Instructions: 1) Most sugar cookie and refrigerator cookie recipes work well for freezing.

2. If you want fresh-baked taste, simply prepare refrigerator cookie dough, chill and slice now. Freeze sliced dough in layers on sheets of waxed paper until ready to use. (Cut sheets and slip into zipper-top bags.) When youre ready for the cookies, just arrange on cookie sheets, allow to thaw slightly, and bake as usual.

3. If you want to bake before freezing, it still works best to let baked cookies freeze in layers with waxed paper between. Then you can drop them into bags for easier storage. To avoid having other freezer flavors taint the cookies, drop the bag into an air-tight container (Tupperware, a cookie tin, etc.).
4. Ive always gotten the best results by waiting until cookies are thawed to ice/decorate. Otherwise, tiny ice crystals can melt and ruin your hard work! If youre worried about decorating so many cookies at once, consider using chocolate to drizzle or dip instead of icing. Alternatively, use a drizzled icing with sprinkles instead of time-consuming frosting.

5. If you want to be completely finished with some of your cookies ahead of time, consider some of the old-fashioned spice cookie recipes (like Pfefferneusse). Many are actually intended to improve with age, and can be stored in an air-tight tin for a couple of weeks or more.

6. You might want to substitute an interesting flavor of Biscotti for some of the cookies you had planned. You can make Biscotti now & store in an air-tight container for at least a couple of weeks (some kinds keep much longer - check your recipe). If you want to get fancy, you can drizzle each piece with white or dark chocolate, or dip half. Its not necessary, though...a pretty bow around a small bundle looks nice enough!

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.