I know I’m not the only person who always disregards that second to last step in most cookie recipes.

You know… the “refrigerate for 24 hours” step. Who has the self-control, and the foresight to plan that far ahead!? That step can’t possibly be necessary.

So… in true “Real Best” fashion, I had to test it.

Clockwise from top: immediate, 24 hr, 48 hr, 72 hr, 96 hr.

Immediately (in picture, top and center): The cookies were alright. At this point, I had nothing to compare them to. However, this batch was noticeably flatter than the other 4 cookies.

24 hours in the fridge: Much to my dismay, the batch that sat for 24 hours tasted noticeably better than the immediate batch. My boyfriend agreed. In fact, he didn’t even like the immediate batch, and figured he just didn’t like this particular cookie recipe. With this batch, he happily ate two in a row.

SIGH. It’s looking like all those recipes are right.

48 hours in the fridge: There didn’t seem to be much of a difference between 24 and 48 hours. In fact, I think I liked the 24 hour cookies *slightly* better.

72 hours in the fridge: This is when the cookies got really good. They even look darker. They had a noticeably more complex and delicious flavor.

96 hours in the fridge: These were the BEST out of the five. Not a huge improvement over 72 hours, but they were slightly better.

Conclusion:

Refrigerate for at least a day. 3 or 4 days is even better (and if you have the patience for that, I seriously commend you!)

Let us know.. are any of you strong-willed, 24-hour-cookie-dough-refrigerators out there? How do you resist the temptation to immediately shove a batch of cookie dough into the oven? Please share your secrets, because I’m going to need serious help implementing this.

-M