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Four-Year Cookie Experiment

Four-Year Cookie Experiment
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Ancient history:
I made this cherry chocolate chip oatmeal cookie dough on 11/12/2006, one of three batches of cookies made in preparation for Thanksgiving 2006.  The other two cookie dough logs were actually used that year, while this one sank into obscurity at the bottom of my chest freezer.  A few weeks ago it resurfaced as I was reorganizing the chest freezer in preparation for a new influx of frozen meat.  These are the results of my forensic experiments.

Initial observations:
The cookie dough log was wrapped in plastic wrap, then covered in aluminum foil.  Thankfully, I'd thoroughly labeled and dated the log, so it was clear the thing was over four years old.  There was neither visible freezer burn (it would have appeared as dry, white patches on the surface of the dough) nor ice crystals.  It was clearly in pretty good shape, so I dragged it into HQ for proper examination.

Further studies:
Slicing into the frozen cookie dough log was challenging, but it came apart in chunks instead of clean slices because the dough was too dry. This condition was the same throughout the log, so I blame the recipe (or lack thereof - I usually make cookies by feel) and its overabundance of oats for an excessively dry dough.  I vaguely remember that the other cookie batches made at the same time were too heavy on the oats as well, and thus somewhat dry.

I baked the cookie chunks in a low 300F oven to give them more time to spread, but due to the firmness/dryness of the dough they retained most of their original shape.  They colored nicely in the oven, and had a good if slightly crumbly texture.  Testers at HQ were suspicious at first, but after an initial cautious sample ate them enthusiastically.  They'd be totally perfect dunked in milk.

Conclusion:
A fat-based cookie dough, properly packaged, can survive virtually unchanged for years in the freezer.  Make some now, and be prepared for the upcoming zombie apocalypse.

23 comments
Mar 9, 2011. 1:42 PMSterLuMan says:
The fourth pic looks like a big piece of poo... sorry, i just had to say it...
Mar 21, 2011. 12:14 PMSterLuMan says:
lol, i can only imagine... (i meant to say 'fifth piture' not forth) :D
Mar 9, 2011. 6:31 AMTomcat94 says:
You can do the same thing with Spice Rolls. We have some spice rolls from three years ago in the freezer, and every now and again, we take it out, and it still tastes just as great as when it was first baked. :D
Mar 20, 2011. 5:09 PMTomcat94 says:
That's a good point. I haven't made an instructable in a while, so I should make a spice rolls instructable whenever I'm not at the dorms. :)
Mar 18, 2011. 7:38 PMehudwill says:
This is kind of scary...
Mar 9, 2011. 4:01 AMthingy says:
Like Ted Williams' head!!!
Mar 14, 2011. 6:41 AMMongpoovian says:
This is awesome - cookies and self experimentation, who could ask for more?
Mar 12, 2011. 4:19 PMbonfire817 says:
AWESOME! I was wondering how to have fresh baked cookies after the Zombie Apocolypse!
Mar 8, 2011. 11:02 PMcaarntedd says:
This is awesome. I'm well known for using myself as a guinea pig when food of doubtful age appears from the depths of the fridge/freezer. I usually win. The food wins occasionally. My wife usually roots for the food. I consider it a challenge. (I'm saving a jar of strawberry jam that went past it's 'use by' date in1998). For noobs: steer clear of out of date yoghurt unless experienced.
Mar 9, 2011. 3:37 PMcaarntedd says:
Ha, ha! I'm showing this article to my wife! Thanks.
Mar 9, 2011. 8:18 AMeagleapex says:
How I want a cookie
Mar 9, 2011. 10:01 AMIvyHunter says:
What about stuffing for stuffed mushrooms that as been in the freezer, in Tupperware, since Thanksgiving 2009? No dairy products, just bread crumbs, tomato sauce, olive oil and seasonings.
Mar 8, 2011. 3:45 PMcaitlinsdad says:
Does this provide basis for the theory that if we can find frozen cookie DNA in the frozen tundra somewhere and possibly clone it, thus in turn prove that Paleo man became extinct because he became a couch potato and his diet really consisted of just milk and cookies?
Mar 8, 2011. 8:24 PMhlfwy.thr says:
Haha... If I found frozen cookie DNA, my hypothesis would be that a massive batch of cookies were laced rather nasty microbes (whose DNA you found), but because they were so incredibly delish, they were shared amongst all the Paleo men....thus leading to their eventual demise. But your theory could work too :)
Mar 8, 2011. 6:18 PMjlipimpski says:
This made my day
Mar 8, 2011. 4:26 PMhappyjo says:
Awesome! :D
Mar 8, 2011. 3:16 PMJayefuu says:
That's good to know! Should the title not be "Four-Year Cookie Accident" though? ;)

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