Cookie dough

Cookie Dough

Cookie dough refers to a blend of cookie ingredients which has been mixed into a malleable form which has not yet been hardened by heat. The dough is often then separated and the portions baked to individual cookies, or eaten as is.

Ingredients

Cookie dough is typically made from wheat flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda. Variations can include other ingredients such as cocoa powder for chocolate cookies, oats for oatmeal cookies, and various types of chips (chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, etc.) or nuts.

Consumption

While cookie dough is traditionally baked into cookies before consumption, it is also commonly eaten raw. However, raw cookie dough often contains raw eggs, which can carry Salmonella. To mitigate this risk, some manufacturers and recipes use heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs or no eggs at all.

Commercial Use

Commercially produced cookie dough is widely available in many countries, and ranges from the traditional forms for baking, to specially formulated versions for raw consumption, to cookie dough incorporated into ice cream and other desserts.

Health Concerns

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have both warned against eating raw cookie dough, due to potential health risks from raw eggs and untreated flour.

See Also

• Baking
• Dough
• Cookie
• Salmonella