Meet your forever recipe for icebox slice & bake cookies: a versatilebuttery base cookie dough ready for endless flavor adaptations. Whether you’re craving mint chocolateraspberrycookies & creammaple pecanor a buttery sugar cookie dipped in caramel and chocolatethis one dough has you covered.
Choose your own flavor adventure with this cookie recipe! Think of this as your mix-and-match playground for holiday cookie traysgiftingor easy make-ahead baking.
Why You’ll Love Them
- Simplebasic ingredients
- Easy-to-follow 1-bowl recipe
- Buttery shortbread texture
- Soft and thick in the centerscrispy around the edges
- A great make-ahead cookie recipe
- No rolling individual dough balls—just slice into rounds
- Infinitely adaptable!
I love the slice-and-bake cookie method and you can find more variations on my websiteincluding coconut-y Santa’s whiskers cookiescolorful sprinkle slice-and-bakescranberry orange icebox cookiesbrown sugar shortbread cookiesand toasted hazelnut slice-and-bake cookies.
They Are Also Known as Icebox Cookies
They’re sometimes called “icebox cookies” for a reason: chilling the cookie dough logs is essential. Like pinwheel cookies (another slice-and-bake cookie)the cookie dough is very buttery andwithout time in the refrigeratorwill bake into greasy puddles.
Think of the chill time as built-in convenience rather than delayed gratification—perfect for planning ahead.
The cookie dough logs can hang out in the refrigerator for up to 5 daysor you can freeze them for even longer. Simply thaw in the refrigerator for an hour or two before slicing and baking. Having some cookie dough in the freezer is such a time-saver during the busy holiday season!
6 Ingredients for the Base Cookie Dough
All very basic baking staples:
- Butter: Make sure it’s proper room-temperature butter to start.
- Sugar: We’re sweetening these cookies with both brown and white granulated sugar.
- Egg: 1 egg serves to bind all the ingredients together.
- Vanilla: Key for flavor.
- Flour: The base of our cookies.
- Salt: To balance the sweet.
Andas an optional coating on the cookiesuse coarse sugar such as sparkling sugar sprinkles or something like Sugar in the Raw. It provides a little extra sparkle and crunch.
Let Me Show You the Process
This is all very easy. Make the cookie dough all in 1 bowland then divide it in half. It’s quite creamyso have a little extra flour on hand. If your dough seems too sticky to rollbeat in another 1–2 Tbsp of flour.
Shape each portion into a log (just roll it) that’s about 8 inches longand then wrap up tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours… but preferably longer. Overnight is greator they can chill in the refrigerator for up to 5 daysor in the freezer for even longer.
After thatroll the dough logs in the coarse sugar. Slice each of the dough logs into 12 discs. They’re about 8 inches longso each cookie will be a little thicker than 1/2 inch.
Arrange on your lined baking sheets and bake.
5 Slice and Bake Cookie Flavors
Each flavor variation belowand in the recipe Noteslists the add-ins and toppings you need for the entire batch of dough (both logs). If you’d like to make more than one flavorprepare a second batch of the base dough and customize each batch separately.
- Chocolate Caramel Toffee: Make the base cookie dough; no add-ins! After the cookies cooldip them in thickened salted caramelthen melted semi-sweet chocolateand garnish with toffee bits.
- Raspberry White Chocolate: To the base doughyou’ll add ground freeze-dried raspberries (after sifting out the seeds). After the cookies cooldrizzle them with melted white chocolate.
- Cookies & Cream: To the base doughyou’ll add crushed Oreo cookies. After the cookies cooldrizzle them with melted white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolateand garnish with more crushed Oreos.
- Mint Chocolate Chip: To the base doughyou’ll add peppermint extractfinely chopped dark chocolateand a drop of green gel food coloring (if desired). After the cookies cooldip them in melted dark or semi-sweet chocolate.
- Maple Pecan: Use dark brown sugar in the dough (instead of light). Then add maple extractcinnamonand finely chopped pecans. Feel free to drizzle the cooled cookies with the maple icing we use on these maple brown sugar cookies!
Can I make more than 1 flavor from 1 batch of dough? Yes! Divide the dough in half in step 2 below and add half the flavor add-ins to each portion. Do the same with any toppings.
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggestmost delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Icebox Slice & Bake Cookies (5 Flavors)
- Prep Time: 5 hours (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours30 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These easy slice-and-bake icebox cookies start with 1 versatile base dough that you can turn into 5 delicious flavors: chocolate caramel toffeeraspberry white chocolatecookies & creammint chocolate chipand maple pecan. The dough mixes up in one bowlchills into neat logsand bakes into buttery cookies with soft centers and crisp edges. Perfect for giftingholidaysor make-ahead baking!
Ingredients
Dough
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted buttersoftened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large eggat room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (267g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Add-Ins & Toppings
- Add-ins & toppings (see Notes for full flavor measurements)
Optional
- coarse sugar for rollingsuch as this sparkling sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachmentbeat the butterbrown sugarand granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until combined and creamyabout 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Beat in the egg and vanilla extract on high speed. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as neededand continue to beat until fully combined. Add the flour and salt and beat on low speed until combined.
- Finallybeat in the chosen flavor add-ins (see Notes) on low speed until just combined. Avoid overmixing—blend only until the mix-ins are evenly distributed. The cookie dough will be thick and slightly sticky. If it seems too sticky to roll into logsbeat in 1–2 Tbsp more flour.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface andwith floured handsdivide or cut in half. Roll/shape each half into an 8-inch logabout 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter. The measurements don’t have to be exact. Tightly wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Optional rolling in sugar: Pour enough coarse sugar on an 8-inch or larger plate to cover it. Roll the logs in the sugar. You may need to really press the dough logs down into the sugar if it’s not really sticking. (I find coating the dough logs in sugar after chilling much easieras the dough is too sticky to neatly roll in sugar right after mixing.)
- Slice each dough log into 12 equally thick cookies and arrange cookies on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 13–15 minutes or until very lightly brown around the edges (they won’t brown much). Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Dip or drizzle with melted chocolate and add toppingsif desired. See Flavors in the recipe Notes below.
- Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make-Ahead Instructions: Baked cookieswith or without melted chocolate or caramel toppingfreeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. You can make the cookie dough logswrapand chill in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (step 3). Cookie dough logs freeze well tooup to 3 months. Allow the wrapped logs to thaw overnight in the refrigeratorthen continue with step 4.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Coarse Sugar | Cooling Rack
- (Flavor 1) Chocolate Caramel Toffee: For this variationfollow step 2 exactly as written with no add-ins. As the cookies bakeprepare one batch of salted caramel sauce and let it thicken for about 1 houruntil it’s no longer liquid. In step 8dip each cooled cookie halfway into the caramelallow the excess to drip offand place the cookies on a lined tray. Refrigerate or freeze for 10–15 minutes so the caramel sets. Melt 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolatedip the caramel-coated half into the chocolateand finish with flaky sea salt or toffee bits (such as Heath Bits O’ Brickle).
- (Flavor 2) Raspberry White Chocolate: Using a food processorgrind 1 cup (25g) freeze-dried raspberries. Sift out and discard the seeds. You should have about 14g of raspberry powder left after sifting out the seeds. In step 2beat the ground raspberry powder into the dough. In step 8melt 4 ounces of white chocolateand drizzle over the cooled cookies.
- (Flavor 3) Cookies & Cream: In step 2beat 6 crushed Oreos (70g) into the dough. In step 8melt 2 ounces of white chocolate and 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate (separately)and drizzle over the cooled cookies. Crush 2 more Oreo cookies and sprinkle over the chocolate while it’s still wet.
- (Flavor 4) Mint Chocolate Chip: In step 2beat 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract4 ounces (113g) finely chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolateand 1 drop green gel food coloring such as Americolor Leaf Green (optional)into the dough. In step 8melt 4 ounces of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate. Dip each cookie into chocolate.
- (Flavor 5) Maple Pecan: In step 1use dark brown sugar instead of light brown. In step 2beat 1 teaspoon maple extract1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamonand 1 cup (100g) finely chopped pecans into the dough.
- How to Melt Chocolate / Best Chocolate for Topping: Finely chop baking chocolate bars (typically 4 ounces/113g each). I prefer Ghirardelli or Baker’s. Place in a heat-proof bowl or glass measuring cup. Microwave in 20-second incrementsstirring after eachuntil smooth. Or use a double boiler.
- Can I Make More Than 1 Flavor With 1 Batch of Dough? Yes! Divide the dough in half in step 2 and add half the flavor add-ins to each portion. Do the same in step 8 with any toppings.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
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