Advances in sweet toothiness: DIY edible cookie dough
Guilt and love handles aside, the hazards of consuming raw cookie dough have been R&D’ed away. A mere spoonful can evoke lick-the-beaters memories and soothe the savage sweet tooth, which is why the genre endures as a flavor come-on in frozen treats, cake pops and cookie dough bars— as in, shops where you can order a cup of the stuff to go.
Follow this recipe, and you’ll see just how simple it is to make your own edible cookie dough. Upsides: Customize it as you like. It keeps for weeks. Downsides: It can’t be baked, and it may disappear faster than that.
Adapted from “The Edible Cookie Dough Cookbook: 75 Recipes for Incredibly Delectable Doughs You Can Eat Right Off the Spoon,” by Olivia Hops (Harvard Common Press, 2018).
MONSTER COOKIE DOUGH
Servings: 6 to 8 (makes 4 cups)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup crunchy peanut butter (well stirred, if using natural)
¼ cup granulated suga
1 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heat-treated flour (see note) 1 cup quick-cooking oats (may substitute with food-processor-blended old-fashioned rolled oats)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup mini chocolate chips
½ cup M&Ms
½ cup chopped chocolate sandwich cookies and/or small wafer cookies
¼ cup rainbow sprinkles
Combine the unsalted butter, peanut butter and granulated and brown sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer; beat on medium speed for several minutes, until lightened and fluffy. (The creamier this base mixture is, the smoother the dough will be.)
Add the vanilla extract and beat just until incorporated. Stop to scrape down the bowl.
Whisk together the flour, oats and salt in a separate container. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, until there is no trace of flour left.
Fold in the chocolate chips, M&Ms, chocolate cookie pieces and rainbow sprinkles by hand.
The dough is ready to eat, or transfer it to a container for cold storage.
NOTE: DIY heat-treated flour takes only a few minutes. But you can buy Page House heat-treated flour online via Honeyville.com and Amazon.com.
To heat-treat the flour (in order to destroy any pathogens), microwave the amount needed for this recipe in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 30 seconds, then take out the bowl and give the flour a good stir with a fork. There will be a few lumps, but stir them away. Repeat the microwaving and stirring two more times. The internal temperature of the flour should register at least 160 F on an instant-read thermometer. Sift the flour into a container and cool completely before using or storing.
TIP: The dough can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutritional information per serving (based on 8): 650 calories, 11 g protein, 80 g carbohydrates, 34 g fat, 14 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 210 mg sodium, 4 g dietary fiber, 54 g sugar.