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- Edible cookie dough is made with pasteurized eggs (or none at all) and heat-treated the flour.
- Heat-treat flour in the microwave or oven until it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Explore different flavors like chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, and red velvet or mix in sprinkles.
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Eating raw cookie dough is just about everyone's guilty pleasure, right? As tasty as it may be, though, it can also be dangerous because of potential bacteria from the raw egg and flour.
Homemade edible cookie dough is a delicious way to satisfy that craving without having to worry about getting sick – and it's easy to make at home. All it takes are a few modifications to a classic cookie dough recipe to make it safe to eat raw. Namely, you have to eliminate the eggs and heat-treat the flour to kill any harmful bacteria.
To get the inside scoop on all things edible cookie dough, Kristen Tomlan, founder and CEO of DŌ, Cookie Dough Confections, shares some of her favorite flavor ideas (with a few others sprinkled in), and heavenly ways to use edible cookie dough in your desserts.
Is raw cookie dough safe to eat?
Typically, Tomlan notes, regular cookie dough contains both raw eggs and flour, which could harbor harmful bacteria like salmonella and E. coli, making it unsafe to eat. Edible cookie dough, however, is safe to eat unbaked because it is made with a pasteurized egg or, in some cases, no egg at all, and heat-treated flour. Both ingredients have been properly treated to kill any bacteria.
Below, Tomlan shared her recipe for her signature chocolate chip cookie dough.
Cookie dough flavor ideas
For the most part, edible cookie dough recipes will consist of the same ingredients mentioned above, but might call for a few add-ins depending on the flavor. To give you a taste of how you can get creative with your flavors, consider trying some of these simple yet delicious ideas.
| Flavor | Ingredients |
| Funfetti | Almond extract, sprinkles, white chocolate chips (optional) |
| Oatmeal | Heat-treated oats, cinnamon, raisins (optional) |
| Peanut Butter | Peanut butter |
| Red Velvet | Cocoa powder, red food coloring, heavy cream, white or milk chocolate chips (optional) |
| Snickerdoodle | Cinnamon, cinnamon sugar topping |
How to use edible cookie dough
Though eating edible cookie dough straight is never a bad idea, you may want to sweeten it up a bit for a fancier dessert. Here are some ideas Tomlan loves:
- Add it on top of your ice cream sundae or mix it into your ice cream.
- Put it on top of a milkshake (or blend it in).
- Use it as a filling for cupcakes.
- Spoon it on top of pancakes.
- Try it as a dip for other cookies or pretzels.
- Dip edible cookie dough balls into melted chocolate to make truffles.
- Use it as frosting.
What to do with leftovers
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What's more delicious than homemade edible cookie dough? The leftovers. Store your edible cookie dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days (for best taste) or keep it for months in the freezer.
If you end up deciding you're in the mood for a warm cookie, you can even bake your edible cookie dough if it was made with pasteurized eggs and/or, at the very least, baking soda, like Tomlan's recipe above. This is because these ingredients are key to achieving the consistency you want for a freshly baked cookie. Without them, your cookies may bake a little flat and lack chewiness.
Insider's takeaway
With a handful of ingredients, some time, and a few basic kitchen tools, making edible cookie dough is a fairly simple task that doesn't take much time to complete. Arguably the trickiest part of the process is heat-treating your flour to kill any bacteria, but even that is simple (though a bit tedious). As an even easier alternative, there's always the option to buy flour that's already been heat-treated.