I love cookies. A lot. Maybe even too much, if we’re talking about cookies with chocolate chips. I like to bake cookies, but then I eat them. All of them.
I’ve tried hiding them in the freezer, but then I feel compelled to eat one (or three) every time I go in the laundry room. You could consider it motivation to do laundry, but the truth of the matter is I eat all the cookies.
A year or two ago it occured to me that while I like to nibble cookie dough when I bake, I would probably leave frozen cookie dough alone. So far this has held true. Now when I mix up cookie dough I freeze most of it in little ready-to-bake balls like this:

Aren’t they cute? My mom gave me the little OXO scoop a few years ago and it’s the fastest way I know to make drop cookies! Once the balls are frozen, I move them from the baking sheet to a bag or other container. Then, when the cookie monster simply must be fed, I can bake as many or as few as I need:

I don’t usually thaw the dough balls, other than the amount of time it takes for my oven to preheat. So they might need to bake a little longer than fresh dough. . .I’ve never figured out exactly how much longer, I just bake them until they look good.
I’ve done this with all sorts of drop cookie recipes, but below is the yummy recipe shown in my pictures. It’s marked as coming from Taste of Home, year unknown~I’m pretty sure I remember making these 2 or 3 kitchens ago, so it must have been published in the late 1990s.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup oats (I use old fashioned because that’s what I buy. . .in 50# bags!)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (try the Ghiradelli chips just once & you’ll never go back to Nestle with its artificial vanilla)
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars; beat in peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Combine flour, oats, soda, and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets. (For freezing, I line a rimmed pan with waxed paper) Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute before removing to rack.
Enjoy!