The Sugar Cube Secret That Will Keep Your Cookies Soft And Fresh

If there's one sweet treat I always like to have on hand, it's a batch of homemade cookies. They're soft, chewy, endlessly versatile, and full of nostalgia. Whether your favorite is chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, or 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies, one thing is for sure — cookies are best when they're fresh. And if you want to keep yours that way, Vivian Villa, chef and founder of Villa's Authentic Sauces and UnButter, shared a surprisingly simple method for long-lasting freshness: adding sugar cubes to the cookie container.

"Sugar is a hygroscopic ingredient that acts as a sponge for moisture (you will see this when it clumps due to humidity)," Villa told The Takeout. "Adding sugar cubes on their own or in a cheesecloth stored with cookies will extend freshness and preserve the taste of cookies." This hack also works if you've slightly over-baked your cookies or they're a few days old. To try this method, Villa recommended "placing granulated sugar in a folded paper towel secured with an elastic band or three to four sugar cubes at the bottom of an airtight container away from the light."

When adding sugar to a cookie container, use white sugar if possible. "White sugar is best for moisture absorption due to its fructose content," Villa said. "Fructose is often used in baking to enhance moisture, trapping available water in the mix and holding it in." Your container should still be airtight, as this allows the sugar to focus on absorbing the moisture found inside the container. If you're working with already-hardened cookies, don't expect immediate results — your baked goods will need at least 12 hours to soften.

For freshly baked cookies, always make sure they're fully cooled before sealing them away with sugar since any residual heat will leave you with soggy cookies. It's also worth noting that this hack works best for soft, chewy cookies that tend to dry out. Crispier cookies like homemade biscotti and shortbread will lose their crunch if stored this way, so be sure to keep them separate. With this simple sugar trick, your cookies will have that freshly-baked feel for days to come.