Meet your eternally recipe for icebox slice & bake cookies: a flexible, buttery base cookie dough prepared for infinite taste variations. Whether or not you’re craving mint chocolate, raspberry, cookies & cream, maple pecan, or a buttery sugar cookie dipped in caramel and chocolate, this one dough has you lined.
Select your individual taste journey with this cookie recipe! Consider this as your mix-and-match playground for vacation cookie trays, gifting, or simple make-ahead baking.
Why You’ll Love Them
- Easy, fundamental substances
- Straightforward-to-follow 1-bowl recipe
- Buttery shortbread texture
- Mushy and thick within the facilities, crispy across the edges
- A fantastic make-ahead cookie recipe
- No rolling particular person dough balls—simply slice into rounds
- Infinitely adaptable!
I really like the slice-and-bake cookie methodology and you will discover extra variations on my web site, together with coconut-y Santa’s whiskers cookies, colourful sprinkle slice-and-bakes, cranberry orange icebox cookies, brown sugar shortbread cookies, and toasted hazelnut slice-and-bake cookies.
They Are Additionally Referred to as Icebox Cookies
They’re generally known as “icebox cookies” for a motive: chilling the cookie dough logs is important. Like pinwheel cookies (one other slice-and-bake cookie), the cookie dough may be very buttery and, with out time within the fridge, will bake into greasy puddles.
Consider the chilliness time as built-in comfort somewhat than delayed gratification—good for planning forward.
The cookie dough logs can hand around in the fridge for as much as 5 days, or you possibly can freeze them for even longer. Merely thaw within the fridge for an hour or two earlier than slicing and baking. Having some cookie dough within the freezer is such a time-saver in the course of the busy vacation season!
6 Components for the Base Cookie Dough
All very fundamental baking staples:
- Butter: Make sure that it’s correct room-temperature butter to begin.
- Sugar: We’re sweetening these cookies with each brown and white granulated sugar.
- Egg: 1 egg serves to bind all of the substances collectively.
- Vanilla: Key for taste.
- Flour: The bottom of our cookies.
- Salt: To steadiness the candy.
And, as an optionally available coating on the cookies, use coarse sugar equivalent to glowing sugar sprinkles or one thing like Sugar within the Uncooked. It supplies a little bit additional sparkle and crunch.
Let Me Present You the Course of
That is all very simple. Make the cookie dough all in 1 bowl, after which divide it in half. It’s fairly creamy, so have a little bit additional flour readily available. In case your dough appears too sticky to roll, beat in one other 1–2 Tbsp of flour.
Form every portion right into a log (simply roll it) that’s about 8 inches lengthy, after which wrap up tightly and refrigerate for not less than 4 hours… however ideally longer. In a single day is nice, or they will chill within the fridge for as much as 5 days, or within the freezer for even longer.
After that, roll the dough logs within the coarse sugar. Slice every of the dough logs into 12 discs. They’re about 8 inches lengthy, so every cookie shall be a little bit thicker than 1/2 inch.
Prepare in your lined baking sheets and bake.
5 Slice and Bake Cookie Flavors
Every taste variation beneath, and within the recipe Notes, lists the add-ins and toppings you want for your complete batch of dough (each logs). Should you’d prefer to make multiple taste, put together a second batch of the bottom dough and customise every batch individually.
- Chocolate Caramel Toffee: Make the bottom cookie dough; no add-ins! After the cookies cool, dip them in thickened salted caramel, then melted semi-sweet chocolate, and garnish with toffee bits.
- Raspberry White Chocolate: To the bottom dough, you’ll add floor freeze-dried raspberries (after sifting out the seeds). After the cookies cool, drizzle them with melted white chocolate.
- Cookies & Cream: To the bottom dough, you’ll add crushed Oreo cookies. After the cookies cool, drizzle them with melted white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate, and garnish with extra crushed Oreos.
- Mint Chocolate Chip: To the bottom dough, you’ll add peppermint extract, finely chopped darkish chocolate, and a drop of inexperienced gel meals coloring (if desired). After the cookies cool, dip them in melted darkish or semi-sweet chocolate.
- Maple Pecan: Use darkish brown sugar within the dough (as an alternative of sunshine). Then add maple extract, cinnamon, and finely chopped pecans. Be happy to drizzle the cooled cookies with the maple icing we use on these maple brown sugar cookies!
Can I make greater than 1 taste from 1 batch of dough? Sure! Divide the dough in half in step 2 beneath and add half the flavour add-ins to every portion. Do the identical with any toppings.
This recipe is a part of my annual cookie countdown known as Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the largest, most scrumptious occasion of the 12 months! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza web page.
Description
These simple slice-and-bake icebox cookies begin with 1 versatile base dough that you would be able to flip into 5 scrumptious flavors: chocolate caramel toffee, raspberry white chocolate, cookies & cream, mint chocolate chip, and maple pecan. The dough mixes up in a single bowl, chills into neat logs, and bakes into buttery cookies with comfortable facilities and crisp edges. Excellent for gifting, holidays, or make-ahead baking!
Dough
Add-Ins & Toppings
Non-compulsory
- In a big bowl utilizing a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar collectively on medium-high velocity till mixed and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Right here’s a useful tutorial when you want steerage on how one can cream butter and sugar.) Beat within the egg and vanilla extract on excessive velocity. Scrape down the edges and up the underside of the bowl as wanted, and proceed to beat till totally mixed. Add the flour and salt and beat on low velocity till mixed.
- Lastly, beat within the chosen taste add-ins (see Notes) on low velocity till simply mixed. Keep away from overmixing—mix solely till the mix-ins are evenly distributed. The cookie dough shall be thick and barely sticky. If it appears too sticky to roll into logs, beat in 1–2 Tbsp extra flour.
- Flip the dough out onto a floured work floor and, with floured arms, divide or lower in half. Roll/form every half into an 8-inch log, about 2.5 inches in diameter. The measurements don’t need to be actual. Tightly wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and chill within the fridge for not less than 4 hours and as much as 5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line giant baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Put aside.
- Non-compulsory rolling in sugar: Pour sufficient coarse sugar on an 8-inch or bigger plate to cowl it. Roll the logs within the sugar. You could want to essentially press the dough logs down into the sugar if it’s probably not sticking. (I discover coating the dough logs in sugar after chilling a lot simpler, because the dough is simply too sticky to neatly roll in sugar proper after mixing.)
- Slice every dough log into 12 equally thick cookies and organize cookies on ready baking sheets about 2 inches aside.
- Bake the cookies for 13–quarter-hour or till very evenly brown across the edges (they received’t brown a lot). Take away from the oven and permit cookies to chill on the baking sheet for five minutes earlier than transferring to a cooling rack to chill fully.
- Dip or drizzle with melted chocolate and add toppings, if desired. See Flavors within the recipe Notes beneath.
- Cookies will keep contemporary lined at room temperature for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make-Forward Directions: Baked cookies, with or with out melted chocolate or caramel topping, freeze nicely for as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge and convey to room temperature earlier than serving. You may make the cookie dough logs, wrap, and chill within the fridge for as much as 5 days (step 3). Cookie dough logs freeze nicely too, as much as 3 months. Permit the wrapped logs to thaw in a single day within the fridge, then proceed with step 4.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Coarse Sugar | Cooling Rack
- (Taste 1) Chocolate Caramel Toffee: For this variation, observe step 2 precisely as written with no add-ins. Because the cookies bake, put together one batch of salted caramel sauce and let it thicken for about 1 hour, till it’s now not liquid. In step 8, dip every cooled cookie midway into the caramel, permit the surplus to drip off, and place the cookies on a lined tray. Refrigerate or freeze for 10–quarter-hour so the caramel units. Soften 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, dip the caramel-coated half into the chocolate, and end with flaky sea salt or toffee bits (equivalent to Heath Bits O’ Brickle).
- (Taste 2) Raspberry White Chocolate: Utilizing a meals processor, grind 1 cup (25g) freeze-dried raspberries. Sift out and discard the seeds. In step 2, beat the bottom raspberry powder into the dough. In step 8, soften 4 ounces of white chocolate, and drizzle over the cooled cookies.
- (Taste 3) Cookies & Cream: In step 2, beat 6 crushed Oreos (70g) into the dough. In step 8, soften 2 ounces of white chocolate and 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate (individually), and drizzle over the cooled cookies. Crush 2 extra Oreo cookies and sprinkle over the chocolate whereas it’s nonetheless moist.
- (Taste 4) Mint Chocolate Chip: In step 2, beat 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, 4 ounces (113g) finely chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, and 1 drop inexperienced gel meals coloring equivalent to Americolor Leaf Inexperienced (optionally available), into the dough. In step 8, soften 4 ounces of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate. Dip every cookie into chocolate.
- (Taste 5) Maple Pecan: In step 1, use darkish brown sugar as an alternative of sunshine brown. In step 2, beat 1 teaspoon maple extract, 1/2 teaspoon floor cinnamon, and 1 cup (100g) finely chopped pecans into the dough.Â
- Tips on how to Soften Chocolate / Finest Chocolate for Topping: Finely chop baking chocolate bars (sometimes 4 ounces/113g every). I favor Ghirardelli or Baker’s. Place in a heat-proof bowl or glass measuring cup. Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after every, till easy. Or use a double boiler.
- Can I Make Extra Than 1 Taste With 1 Batch of Dough? Sure! Divide the dough in half in step 2 and add half the flavour add-ins to every portion. Do the identical in step 8 with any toppings.
- Remember to take a look at my high 5 cookie baking suggestions AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking instruments.
