A simple recipe for making cookie dough that’s safe to eat raw! Guaranteed to taste even better than in your favorite ice cream.
As you may know, American cuisine is one of the most popular categories on the site. You’ll find the now-famous cookies from my American mom, her brownies, her carrot cake… and also other favorites like pancakes, cinnamon rolls, and even nachos!
Today, I’m sharing a HUGE personal favorite: edible cookie dough. “But Marc, isn’t that just your regular cookie recipe, but not baked?” NOT AT ALL, DEAR READER! Even though we’re all guilty of eating the equivalent of five cookies before they hit the oven, it’s not exactly safe: raw eggs and raw flour (yes, really) aren’t recommended for eating as-is.
So, here’s how to make edible cookie dough—no eggs, with properly treated flour, and most importantly: without sacrificing taste or texture. In short, welcome to paradise!
A few notes on the ingredients for cookie dough
Flour: Flour can carry bacteria (e.g., E. coli). Heating it to at least 74°C (165°F) throughout helps make it safe to eat raw. That’s why you microwave it in 30-second bursts, stirring in between to even out the temperature.
Lightly heating the flour partially “cooks” the starch and tones down the raw flour taste. It can also dry the flour out a bit, which is one reason we add a rich binder (cream) to bring back that smooth texture.
Eggs: Leaving them out removes the risk of Salmonella from raw eggs. In baked cookies, eggs add water (about 75%), proteins for structure, and emulsifiers (like lecithin in the yolk) that bind water, sugar, and fat together.
Since we’re not baking, we don’t want a firm or risen texture; we want a dough that’s soft and scoopable. That’s why we swap out the water, fat, and richness from eggs for a creamy, dairy-based ingredient (cream) instead of a protein-heavy binder.
Heavy cream: Cream adds moisture to dissolve and soften the sugar, and extra dairy fat for richness alongside the butter. It also makes up for any dryness from heating the flour. Plus, the milk fat coats the flour and sugar particles, giving you a melt-in-your-mouth, less floury texture.
Cream also balances the sweetness of the brown sugar and helps the vanilla dissolve. If you’re using a real vanilla bean, I recommend mixing it with the cream ahead of time so it can really infuse its flavor.
Tips for perfect edible cookie dough
Dough too stiff? Add 1–2 teaspoons of cream and stir.
Dough too soft? Add 1–2 teaspoons of treated flour and stir.
Chilling the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge will firm it up and make it less sticky.
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 213 g brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 140 g flour all-purpose
- 85 g chocolate chips
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Heat-treat the flour: Place the flour in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second intervals, stirring after each burst.Usually 3 to 5 bursts are enough, but for precision, heat until it reaches 74 °C on a kitchen thermometer.140 g flour
- Beat the butter and brown sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy.8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 213 g brown sugar
- Add the vanilla, heavy cream, and salt, then mix in the heat-treated flour until combined.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 teaspoon salt
- Fold in the chocolate chips.85 g chocolate chips
- Optional: Chill for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Serve and enjoy.
