Freezing Guidelines

As long as your freezer maintains a steady temperature of 0 degrees F., food can be safely frozen indefinitely. Quality, however, will eventually deteriorate. The "maximum suggested freezing time" below estimates how long frozen foods will retain quality.

Special Tips	Storage Time	Thawing Hints
Breads: yeast breads, coffee cakes, muffins and quick breads.
Cool completely; do not frost or decorate. Place coffee cakes on foil-wrapped cardboard before freezing.	Up to 1 month	Unwrap slightly and thaw at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. Serve at room temperature or reheat, wrapped in foil, at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes, or wrap in paper towels and microwave (briefly, to avoid a tough texture) for 5 to 40 seconds.
Cakes: both frosted and unfrosted cakes can be frozen
Cool completely. Wrap unfrosted cake in airtight, moisture-proof wrap. Butter cream frosting freezes best. Allow frosting to harden by placing frosted cake in refrigerator or freezer before wrapping. Place layer cakes in cake containers or bakery boxes to prevent crushing.	Unfrosted—4 to 6 months Frosted—1 to 3 months	Unfrosted—thaw at room temperature, covered, 2 to 3 hours. Frost or serve according to recipe. Frosted—thaw, loosely covered, overnight in refrigerator.
Cookies: baked cookies can be frozen
Wrap unfrosted cookies in airtight, moisture-proof wrap or place in plastic containers. If frosted or decorated before freezing, first freeze quickly on cookie sheet; then package frozen cookies between layers of waxed paper in rigid container for further freezing.	Unfrosted-4 to 6 months Frosted-1 to 2 months	Thaw in package at room temperature. For cookies that should be crisp when thawed, remove from container.
Pies: baked pumpkin or pecan pies and either baked or unbaked fruit pies
Cool baked pies completely. For unbaked pies, brush the bottom pastry with egg white before filling to prevent it from becoming soggy. Do not slit the top pastry. Cover pies with an inverted foil or paper plate and then wrap.	Baked: up to 4 months Unbaked: up to 3 months	Baked: Unwrap and heat at 325 degrees F. for 45 minutes or until warm or room temperature. Unbaked: Unwrap, cut slits in the top pastry and bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees F. for 30 to 45 minutes or until the center is bubbly.
Pies: chiffon, custard, pudding, cream and pies with meringue topping
Do not freeze well.

Freezing Guidelines

Baking Basics