Meet your forever recipe for icebox slice & bake cookies: a versatile, buttery base cookie dough ready for endless flavor adaptations. Whether you’re craving mint chocolate, raspberry, cookies & cream, maple pecan, or a buttery sugar cookie dipped in caramel and chocolate, this 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 trays, gifting, or easy make-ahead baking.
Why You’ll Love Them
- Simple, basic ingredients
- Easy-to-follow 1-bowl recipe
- Buttery shortbread texture
- Soft and thick in the centers, crispy 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 website, including coconut-y Santa’s whiskers cookies, colorful sprinkle slice-and-bakes, cranberry orange icebox cookies, brown sugar shortbread cookies, and 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 and, without time in the refrigerator, will 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 days, or 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.
And, as an optional coating on the cookies, use 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 bowl, and then divide it in half. It’s quite creamy, so have a little extra flour on hand. If your dough seems too sticky to roll, beat in another 1–2 Tbsp of flour.
Shape each portion into a log (just roll it) that’s about 8 inches long, and then wrap up tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours… but preferably longer. Overnight is great, or they can chill in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for even longer.
After that, roll the dough logs in the coarse sugar. Slice each of the dough logs into 12 discs. They’re about 8 inches long, so 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 below, and in the recipe Notes, lists the add-ins and toppings you need for the entire batch of dough (both logs). If you’d like to make more than one flavor, prepare 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 cool, dip them in thickened salted caramel, then melted semi-sweet chocolate, and garnish with toffee bits.
- Raspberry White Chocolate: To the base dough, you’ll add ground freeze-dried raspberries (after sifting out the seeds). After the cookies cool, drizzle them with melted white chocolate.
- Cookies & Cream: To the base dough, you’ll add crushed Oreo cookies. After the cookies cool, drizzle them with melted white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate, and garnish with more crushed Oreos.
- Mint Chocolate Chip: To the base dough, you’ll add peppermint extract, finely chopped dark chocolate, and a drop of green gel food coloring (if desired). After the cookies cool, dip them in melted dark or semi-sweet chocolate.
- Maple Pecan: Use dark brown sugar in the dough (instead of light). Then add maple extract, cinnamon, and 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 biggest, most 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 hours, 30 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 toffee, raspberry white chocolate, cookies & cream, mint chocolate chip, and maple pecan. The dough mixes up in one bowl, chills into neat logs, and bakes into buttery cookies with soft centers and crisp edges. Perfect for gifting, holidays, or make-ahead baking!
Ingredients
Dough
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at 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 rolling, such as this sparkling sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until combined and creamy, about 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 needed, and continue to beat until fully combined. Add the flour and salt and beat on low speed until combined.
- Finally, beat 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 logs, beat in 1–2 Tbsp more flour.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and, with floured hands, divide or cut in half. Roll/shape each half into an 8-inch log, about 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 easier, as 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 toppings, if 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 cookies, with or without melted chocolate or caramel topping, freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. You can make the cookie dough logs, wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (step 3). Cookie dough logs freeze well too, up to 3 months. Allow the wrapped logs to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then 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 variation, follow step 2 exactly as written with no add-ins. As the cookies bake, prepare one batch of salted caramel sauce and let it thicken for about 1 hour, until it’s no longer liquid. In step 8, dip each cooled cookie halfway into the caramel, allow the excess to drip off, and place the cookies on a lined tray. Refrigerate or freeze for 10–15 minutes so the caramel sets. Melt 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, dip the caramel-coated half into the chocolate, and finish with flaky sea salt or toffee bits (such as Heath Bits O’ Brickle).
- (Flavor 2) Raspberry White Chocolate: Using a food processor, grind 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 2, beat the ground raspberry powder into the dough. In step 8, melt 4 ounces of white chocolate, and drizzle over the cooled cookies.
- (Flavor 3) Cookies & Cream: In step 2, beat 6 crushed Oreos (70g) into the dough. In step 8, melt 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 2, beat 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, 4 ounces (113g) finely chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, and 1 drop green gel food coloring such as Americolor Leaf Green (optional), into the dough. In step 8, melt 4 ounces of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate. Dip each cookie into chocolate.
- (Flavor 5) Maple Pecan: In step 1, use dark brown sugar instead of light brown. In step 2, beat 1 teaspoon maple extract, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 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 increments, stirring after each, until 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This was amazing and so easy to make! I will totally be making these again!
I’ll never buy slice and bake dough from the store again. This cookie has enough flavor to eat on its own with a cup of coffee or tea, but is also a blank canvas for an infinite combination of flavors. I made the chocolate and salted caramel dipped version. So decadent and very rich.
I made the raspberry cookie…easy, tasty and beautiful on the plate!
These cookies were easy to make. Great raspberry flavor. Will make again. Thank you Sally!
This recipe was straightforward and my first slice and bake cookie. I did the raspberry version and they hilariously looked like little slices of SPAM on the tray before baking. The flavor was good, if a little underwhelming. I do want to try the other versions though. So, overall a solid recipe.
Really easy to make and delicious.i love that there are so many combinations and I’ve been thinking of other ones. I did half Oreo and half with freeze dried raspberries and chopped chocolate. I crushed the freeze dried raspberries to pea sized instead of powder.
Loved making these cookies. I made raspberry and white chocolate; and the Oreo ones. The recipe was easy to follow and gave enough details to create perfect cookies. I will continue making these and will try them in more flavors
Loved how easy and tasty these are!
I made the Mint Chocolate Chip variation, and they were very tasty. The mint flavour was present but not at all overpowering. My only suggestion would be to add the mint extract and gel food colouring earlier with the other liquid ingredients (egg and vanilla). It was very difficult to get the gel food colouring to incorporate evenly after the flour and chocolate chunks were added.
They were good, I made them for Sally’s Baking Challenge. I did one half plain and one half with some cherry jam/preserves. Overall they were pretty good. I wouldn’t say that they were my favorite, but they were good.
They were good, I made them for Sally’s Baking Challenge. I did one half plain and one half with some cherry jam/preserves. Overall they were pretty good. I wouldn’t say that they were my favorite, but they were good.
Loved these! I made maple pecan, mint, and cookies and cream. They were all so good. I am excited to make the other two and freeze some for the future.
Slice and Bake have always intimidated me, but this recipe was so easy with successful results. I can’t wait to try different flavors!
This recipe is so versatile. I tried three flavors (chocolate caramel toffee, mint chocolate chip, and maple pecan), and all three turned out perfectly.
Decent but log cookies never stay round for me.
Loved these! Easy and delicious!
So easy and delicious!
Great recipe! This recipe is fun and easy to make. It was very popular in my Christmas tins.
These cookies were very easy to make and I love the variety of options. Our favorite is the raspberry with white chocolate.
Delicious! So easy to make!
While the cookies were easy and tastes great, it was a little bland and dry, but maybe that’s just the type of cookie. I made 4 different kinds.
Easy to make dough and love that it can stay in the refrigerator several days before slicing and baking. My favorite were the Caramel Chocolate with Sea Salt and the Raspberry with White Chocolate.
These were amazing and next level on my holiday party cookie tray. I was a little worried about burning the salted caramel sauce, but it turned out perfect. I also loved how I could do pieces of this recipe over several days!
Versatile and delicious!
These turned out delicious! Simple and easy to make.
They were very easy to make and the first thing I made that looked sort of professional. Made them for the family Christmas party. I cant wait to see if everyone likes them.
This is a great recipe! I divided the dough in half and made the Oreo cookies with one half and the mint chocolate cookies with the other. I rolled the Oreo cookies in sanding sugar and the mint chocolate cookies in a mix of crushed candy canes and sanding sugar. Rolling the dough in the sugar was the hardest part of making the cookies! These were delicious and got rave reviews from everyone who tried one. I will definitely make these again and plan to try the caramel toffee ones next!
These were one of the easiest slice and bake cookies ever! Very simple and easy. I kept half of the dough plain and dipped in chocolate and added freeze dried blackberries using the directions for raspberries and cut in half and dipped in white chocolate. Plain or with the flavor or dipped in chocolate were all equally as satisfying, and a great addition to Christmas cookie boxes!
This recipe is amazing for getting a lot of variety quickly. I tripled the dough and made 6 flavours: the ones in the notes plus cranberry mandarin (similar to Sally’s cranberry orange cookies). Everyone was in awe when they saw them!
Delicious! We loved these and will make them again!