's not that someone else did the baking.

Unlike at home, bakeries and restaurants are likely to have made a large batch of cookie dough that lasts more than a single day's worth of cookie needs. Likely, that large cookie dough batch has been portioned into individual cookies that spend a few days in the fridge before baking. A big batch of cookies is efficient, but it might also be the secret to making perfect cookies.

Aging cookie dough has many benefits. First, the cold dough will hold its shape better than freshly made dough. Why? It's because the fat remains solid long enough for the structure of the cookie to set. Aging also gives the flour a chance to rehydrate itself, which yields a chewier cookie once baked. While being cooled, sugars in its doughy mixture absorb more liquid, which leads to a deeper golden brown crust. Overall, cookies baked from this aged dough process will have a more developed flavor, a crispy crust, and a chewy interior.

Depending on the cookie dough, the bulk batch can be kept in an airtight container. In this case, portion the cookies as you need them. For cookie dough that's too firm to be easily scooped, it's better to portion them before aging. In this case, once the cookie portions are firm, toss them into the freezer for up to a few months. Afterward, give these frozen dough balls some time to thaw in the fridge before moving onto the baking stage.

Aging dough overnight is great, but these benefits can start in as little as 30 minutes. If the dough starts to smell especially eggy, it's time to ditch that batch and begin anew. However, cookie dough can last as long as a week in the fridge.

There are a few cookie situations that won't benefit from being aged. But if you prefer thin, crispy cookies, bake them right away. The same policy goes for cookies that you want to be soft and cake-like.

Lebkuchen, on the other hand, is the poster child for aging cookie dough. These spiced cookies are a leveled-up version of gingerbread. A long rest before baking gives the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves plenty of time to bloom and fully express their spiciness. Lebkuchen dough has a long tradition of being aged for at least a day and up to a few weeks. Like with any cookie dough that gains a deeper flavor through aging, that difference is more evident with a fully flavored cookie.

In addition to all those spices, Lebkuchen recipes feature a heavy dose of almonds, molasses, and candied fruit like crystallized ginger. They're substantial and satisfying without being too sweet. Lebkuchen can be individual drop cookies or baked into a sheet to divvy up into chewy bars.

After baking Lebkuchen, it's best to give them some time before eating them. Why? It's because their flavor continues to improve for up to six to eight weeks. To keep them soft, an apple slice or marshmallow should be kept in an airtight container along with the cookies for the best storage potential.