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There are plenty of cookies out there whose mission in life is to be crisp, like Oreos or gingersnaps, or pizzelle, or biscotti. But because there are so many wonderfully soft cookies out there (looking at you chocolate chip), it’s important to know how to soften cookies.
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You can tell when it’s crossed over from its perfect fresh-out-of-the-oven tenderness to a crumbly roughness. Cookies, because of their size, are often susceptible to going stale fast, so they need to be kept in an airtight container, or in a baggie where the air has been squeezed out.
So, at the point where you can tell there is a rough texture to what was a soft, fresh cookie that’s now a bit crisp on the edges, you can use some of our tips and see if you can return that delicious cookie to its former glory.
I think the best way to soften a batch of cookies is to keep them in an airtight container with a slice or two of fresh bread. The moisture transfers from the bread to the cookie. It can take hours for this to work though.
If you just want one soft cookie right now, the microwave may work as long as you eat the cookie while it’s still warm. This is faster but the softness doesn’t last.
- Soften a batch of cookies with bread: Place a slice of fresh bread in a closed container with the cookies and check on them after several hours.
- Soften one cookie in the microwave: Set the cookie on a microwave-safe plate, cover it with a lightly damp paper towel, and heat it for about five seconds at a time.
Things not to do
- Don’t soak your cookies in water. While you may read this piece of advice online it does not work. If you soak your cookies in water, even for a few minutes they will swell up and likely turn to mush.
- Don’t leave your cookies in the oven for long. A few minutes in a warm oven can make a cookie soft again for a little while, but the softness fades as it cools, and leaving it in too long will dry it out even more.
Consider this first
If your cookies have been stored in the refrigerator, they are cold and therefore naturally going to be harder than they might otherwise be.
If they are plain, fully baked cookies, let them sit out at room temperature for a bit before you try any special process to soften them.
It is possible that your cookies will soften naturally after they come up to room temperature.
Cookies with cream cheese frosting or another filling that needs to stay cold should stay in the fridge. Follow the storage directions in the recipe for those.
It also helps to know what you’re starting with. These methods work best on cookies that were meant to be soft and have dried out. A cookie that was baked to be crisp won’t turn chewy, a badly overbaked cookie can only improve a little, and a burned cookie will still taste burned.
How to soften cookies using bread
This is one of those tricks to soften cookies that no one believes but actually works. Use it for plain, fully baked cookies without frosting or perishable fillings.
What you need:
- Slices of fresh plain white bread
- Airtight container with lid
How to soften cookies the easy way
Step 1: Layer the cookies in the container in a single layer.
Step 2: Place one or two slices of fresh white bread in the container next to the cookies, not under them, so the cookies don’t pick up damp spots.
Step 3: Cover the container tightly.
Step 4: Check the cookies every few hours. How long it takes depends on the cookie and how dry it is. Some soften in a few hours, and some need a full day.
Step 5: Once the cookies are as soft as you like, take the bread out.
If your cookies are not as soft as you would like after a day, check to see if the bread is now stale.
- If the bread is stale, replace the bread.
- Give the cookies a few more hours with the fresh bread and check them again.
- If after several more hours there’s no improvement, it’s possible the cookies are not able to soften. If they still taste good, crush them and use the crumbs for a pie crust or sprinkle them over ice cream.
How does this method work?
Cookies get hard because they lose moisture. Fresh white bread has a lot of moisture in it.
When you shut cookies in a container with fresh bread, the bread gives off moisture into the air inside the container, and the cookies absorb it.
This is why it is crucial to use fresh bread. Also, if you check on the cookies and the bread seems stale, that is a good indication that the process is working, but also that you need to switch out the bread.
Soften cookies in the microwave
If you only need to soften one cookie at a time and you plan to eat it right away, the microwave is a quick and easy method.
It is important to keep in mind that this method only works if you plan to eat the cookie right away. Once the cookie cools down, the softness usually goes with it. If you heat it too long, it can turn tough and dry.
So use this method when you’re ready to eat.
What you need:
- Microwave-safe plate
- Lightly damp paper towel or napkin (damp, not dripping)
- Microwave
- Cookie
How to soften cookies in the microwave:
Step 1: Set the cookie on the plate and cover it with the damp paper towel.
Step 2: Microwave on high for 5 seconds.
Step 3: Check to see if the cookie is soft. If it isn’t soft yet, heat it for another 5 seconds and check again. Bigger cookies and lower-power microwaves will need more time.
Step 4: If the cookie has chocolate chips or a filling, let it cool for a moment before you bite in. Melted chocolate gets very hot.
Tips on storing cookies
• Allow your cookies to cool completely to room temperature before you place them in any kind of storage device.
• It is best to allow the cookies to cool on a rack. That way air circulates all around them and they don’t continue baking on the hot pan.
• If you don’t plan to eat your cookies for several days, consider freezing them.
• When freezing cookies place wax paper between the cookies so that they don’t stick together.
• Don’t store hard cookies and soft cookies together. If you do, the hard cookies will absorb the moisture from the soft cookies and then the soft cookies will become hard.
• Cookies with cream cheese frosting or other toppings that need to stay cold should go in the fridge, even if that makes them a little firmer.
The bottom line
We love cookies around here.
Chocolate chip cookies, no-bake cookies, and cookies from cake mix recipes get a textured edge when they just aren’t fresh out of the oven anymore.
The best way to keep cookies good is to make sure they don’t sit out too long and that they are stored in a container with a tight lid.
Check out some of these cookie lists and pick some to make at home and share with your friends and family! Eat them before they get hard, freeze the dough, or freeze the baked cookies!
- No-Bake Cookies
- Christmas Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar
- Lemon Cookies With Cake Mix
- Pumpkin Cookies With Cake Mix
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How To Soften Cookies (Easy Method)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 slices fresh bread
- 1 batch of cookies
Instructions
- Layer the cookies in a single layer in the airtight container.
- Place the bread in the container next to the cookies, not under them.
- Close the container.
- Check the cookies every few hours. Take the bread out once they are as soft as you like.
