Air frying frozen cookie dough has to be the greatest reason for owning an air fryer. Sure you can cook meals in the air fryer. But single-serve freshly baked cookies with no need to turn your oven on? Sold!
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Cookie dough is easy to freeze, and can be baked from frozen. I love to air fry frozen cookie dough, because it is super quick compared to oven baking as there is no need to wait for the oven to preheat. This means you can just make a small batch, and have freshly baked cookies every time.
Tip 1: Cook from frozen
There is no need to defrost the frozen cookie dough before you bake it in the air fryer, however, if you have a frozen dough ball then it will keep its shape when air fried much more than it would if baked in a conventional oven, so expect some tall round cookies. They will still be just as delicious!
Tip 2: Use a pan
It is best to air fry frozen cookie dough in a small pan rather than directly in the air fryer basket, as it would melt onto the wires before it cooked through.
Alternatively, you could use foil or baking paper, but this is not recommended for all air fryers, so please check your air fryer manual to see if it’s OK before you try that!
How to Bake Frozen Cookie Dough in the Air Fryer
Ingredients
- Frozen cookie dough balls approx 1.5 tablespoons size
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 320°F / 160°C.
- Arrange frozen cookie dough balls on a small cookie sheet or baking pan. You can bake as many as you like, but leave approximately an inch between dough balls.
- Place baking pan into air fryer basket, and air frozen cookie dough 8-15 minutes. The exact time will depend on how large your cookie dough balls are, and how crisp you like them.
- Carefully remove the baking pan from the air fryer, leave cookies to cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and provided for informational purposes only.
Recommended equipment
Recommended tools
- Mini pans* (for baking individual cookies)
- Cookie scoop* (for making perfectly-sized cookie dough balls to freeze)
- Zip lock bags* for freezing cookie dough balls
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
My go-to air fryer chocolate chip cookie recipe makes approximately two batches of cookies, so I usually bake one batch, and freeze the second batch for cooking later (often individually).
To freeze cookie dough, shape the cookies as you would before baking (either roll flat and cut out, or roll into balls), place on a baking sheet as if you were going to bake them in the oven, but place them in your freezer instead.
Then, when they are frozen solid, remove the tray and place them into an airtight container or zip-lock freezer bags for easy storage in your freezer without taking up too much space.
Then when you are ready, you can air fry them straight from frozen either individually or as a whole batch.
FAQs & Tips
Can you cook frozen cookies in the air fryer?
Yes you can! Air frying is a great way to cook frozen cookies, and as a bonus it is quicker than oven baking as there is no need to wait for the oven to heat up!
Can you bake frozen cookie dough without thawing?
Yes you can bake frozen cookie dough without thawing it. However, be aware that cookie dough baked from frozen won’t ‘spread’ as much during baking, so your cookies may turn out a little thicker than if you baked them using fresh dough.
What temperature do you cook frozen cookie dough?
The recipe below requires a temperature of 320°F (160°C), but if you are following another recipe or packet instructions, then reduce the required temperature by around 20°F.
Should I Air Fry Frozen Cookies on Parchment?
It is fine to use parchment in some brands of air fryer, but others do not recommend it. Please check your air fryer manual to confirm.
