I’ve never met a cookie dough I didn’t like. Raw eggs, raw flour and all. Don’t judge- you never licked a beater as a kid? It’s the best part of making cookies!
In fact, I might enjoy cookie dough more than actual baked cookies and I always judge a dessert on the deliciousness of the batter or dough long before the final version is complete. It is funny to me that some folks refer to it as “edible cookie dough”… isn’t it all raw dough?
While I like making actual cookies, sometimes I’m not in the mood to make a whole batch of cookies. More like I’m craving just a small amount of regular cookie dough as the perfect late night treat.
Edible Cookie Dough Ingredients
You don’t need much for this easy recipe, in fact most folks have all the simple ingredients in their pantry.
- White sugar – Otherwise known as granulated sugar, this is the best type to use.
- Brown sugar – This is what gives it that classic cookie dough flavor. Dark brown sugar or light brown sugar works fine. The images here are using a dark sugar which is higher in molasses and result in a darker color of the dough.
- Softened unsalted butter – some folks have swapped out coconut oil with good results. I prefer the flavor of butter. If you use a salted butter, omit the additional salt.
- Chocolate chips or mix-ins – These are optional but definitely recommended. Check the section below for our favorite ideas.
- Milk or water – Whole milk is best, but any type will do. You can also use water if you don’t have any milk.
- Vanilla Extract – Because there aren’t many ingredients in this recipe, I like to make sure to use a good quality vanilla.
- Fine salt – If you ended up using salted butter, omit the salt. You can always add a little at the end if needed.
- All-purpose flour – Just plain, old flour. See instructions below on how to heat treat flour if this is a concern for you. You can use self rising flour, but it contains a leavening agent and since you aren’t baking, you really don’t need that. If you do use it, omit the additional salt.
Variations
There are several ways that you can make this edible cookie dough recipe your own. And if you’re missing an ingredient, there are plenty of options!
- Flour– If you don’t have heat treated flour or have a flour or gluten sensitivity, feel free to use almond meal or almond flour, gluten free flour or some folks have even used pancake mix and buckwheat flour.
- Chocolate Cookie Dough– Readers have also substituted 1 tablespoon of flour with cocoa powder to make a chocolate cookie dough.
- Butter– Butter is best since it is the base. Margarine is acceptable and vegan butter can also be used. All of these will impact the flavor. Ghee is also an option. I like to use unsalted butter so I can control the salt levels. If you use salted butter, you might want to omit additional salt.
- Vanilla– Use any type of extract you’d like, but I do suggest using some extract for flavor. Omitting this ingredient will result in a near flavorless cookie dough. You can use homemade vanilla which will really blow your mind! Almond flavoring is my second favorite with lemon or rum extract trailing behind.
- Brown Sugar– You can use all white sugar, but brown sugar has molasses in it which is why it is softer and has more flavor. You can add a dab of molasses or even dark agave nectar. If you use all white sugar, it is fine, but it will be more like sugar cookie dough.
How to Make Cookie Dough Edible
This sweet treat is so easy to make, you might make a batch every week!
- Soften Butter. This step is the most commonly messed up step and I can no stress enough that your butter must be soft, but not melted. Here are a few ways to soften butter fast. This is also the number one reason you won’t achieve the desired cookie dough texture. After you melt it, it is hard to get back even if you chill the dough.
- Cream together brown sugar, butter and white sugar. I do this by hand, there really isn’t enough actual batter to require a stand mixer or electric mixer and if the butter is soft enough, it should be easy.
- Add wet ingredients. These include milk/water and the vanilla extract. I like to use milk, but don’t always have it, so water will do. You can also use almond milk or oat milk. Vanilla flavored milk gives you an added bonus!
- Add the flour. If your butter was soft and not melted, this should be plenty of flour. If your butter was runny, you might need to add a little more, but still, this depends on a lot of things. The main one being that everything was measured correctly. With such small volumes, even a little extra splash of milk can throw off how much flour you require.
- Add chocolate chips. Chips are totally optional. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t made just the cookie dough without chips before. Some prefer to use mini chocolate chips for a better dough to chip ratio.
These process image were taken on a different date and used light brown sugar.
Favorite Cookie Dough Mix-Ins
Sure, you can use chocolate chips for this traditional cookie dough recipe, but there are plenty of other fun options to try.
- Crushed Twix
- Crushed Snickers
- Rolos
- Reeses Pieces
- M&Ms
- Butterscotch chips
- Peanut butter chips
- Chopped nuts
- Oreo cookies
- Dried cranberries or cherries
- Chopped nuts
- Raisins
- Oatmeal
- Dark chocolate
- White chocolate chips
- Graham crackers
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Peanut butter cookies
How to Heat Treat Flour
The first time I published this recipe it was just an eggless cookie dough recipe (years ago), nowadays we know how to treat the flour.
Uncooked flour has a small chance of containing some yucky things, so to prevent this, pasteurize it at home. Microwaving is the quickest way. Place raw flour into the microwave (flour alone, not the dough) and heat on high for 20- 45 seconds. Please be mindful that all microwaves are different. Watch the flour closely so it doesn’t burn.
The oven is another good option, simply place it in a thin layer on a baking sheet at 350°F for 5ish minutes. Just make sure it doesn’t burn. This should be plenty to kill off any harmful bacteria.
Storing and Freezing
This easy eggless cookie dough recipe is best consumed right after you make it, but can be made ahead or even stored for another bite later. I wouldn’t make it more than 24 hours in advance.
Storage: Refrigerate and store any leftovers in an airtight container or covered tightly with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out. It should stay good for about 2 days. Keep in mind that this version doesn’t have any preservatives or additives.
Freezing: You can freeze this cookie dough for up to 6 months. If you want to make them into little balls or add it to ice cream as a tasty treat, add an additional tablespoon of flour so it holds its shape.
Easy Edible Cookie Dough Recipe FAQs
I’m going out on a limb to say you melted the butter. Melted butter is the number one cause of yucky cookie dough. It changes the texture and consistency and forces you to add more flour to avoid cookie dough soup, only this makes the texture gritty and well, flour-y.
You can totally use this cookie dough recipe for ice cream. It is a good idea to add 1 tablespoon extra flour so it holds its shape better. Simply freeze little nuggets of the prepared cookie dough on a cookie sheet and fold them into your ice cream after they are set.
This recipe is meant to be a single serving edible cookie dough, not to be baked. Since it is eggless and contains no other leaveners, even if you tried to bake it, it wouldn’t amount to much. You can also try our Mug Brownie.
More Cookie Dough Recipes
Love this recipe like I do? Here are a few more cookie dough recipes you might enjoy.
Edible Cookie Dough Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 heaping tablespoon dark or light brown sugar
- 1-1 1/2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter , softened
- 1-2 tablespoon(s) chocolate chips , or other add-ins
- 1 tablespoon water or milk
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of fine salt
- 3 tablespoons flour* , more if your butter is melted
Instructions
- Cream together the white and brown sugars with the softened butter using the back of a spoon or a spatula.
- Add the milk/water and vanilla extract.
- Mix in the salt and flour.
- Lastly, add the chocolate chips or other desired add-ins. Dig in!
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings.
Hey,
I don’t have a microwave at home would it be possible if I could pasteurize the flour in the oven? If yes, for how long? Thanks
Sure! Bake at 350 in a shallow layer for about 3-5 minutes. Watch closely to make sure it doesn’t burn or turn brown, then your cookie dough will taste browned too.
So I calculated the actual calories for this chocolat chip cookie dough recipe and it’s more around 360 calories with 1 tbsp of chocolate chips and 430 calories with 2 tbsp of chocolat chip! The recipe says it’s only 252 calories which I feel is a serious misrepresentation. Apart from that, its delicious!
Hi Samantha! I use a tool that calculates it for me and of course, the nutrition will vary depending on the ingredients you use. There is a disclaimer that the nutrition is an estimate, but I figure if you are making and eating cookie dough, it is probably a cheat day! LOL.
Yummy. I was needing a serious chocolate fix so I made this recipe. I about doubled the chocolate chips and added a few walnuts. It was very quick, so easy and hit the spot! Delicious! Best of all there’s no leftovers calling my name! Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for stopping by to let us know. Walnuts are a fabulous addition!
I prefer cookie dough made with egg beaters, as they are pasteurized, but didn’t want a whole batch or have the egg beaters on hand. This hit the spot. The salt and water are key imo to making it the right flavor and consistency—thanks!
I gave in! I had the urge for this after seeing it in my Facebook feed and so I switched Netflix on and made up a bowl! I love how easy it was to make and unashamedly, I ate it all before my film had even started! I’ll be trying out the other ones you listed too. Love it!
I was totally craving cookie dough – you know it’s so much better than cookies! I found this recipe and it’s perfect. Satisfied my sweet tooth and was just the right amount! Thanks for the recipe.
Amzaing flavor! A little runnier then i like it but fridge time helps with that
Thanks, Kirstin! Did you melt the butter? Just curious.
This recipe is yummy ! In your recipe you say to put flour in microwave for 20-45 seconds . I put mine in for 25 seconds is that long enough to kill the bacteria? Thank you
Yep!
Alternative to butter – I’ve used coconut oil instead, and it was delicious. Just a slight coconutty flavor.
Great idea! Thanks!
Perfect recipe to satisfy my late night cookie dough cravings!
Yay! This is what we love to hear!