cbad, I freeze cookie dough every year, everything from peanut butter to chocolate chip to molasses and they all bake up fine. I usually portion out the dough into "balls" and freeze them on a baking sheet, then put the frozen dough balls into bags. I just take them out and place them on a sheet, thaw them and bake when I need them. Frosted cookies and filled cookies, as Nancedar mentioned, do not freeze well. I would not bake cookies a week in advance, I'd go for two days, three max, if I were going to bake ahead. I'm experimenting right now myself with white/yellow cake for Ashley's wedding cake. The fiancee only likes plain white/yellow cake, and I don't usually bake that. I like Pixiestix hot milk cake a lot, and it might end up being Ashley's wedding cake too, it was mine. First, though, I'm going to bake Readinglady's buttermilk cake, she sent me a recipe. Ashley and Kevin get to sample every single one too, LOL. Anyway, here is Pixistix' hot milk cake, it's plain and not too sweet, and stand up to icing and stacking. I really like the brown sugar icing too, although some people have mentioned that it's "gritty" from the brown sugar. I like the crunchy sugar texture, though, so it's all good by me. Hot Milk Cake - Pixitix Old fasioned, simple, melts in you mouth! 4 eggs 2cups sugar 2 1/4 cups flour 2 1/4 tsp. bakiing powder 1 tsp. vanilla 1 1/4 cups milk 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter Beat eggs and sugar well. Combine flour with bk. powder and add to egg mixture along with vanilla. Heat milk and butter together until butter melts: gradually add to batter, beating until well blended. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Topping from the daughter of CindyNY Brown Sugar Topping 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup whipping cream 1 T unsalted butter 3/4 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup chopped pecans Combine the brown sugar, whipping cream & butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Let stand 10 minutes. Whisk until of spreading consistency. Stir in the pecans. Spread over the brownies or cake. Let stand 1 hour or until set. Serve cold or at room temperature. Makes enough for an 8x8 pan. Just a note, the topping seems pretty runny when you put it on the cake, but it sets right up when cool, so don't worry, Note from jude: I doubled the topping recipe since I was making the cake in a 9x13 pan. Annie

Here are some that I freeze often. Touch of Lemon Sugar Cookies Source: Pillsbury "Cookies, Cookies & More Cookies" 1980 2 c sugar 1 c butter, softened 1T grated lemon peel c lemon juice 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs 3-1/4 c AP flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp soda 1 tsp cream of tartar Sugar Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, lemon peel, lemon juice, vanilla and eggs. Cream until smooth. Lightly spoon floour into measuring cup and level off. Stir in flour, salt, soda and cream of tartar until well blended. Shape dough into 1" balls, roll in sugar and place two inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. (Cookies will be soft in center). Makes 4-5 dozen cookies Basic Shortbreads 1 1/4 c AP flour 3 T sugar 1/2 c butter Mix sugar and flour, cut in butter until fine crumbs and it starts to stick to itself. For Elfin Bites, stir in 2 T of Candy Ball Sprinkles. Pat dough out on a non greased cookie sheet into a 8x5" rectangle. Cut into 1/2 cubes and seperate. Bake at 325F for about 8\-10 minutes or until bottoms just start to brown. Cool on wire rack that has a sheet of wax paper over it.(Just in case they thought about falling through the "cracks".) For Cherry Shortbread, (pictured above) stir in a 1/2 c of drained well finely chopped Maraschino cherries. Once additives are in, knead until a dough is formed. Roll dough out on floured surface to 1/2" thick, cut out with 1 1/2\-2" heart cutter. Bake at 325F for 20\-25 minutes or until bottoms just turn light brown. Cool. Melt together 1 c semi sweet chocolate chips and 2 t sortening. Dip half of the cookie or drizzle. let set on wax paper to firm. Posted 12/06 by Terri\_pacnw Chocolate Walnut Crumb Bars 1 c butter, softened 2 c all purpose flour ½ c granulated sugar ¼ tsp salt 2 c Nestle semi sweet chocolate chips, divided 1-1/4 c (14 oz can) Sweetened Condensed milk 1 tsp vanilla 1 c walnuts, chopped Beat butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in flour, sugar and salt until crumbly. With floured fingers, press 2 cups of crumb mixture into greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Reserve remaining crumb mixture. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350F or until edges are browned. Warm 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips and milk in small, heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in vanilla, spread over hot crust. Stir walnuts and remaining chips into reserved crumb mixture, sprinkle over chocolate filling. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350F or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen bars Holiday Biscotti Source: Giada DeLaurentis 2 cups all\-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped 2/3 cup dried cranberries 12 ounces good\-quality white chocolate, chopped Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries. Form the dough into a 13\-inch long, 3\-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4\-inch\-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely. Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes. The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks. Linda

I found these recipes in a book I'm giving to my daughter for Christmas...The Ultimate Short Cut Cookie Book. You may also want to check the web site of the brand of toffee bits you have used to see if they have a recipe. -Grainlady CASHEW BRICKLE COOKIES 1 (16.5-oz.) roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough 1 c. chopped lightly salted, roasted cashews 1/2 c. almond toffee baking bits Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Spray two cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Cut cookie dough in half. Roll out half of the dough between two sheets of wax paper to form a 10x6-inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of wax paper. Invert dough onto one of the prepared cookie sheets. Remove remaining sheet of wax paper. Sprinkle dough evenly with half of the nuts and half of the toffee bits. Repeat with remaining dough, nuts, and toffee bits on second cookie sheet. Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Cool on cookie sheets on a wire rack. Remove cookies to cutting board using two spatulas. Use a sharp knife to cut cooled cookies into irregular shapes. Makes about 42 cookies. ALMOND TOFFEE BARS 1 (16.5-oz.) roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough, well chilled 1 c. semisweet (or milk) chocolate chips 1 c. toffee baking bits 1 c. sliced (or chopped) almonds 1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Spray a 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray or line with foil. Cut cookie dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in bottom of the prepared pan. With floured fingers, press dough evenly to form crust. Sprinkle the chocolate chips, toffee bits, and almonds evenly over prepared crust. Drizzle evenly with sweetened condensed milk. Bake 25-28 minutes or until edges are bubbly and center is just lightly browned. Remove from oven and immediately run a narrow metal spatula or table knife around edges of pan to loosen. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack; cut into bars. Makes 36 bars.

You can start baking now. Properly stored, butter-based cookies will be fine for Christmas. When I used to work at a bakery, they baked all the Christmas cookies the Monday after Thanksgiving. They were put in cardboard box bottoms, one flavor to a box, then slid into plastic bags and twist-tied shut and stored at room temperature. They were fine at Christmas--perfectly fresh and flavorful. And this was a very high-end, EXPENSIVE bakery (they didn't use preservatives, either) If you're still worried, however, make your doughs and freeze. Then, when you need cookies, just scoop out as many as you need using a heavy-duty metal cookie scoop. They actually bake up better when frozen. DD and I have a 'cookie day' planned for Friday. She's taking the day off. We'll be making: Chocolate chip Pecan cookies, Whole Wheat with white chocolate and cranberries, Peanut butter cookies with toffee bits; chocolate cookies with marzipan centers; chocolate covered pretzels; chocolate covered Ritz peanut butter crackers with toffee bits. Maybe a few others.