Can You Bake Edible Cookie Dough? The Answer Might Surprise You

I’m sure we all have fond memories of being a child and trying to sneak some of the raw cookie dough into our mouths only to be scolded by concerned parents who say it is unsafe to eat. Well, if you are trying to make that inner child of yours happy, edible cookie dough is likely something you have tried before! But can you bake edible cookie dough into actual cookies that you can eat?

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What Is Edible Cookie Dough?
- Why Is Normal Cookie Dough Unsafe To Eat?
Can You Bake Edible Cookie Dough Into Cookies?
- What Are Leavening Agents?
- How To Bake Edible Cookie Dough
Is It Worth Baking Edible Cookie Dough?
FAQs On Edible Cookie Dough

As mentioned, edible cookie dough is a special type of dough that has been made safe to eat while still being raw and uncooked. It has mostly the same flavor and texture as normal cookie dough but it is missing a few ingredients to make sure that it is safe to eat.

The edible dough can still come in a variety of flavors, just like normal cookies. There is not a singular edible cookie dough recipe as you can make lots of different flavors. As you are not going to be baking the dough, for the most part, you can even go crazy with the mini chocolate chips as they are not going to melt.

Edible chocolate chip cookie dough is a delicious treat and can be eaten as it comes, it tastes essentially just like the real deal and is great for anyone who enjoys eating raw dough but dislikes how unsafe it is.

A lot of people think that raw eggs are to blame for cookie dough being bad to eat raw. However, it is actually raw flour that poses more of a threat. This is not to say that eggs are always safe. Depending on where you live and how your eggs are sourced, here is a chance that they can harm you. For the most part, though, you cannot eat raw flour either and that is deemed the bigger risk in raw cookie dough.

Before being sold, flour undergoes a fair few different types of treatment to mill, bleach, and package it. Not all flour goes through the same stages as some companies do not bleach their flour. The main point of this is that not even the bleaching process actually cleanses the flour of potential germs. When out in the field or sitting in a silo, it is not uncommon for flour to be carrying a lot of germs. One of these germs is a very nasty one known as E. coli. This is the main reason that raw flour is not to be eaten as E. coli can be particularly nasty to your immune system. While healthy adults are most likely to recover from E. coli within a week, more compromised immune systems such as those belonging to elderly people or children are at risk of developing life-threatening kidney failure.

The way that the flour is made safe for consumption is by eliminating all of the germs and bacteria that pose a threat. To do this, you need to heat treat the flour. Heat-treated flour is a lot safer to consume and is necessary for any product that is not going to be cooked.

In this scenario with edible cookie dough, any edible cookie dough recipe you follow will tell you to bake your flour for 15 minutes on a baking sheet and then allow it to cool before continuing with the recipe. If the recipe you are following does not suggest this, it is important that you do it anyways.

So to answer the main question as simply as possible, yes. You can bake edible cookie dough and turn it into a batch of cookies.

However, there is a slight caveat to this as the recipe is not quite the same as a normal recipe for cookies. Eating raw cookie dough is deemed unsafe with the initial recipe so it has been slightly adapted to make eating cookie dough safer even without it being cooked.

The main difference between the two recipes is that there are no leavening agents in the edible recipe. You will find all of the normal ingredients such as light brown sugar, salted butter, and vanilla extract but there are no eggs or baking soda.

What Are Leavening Agents?

Leavening agents are responsible for the texture in a lot of baked goods and are what make your bread fluffy and airy. There are many different types of leavening agents that can be either mechanical or chemical. As for mechanical leavening, kneading or mixing your dough while incorporating air into it is considered leavening. You can do this with any edible dough recipe as you just need to make sure you mix it until it is cream and has a lot of air in it. It is best to do this with the butter and sugar first, and then add the rest of your ingredients.

The other main type of leavening agent is chemicals. The best example of this is baking soda or baking powder. Their main purpose is to release carbon dioxide while at room temperature and while being heated. This addition of gas makes the end product a lot fluffier and improves the texture as a whole.

As edible cookie dough is not intended to be baked, the ingredient is left out of the recipe and therefore has an impact on the end result if you try to bake it.

If you are still wanting to try this out just for curiosities sake, don’t be too disappointed when the cookies are not as you were expecting them. You’re going to want to proceed with the dough as you would with normal cookies. This means you will want a baking tray lined with either parchment paper or a baking sheet. You will also want to use a cookie scoop, if possible, to get little balls of dough and place them neatly onto your baking tray with an inch or two space between each cookie.

After all of this is done, bake them at around 350 degrees F until they are how you like them. If you want them to be crunchy, leave them for a while and if you prefer them chewy you can take them out somewhat prematurely. Although, both of these textures are just speculation as there are no leavening agents to help with the fluffiness.

To answer this honestly, no.

The whole point of buying edible cookie dough is so that you can essentially be eating raw cookie dough without any of the risks. You are buying, or making, a product for a single purpose and are then trying to turn it into something else. The texture will be bad and unpredictable for the most part. If you are wanting actual cookies, buy or make some chocolate chip cookie dough that has all the proper ingredients in it.

Can I bake ready-to-eat cookie dough?

Yes, you can. However, as raw cookie dough is unsafe to eat there is a slight change in the recipe for edible cookie dough. The main ingredients left out are very important to the overall texture of the baked cookies so baking ready-to-eat cookie dough will result in a badly-textured cookie.

Why can’t you bake Toll House edible cookie dough?

You can bake Toll House edible cookie dough, however, it is not a good idea as the recipe has no leavening agents in it. These are responsible for the texture of cookies and without them – you will be left with a cookie that has a bad texture. If you are wanting to bake cookies, do not buy or make any edible cookie dough.

How do you heat up edible cookie dough?

You can heat up edible cookie dough by placing it in the microwave for 10-second blasts until it is at a temperature of your liking. This is a great idea if you are wanting to put your edible cookie dough on ice cream as the two temperatures will create a fun contrast in your mouth.

What’s the difference between edible cookie dough and regular cookie dough?

The main difference is the change in the ingredients. Regular cookie dough is unsafe to eat and is meant to be baked before consumption. Edible cookie dough not only is safe to eat without being cooked but is not intended to be baked at all. Therefore, a lot of important ingredients are left out as the dough is never meant to be baked.