How to Store Your Favorite Baked Goods

Don't let your homemade bakes go stale or soggy! We'll show you how to store bread, muffins, pies and more so they stay fresher and tastier for longer.

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Cookies

The trick to keeping cookies fresh is… another baked good! Store chewy cookies with a half a slice of store-bought white bread to keep them soft and fresh. The cookies soak up the moisture from the bread, so make sure you store cookies with a flavor-less slice so the taste doesn’t change. You can also use this trick to revive cookies that have gotten a little hard or crunchy.

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Cheesecake

Cheesecake must be stored in the fridge. Keep it covered or sealed in a large container if possible—this large round container from Tupperware is an editor favorite. It’s best eaten within a few days.

If you want to buy yourself extra time to enjoy, you can freeze cheesecake. The secret is to wrap it tightly and let it defrost in the fridge overnight.

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Muffins

As muffins age, they expel moisture, so the best way to maximize freshness is to store them with a paper towel. Muffins also freeze well, so if you have a batch all to yourself, consider freezing them immediately to seal the freshness into each baked treat.

Try our best muffin recipes—they might not last long enough to worry about storage!

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Cakes

Cakes can be such a challenging bake to store, particularly gorgeous, sky-high layer cakes. The best way to store these cakes is under a cake dome or in a cake keeper. If your cakes are covered in a whipped cream frosting or a heat-sensitive frosting like Swiss meringue buttercream, it’s best to keep them chilled.

After you’ve sliced a frosted cake, press plastic wrap onto the exposed sponge. This will keep it from drying out. And be sure to eat your cake within three or four days.

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Bread

The best way to store homemade bread is the old-fashioned way: a bread box! Bread boxes do keep your bread and rolls fresh for longer than other methods. If you don’t have one, invest in a cute one—or store bread in a sealed plastic bag. This will also work to keep it fresh for several days.

If you can’t eat your bread fast enough, it stores well in the freezer for up to six months.

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Cupcakes

If you can help it, only ice the cupcakes that you plan to eat right away. Then, store the cupcakes in a sealed plastic bag with all the air squeezed out of it, and store the frosting separately in the refrigerator. For the freshest-tasting cupcakes, you can actually freeze the bases. Thaw at room temperature, frost and enjoy!

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Pies

Fruit pies are easy to store. You can keep them covered at room temperature for two to three days.

Cream pies, no-bake pies and pies made with gelatin are all best kept in the fridge. Eat them within a few days so the crust doesn’t get too soggy.

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Bagels

Whatever you do–don’t refrigerate your bagels! Store bagels in a zip-top plastic bag at room temperature. If you’re planning to hold onto them longer than a day or two, freeze them. If you slice them before freezing, they can go straight from freezer to toaster, no thawing required.

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Brownies and Bars

Most brownies and bars can be stored right on the countertop—just be sure to cover them up. A 13×9″ pan with a cover is a great buy if you love these sorts of bakes. Be sure to eat them within a week.

The exception to this rule, though, is cheescake bars. Like cheesecake, they should be stored in the fridge and eaten within a few days.

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Crisps, Cobblers and Crumbles

Like fruit pies, crisps and cobblers (yes, there is a difference) can be kept at room temperature for about three days. You can bring back the crunch of a cobbler or crisp by popping individual servings in the oven for a few minutes.

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Biscuits

Homemade biscuits are definitely best enjoyed fresh from the oven. After all, who can resist a toasty warm biscuit dripping with honey or butter?

If you can’t eat all your biscuits in a day, store them in an airtight container. They’ll keep for two to three days. If you want to store them longer, pop them in a zip-top bag and keep them in the freezer. You can revive them by warming them in the oven for a few minutes before serving again.

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For All Baked Goods

You should let any homemade baked good cool completely before putting it in a storage container. If your creation is even slightly warm when it’s sealed inside a container or covered with plastic wrap, condensation will form on your treat making it soggy, or worse, moldy. Once a baked good feels like it’s at room temperature, let stand for an additional 30 minutes just to be safe.

Mandy Naglich
Mandy is an advanced cicerone, National Homebrew Competition gold medalist, drinks educator and writer. She’s shared her food and beverage expertise at Taste of Home for more than five years, writing about nonalcoholic beer brands, how to make the best Moscow mule and more. Her popular blind tasting classes in New York consistently sell out to groups that want to learn from a certified taster and professional recipe developer. Mandy is also the author of “How to Taste: A Guide to Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life.” When she’s not busy promoting her book, she’s creating content for her social platforms where she shares fun tidbits like the history of beer and other tipples as well as what to eat and drink at must-try restaurants. She currently lives, writes and brews in New York but documents her drink adventures on Instagram at @drinkswithmandy.
Lisa Kaminski
Lisa is a former Taste of Home editor and passionate baker. During her tenure, she poured her love of all things sweet (and sometimes savory) into Bakeable, Taste of Home's baking club. Lisa also dedicated her career here to finding and testing the best ingredients, kitchen gear and home products for our Test Kitchen-Preferred program. At home, you'll find her working on embroidery and other crafts.