Exact Answer : 72 Hours
Cookie dough, originated in United States, is basically a mixture of all ingredients which are used to make cookies. Cookie dough can be prepared at home and even pre made doughs are also available in almost every local grocery stores.
Over the last couple of decades, cookies have gained a lot of popularity and can be consumed as desserts or even snacks. Cookie dough have a ton of varieties depending upon what type of cookie you want to make. while everyone has different choices and taste preference when it comes to eating a favorite cookie, chocolate chip cookie still remains on top being the most favorite one.
Though cookies can last for over months, but it is important to take care when it comes to cookie dough. it is so because, cookie dough are more exposed to catching bacteria which can result in spoiling of dough.
How Long Does Cookie Dough Last In Fridge?
| Type Of Cookie Dough | Time |
| Homemade Cookie Dough | 3 Days |
| Readymade Cookie Dough | 5 Days |
The shell life of cookie dough when kept in fridge depends on many factors like type of bread used, what all ingredients are used, amount of cookie dough, but majorly depends on the type of cookie dough. In general, the homemade cookie dough has a small shell life, whereas on the other hand, pre made cookie doughs can last long for a longer time.
Readymade Cookie Dough
The reason behind greater shelf life of pre made cookie doughs is that they have artificially added preservatives and other such substances, which are although unhealthy for health, but they increase the shelf life of these cookie dough. So, practically considering normal conditions, readymade cookie dough can last easily from 5 days to a week when kept in fridge.
The added preservatives play a vital role in making these last long in fridge. Moreover, if you are buying the readymade cookie dough then it is important to mark the last date mentioned in the packet and make sure to use the dough before that date.
Homemade Cookie Dough
Homemade cookie doughs can last in fridge from 3 to maximum of four days. It is so because these cookie doughs don’t have any artificially added preservatives or baker’s yeast which can increase the shelf life. However, you can add such substances to your homemade cookie dough if you want to increase the shelf life. Although, it is not recommended because such substances are not very healthy.
Since, these cookie doughs do not have any preservatives, they are much more reactive to harmful bacteria and all other germs present in the surroundings, so to increase the shelf life as much as possible, you can store them in a dry and airtight container so as to keep them away from moisture.
Why Does It Take That Long For Cookie Dough To Last In Fridge?
The main purpose behind keeping the cookie dough in fridge is to allow the flour to get completely hydrates, make the dough firmer and improve its consistency as well. When kept in fridge, the sugar in the cookie dough absorbs the moisture and thus results in cookie to turn brown in color and get caramelized. This whole process takes 12 hours to maximum of 24 hours. However, the cookie dough can easily go longer than 24 hours because of low temperature that is maintained in the refrigerator.
Moreover, keeping the dough in fridge also increases the shelf life of cookie dough and makes it last longer. Although, refrigerating the dough for too long can lead to rotten dough as well. So, if you are looking for a better way to prolong the shelf life of cookie dough then you can keep them in freezers, which can increase the shelf life from 1 week to a month.
Fun fact : Industrial freezers can prolong the shelf life of cookie dough to more than 6 months.
Prepared cookie dough needs to be refrigerated only to absorb a quite less amount of moisture. However, if kept in fridge for too long, the cookie dough becomes extremely moist and becomes more active to catch fungus. While in fridge for too long, the cookie dough becomes more exposed to bacteria which grow in moist area. When such doughs are used to make cookies, it can lead to serious health issues like food poisoning.
Conclusion
If you are planning to make cookies then it is important to make some great cookies, then it is important to make sure that you have enough time to take cookies out of the fridge at right time, that would be within 2 days. However, if you have the pre made cookie dough, then make sure to use the cookie dough within a week.
Moreover, you can add some preservatives to your to cookie dough if you want to prolong the shelf life of cookie dough. Apart from that, you can try other factors as well to increase the shelf life like, try to keep the temperature of the fridge as low as possible, don’t use much of dough softening agents or it might lead to faster growth of fungus, keep a dough in a dry place and in an airtight container to keep it away from moisture and the best you can do is to just simply keep the dough in freezer.
Also, always make sure to check the dough if its rotten or not before baking it to make cookies. You can know that by the smell of cookie dough, its color and its texture. If the dough has foul smell, green patches (signs of fungi growth) or becomes too hard then the cookie dough is not at all good. And it would be better to throw the dough away.
