How to Reheat Cookies (A complete guide)

Nothing beats the taste of soft, warm, and chewy cookies fresh out of the oven. If you’ve got some leftover cookies in the fridge, the taste is bound to pale in comparison. But no one has time to bake fresh batches of cookies every day. So, knowing how to reheat cookies is an important skill if you want to have them piping hot every time. 

You can reheat them using the microwave, oven, pan, a lunch bag, and using various other methods. After reheating the cookies, you want them to come out with a soft and chewy texture. They should be similar to how they would be when they were first taken out of the oven. 

There are various other ways you can reheat your cookies. And in this article, I will try to explain all of them in as much detail as I can. I’m also going to talk about reheating frozen and store-bought cookies as a bonus. So, cookie lovers, without further ado, let’s get right to it.  

Methods of Reheating Cookies 

Cookies are the best sweet treats for everyone- children and adults alike. The taste of freshly baked cookies can’t be compared to any other snack. But no one has the time to bake cookies every day. You could bake some extra batches of cookies in your free time to store them for later. 

But they will not taste the same as the ones that are freshly baked. But, with the proper reheating methods, they will taste just as good.

There are several methods to reheat cookies. All of them are pretty quick and simple to follow. Let’s look at all of the methods to find out which one is the most convenient for you.

Reheating Cookies in a Microwave

A microwave oven is one of the quickest and most convenient ways to get your cookies reheated. It is a very simple method. Chances are, you have tried to do it yourself to get your cookies reheated. But not doing it properly may result in your cookies getting super dry. But if you know the right method, you will get to enjoy the best bite of warm and ooey-gooey cookies. 

The few simple steps to reheat your cookies in a microwave are:

• Take a paper towel soaked in water. Squeeze out as much water as you can.
• Wrap your cookies with a wet towel before you put them in the microwave container. Make sure both sides of the cookies’ are against the towel. 
• Reheat the cookies for 20 to 30 seconds.
• Take them out of the microwave. Take out the warm and steaming cookies from the towel. Enjoy the taste of warm and delicious cookies. 

The trick here is keeping a source of moisture to help rehydrate your cookies. If you don’t want to go over the extra fuss of soaking the paper towel or just don’t have any on hand, you can skip it. Instead, microwave your cookies with a glass of water. The glass of water can provide the extra source of moisture that saves your cookie from becoming dry like a hockey puck. 

Reheating Cookies in an Oven

You can also use your oven to reheat your cookies to make them warm and chewy again. This method is another simple method. But this may take you a few extra minutes to get done. The trick here is to just get them warm again rather than baking them all over again. The steps you need to follow are- 

• Preheat your oven to 350°F.
• Place your cookies in an oven-safe container. You could also place them on a baking sheet.
• Keep the cookies inside of your oven. Let them get heated for about 5 to 10 minutes. 
• Take out the cookies carefully. Enjoy the deliciously warm and chewy cookies.

Reheating Cookies in a Pan

This method of reheating cookies involves using a good old frying pan. We all have a frying pan at our home. So this can be a quick solution for many. This method is quite fast as well. So if you cannot wait to bite into these gooey delicacies, your cookies are sure to get heated in an iffy. The size of the pan should be as big as the number of cookies you want to heat up. 

The steps you need to follow are:

• Place your frying pan over low heat. Get the pan to increase its temperature slightly. The heat should always be low or else the cookies will lose all their moisture. 
• Take some aluminum foil. Wrap up your cookies in aluminum foil.
• Place the cookies on top of the heated pan. 
• Cover the cookies with a lid. This way the heat will get distributed equally in the pan. 
• Keep the cookies in the pan for about a minute. 
• Take the cookies off after a minute. Take them out of the foil. Enjoy your warm, chewy, and gooey goodies. 

Reheating Cookies with a Lunch Bag

You can reheat your cookies with a lunch bag as well. But with this method, you need to use the microwave oven as the source of heat. You are using the lunch bag instead of the container or baking sheets. The steps you need to go through are:

• Sprinkle a few drops of water into your cookies. Do not overdo it with the water. They might end up soaking wet and no one wants to taste soggy cookies.
• Place your cookies in a lunch bag. But the bag shouldn’t be filled too much. 
• Seal the lunch bag properly. Place the lunch bag in your microwave oven. 
• The cookies should be heated for about 5 to 10 minutes. 
• Take out the lunch bag to enjoy warm and chewy cookies. 

Reheating Cookies with Butter or Oil

Reheating your cookies with butter or oil is not a well-known method. This technique is recommended to use if you left your cookies in the refrigerator overnight. You could use butter or oil for this method. The type of butter you want to go with depends on your preference. Many choose to use olive oil as it gives the cookies a bit more flavor.

The pan you want to use should be a non-stick pan. The steps you need to follow are:

• Place your pan on the stove with low heat. Add a bit of oil or butter to the pan. 
• After the oil or butter has heated up some, add your cookies. 
• Turn the cookies to the other side after every 20 seconds. Do this for about 2 minutes for each cookie. 
• Serve those warm and tasty cookies on a plate afterward. 

Add Moisture For Instant Chewy Cookies (Bonus Method) 

Now if you don’t want to bother with reheating and just want to get some chewy or delicious cookies fast, then you can try remoisturizing them with some sort of liquid. 

This method will not necessarily heat your cookies. But this is a good alternative if you don’t want to deal with the extra steps of preheating or using paper towels. Your cookies won’t end up tasting fresh out of the oven or better if that is even possible for leftover cookies. But they will still taste good for salvaging with a splash of honey or syrup.  

So if you just don’t want to go through the extra fuss for reheating, this can be an easy technique. The steps are below: 

• Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking tray or a plate. Place the cookies on the paper upside down. This helps with easy cleaning up the fallen crumbs from the cookies.
• Take your choice of honey or syrup. Drizzle it on top of the bottom part of the cookies. 
• Let the cookies absorb the sweet liquid. Sit them like that for about 10 minutes. 
• Chow down the cookies as fast as possible. 

This technique might not be quite the same as reheating your cookies. But if you need some quick method to finish your almost gone-stale cookies, this will surely prove to be handy. The honey or syrup you add will not only provide a source of moisture, but also a lot of flavors. 

Some Tips for Reheating Cookies

While reheating your cookies you must consider a few things to get the best results. Here are some tips that I’ve learned over the years. I’m sure they’ll come to your aid as well. 

• Keep a source of moisture before you pop your cookies in the microwave oven. You can use a wet paper towel or keep a glass of water in there when you are reheating. If you don’t give an extra source for moisture, your cookies will get too dry to bite into. Microwaves heat food by jostling around the water content in them. 

Cookies already have low water content and are quite dry. When you microwave them, they will simply become even dryer. You will only find the microwave melting the chocolate chunks of the cookies and not doing much help for the cookie.

• Be mindful of the number of cookies you put in the microwavable container. If you fill it with too many cookies, they won’t heat up properly. 

• When you are reheating your cookies in an oven, keep in mind to preheat the oven first. Preheating the oven ensures even distribution of heat to your cookies. This way your cookies will be evenly heated throughout. You can preheat the oven to about 350°F.

• You can buy a food thermometer if you can’t be sure about your oven’s temperature. It’s sure to be useful in the kitchen. I’d say it’s worth investing in one. 

Can You Reheat Frozen Cookies?

Of course, you can reheat your frozen cookies. It’s a better choice even. Reheated frozen cookies taste amazing and are a lot better than simply reheated ones. As a bonus, they last quite long as well. It’s a great option if you have made a bit too many cookies. With the cookies stored in your freezer, you just have to take them out and defrost them. 

If you are ready to defrost your cookies, take them out of their ziplock bags. You are taking them out of the bag because they can get soggy or get condensation. This can happen if you leave them to defrost in the same packaging used to freeze them. 

Now you need to let them thaw out to room temperature before you reheat them. You won’t need to do much to thaw out your cookies. They will thaw well if you just let them be on a serving dish. 

To reheat your cookies, you can use the oven. Many bakers prefer it this way as well. The oven can help the cookies keep their crispness while staying moist as well. Place your batch of cookies on a sheet. Bake your cookies for about 5 to 10 minutes at 300 degrees. You could also microwave them for 30 seconds if you are short on time. 

Can You Reheat Store Bought Cookies? 

Yes, you can reheat store-bought cookies. But, you need to consider remoisturizing it as well for the best results. 

Store-bought cookies tend to be a bit more dry compared to home-baked ones. This is to prolong their shelf life as moisture can allow the growth of bacteria spoiling the food. So, moisturizing is a must to get that chewy texture. 

The best way you can reheat your store-bought cookies is by using the microwave. Wrap your cookies in a damp paper towel and then put them in the microwave. Reheat them for about fifteen to twenty seconds at medium heat. That should get them nice, warm, and chewy. 

How Can You Best Store Cookies For Later Consumption?

Whether it be for everyday enjoyment or holidays, you may have some extra cookies on hand. Before knowing how to reheat them properly, you need to know how to store them as well. If you don’t store them the right way, they will taste bad no matter how good of a method you use to reheat them. 

Cookies won’t last for a long time if you don’t store them right. At room temperature, your baked goods will last for about five days. The cookies will still need to be stored correctly to last so many days. If you store your cookies correctly in the freezer, they can last up to 6 months. Here’s how you can store them properly-

• Store your cookies only after they have cooled down completely. If they are not cooled down properly, the trapped heat can cause condensation. This way, the cookies will eventually get ruined. So make sure that the cookies are cool to the touch before you store them.

• If you have different types of cookies you want to store, keep them in a separate container. Otherwise, the different types of cookies can blend in with flavor. The softer cookies will also cause the harder ones. So it’s best to keep your different types of cookies separate. 

• Store your cookies in a cool and dry place. If you want to store them for a longer time, the best idea is to freeze them. They can last up to 6 months. 

• Using the right container can be all you need to store your cookies. With an airtight container, your cookies will stay crisp and fresh for longer. For extra caution, you can keep them in a sealed plastic bag before placing them in the airtight container. 

• Store your cookies without any decoration or frosting if possible. If you put them in the freezer with frosting or decorations, they might lose flavor or lose texture. Storing them without them will also keep your cookies cleaner. So put all the frosting or decorations after thawing them properly. 

• If you have baked your cookies with a plan to chow them down within the next few days, store them at room temperature. But do remember to keep them in an air-sealed container. This way they will stay fresh and taste amazing even after a few days. 

• It might be in your best interests to prevent the cookies from sticking to one another when you store them. As a quick solution to this problem, you might want to store the cookies in layers. 

Arrange your cookies in a layer and add a piece of wax paper or parchment paper in between layers. This way the cookies won’t have any chance to stick together.

Conclusion

Nothing can bring a smile to our faces faster than the bite of a warm and freshly baked cookie. It’s the best treat we can reward ourselves with. And with this guide on how to reheat cookies, you can now have warm cookies every day. 

Reheated cookies might not be the same as freshly baked ones. But they are still the next best thing. With an oven, microwave, a pan, and other simple kitchen tools we can easily reheat cookies in quick and simple ways. Also, don’t forget to properly store them after baking. Or not, they won’t taste good even if you reheat them..