Edible Cookie Dough

Stealing bites of cookie dough from my mom’s mixing bowl was always my favorite covert mission on baking day. If that sounds anything like you, then this edible cookie dough will be your dream easy dessert. Loaded with mini chocolate chips and all those classic buttery brown sugar vibes, this “naughty” nostalgic treat will transport you back to childhood with just one bite.

You might be wondering, What makes this cookie dough edible? Well, straight-up ordinary cookie dough isn't considered safe to eat for two reasons: raw flour and raw egg. Here, we’re sidestepping both issues by substituting heavy cream for the egg and pre-cooking the flour in the microwave, a process known as “heat-treating." This might sound complicated, but it’s actually very simple and only takes about a minute. So if you’ve always been more of a fan of the dough over the cookies (same!), get ready to meet your new favorite late-night snack.

How To Make Edible Cookie Dough

INGREDIENTS

• All-Purpose Flour: The most versatile flour on the block, all-purpose is standard for our classic chocolate chip cookie recipe and, as you might expect, is key to nailing the doughy texture of our edible cookie dough. Eating raw flour is a no-no, but a quick trip in the microwave will "heat-treat" it enough to make it safe to eat.
• Light Brown Sugar: Since this cookie dough is designed to be eaten unbaked, I opted to use an all brown sugar rather than a mix of brown and granulated to boost those toasty caramel flavors that we love so much.
• Heavy Cream: As a stand-in for eggs, heavy cream plays two roles: It'll help bind our dough, but also provide plenty of richness to the cookie dough.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: Whenever possible, opt for bottles of vanilla extract labeled as "pure vanilla extract" (rather than "imitation vanilla extract"). It packs leagues more vanilla flavor than the imitation stuff, as it only contains three ingredients (vanilla beans, alcohol, and water).
• Unsalted Butter: Since we'll be adding a bit of kosher salt to balance out this brown sugar-y dough, unsalted butter will allow it to remain rich yet not at all salty. Be sure to let the butter soften at room temperature, it will be easier to cream it together with the other ingredients later on.
• Kosher Salt: No, this will not make your dough taste salty! In fact, the contrasting teaspoon of kosher salt will help the sweetness of the chocolate chips really pop.
• Mini Chocolate Chips: While testing this recipe I found that mini chips are the perfect size for this dough—regular-sized chocolate chips were a bit too chunky and hard to eat when served cold. That being said, if you much prefer a bigger chocolate chunk, feel free to experiment with a bigger chip!

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

To heat-treat our flour, we’ll microwave the flour in a microwave-safe bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring between each interval, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the flour registers 160°, which will take between 45 seconds to 1 minute. At that point, any salmonella or other harmful bacteria living in the flour will have died, making it safe to eat without any further cooking.

Once the flour is heat-treated, this cookie dough comes together much like any other standard cookie dough: In a medium bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat brown sugar, butter, and salt until light and fluffy.

Add the cream and vanilla and beat until combined, then add the flour and continue to beat until no lumps remain. Once incorporated, fold in the chocolate chips. While you can definitely grab a spoon and dig into this cookie dough as soon as it’s mixed, I highly recommend chilling it for at least 2 hours.

Time in the refrigerator gives the flour a chance to absorb the liquid in the dough, creating an overall better texture. It also allows the brown sugar, butter, and vanilla to mingle and deepen, which really improves the flavor. In testing, I found that an overnight chill was ideal (but sometimes it’s hard to wait that long for cookie dough, so I’ll admit it’s not strictly necessary).

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Don’t overheat your flour: While it's tempting to continue to heat the flour much further past the 160° mark, resist the urge. Overheated flour will start to clump together, making it more difficult to incorporate into the dough.
• No time to chill? Our shortcut edible cookie dough swaps out flour for graham crackers and is ready to eat as soon as it's mixed.
  

Storage

Edible cookie dough can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 1 month. If you’re planning to freeze, roll the dough into small balls (the same as you would if you were freezing normal cookie dough) and freeze them until firm on a parchment-lined baking sheet before transferring to an airtight container or resealable bag.