Let’s face it, we’ve all been guilty of sneaking a little nibble or two of cookie dough as we bake. Raw cookie dough is undeniably delicious, with an irresistibly-sweet flavor and addictive, soft texture. Sadly, because it’s made with uncooked flour and egg, it’s also unsafe for human consumption as it’s a potential source of harmful bacteria. While there are several store bought edible cookie dough brands, nothing beats homemade. Thankfully, you can make raw cookie dough safe to eat without much effort at all, and in an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, Jessie Sheehan, a baker, recipe developer, and cookbook author of “Snackable Bakes,” shared how.
“The best method, as well as the key ingredients, for making delicious edible cookie dough include: Microwaving your all-purpose flour to kill any bacteria (since you will be eating the dough raw), omitting the eggs, adding a little bit of liquid in the form of water or milk (to make up for the moisture lost by the lack of eggs),” Sheehan said. “As for the sugar, you can use a mixture of brown and granulated, just as you would when making regular chocolate chip cookies, and as for the unsalted butter, you can use it melted or at room temperature. Different recipes will call for butter at different temperatures.” Preparing the edible cookie dough couldn’t be any easier. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. From there, add in your flour, salt, water or milk, beating until combined.
How to store and eat your homemade cookie dough
Once you’ve made and prepared your edible cookie dough, we completely understand if you eat it all in one sitting. But, if you find yourself with a heaping pile of leftover cookie dough, don’t fret, as you can easily extend its life and freshness. “You can store edible cookie dough in the refrigerator in an airtight container, for up to a week; or in the freezer for up to a month,” Sheehan said. If you’re freezing the cookie dough, you can roll it into a log shape, which allows you to cut perfectly-portioned slices of dough for you to nibble on. While edible cookie dough can be stored for a little while in the fridge, Sheehan argues it likely won’t be at peak freshness. “But it is best when it is first made, as it does dry out and get crumbly over time,” she explained.
If you want to use up your edible cookie dough in one go, but don’t want to eat it plain, there’s no shortage of options for using it in baked goods. For example, you can follow along with our homemade cookie dough cupcakes recipe, placing edible cookie dough in the center of the cupcake batter before baking. This creates a delicious, stuffed filling that’s filled with delicious cookie flavor. Or, you can roll your cookie dough into tiny balls and mix it into a simple, made-from-scratch ice cream base, like a 3-ingredient no churn ice cream.
