Lick the Bowl (Safely!) with This Healthy Edible Cookie Dough

It’s a rare soul who thinks there’s a better part of making cookies than stealing bites of cookie dough before the cookies are baked. Unfortunately, regular cookie dough isn’t exactly edible raw. We’ve all done it, but we probably shouldn’t: The CDC tells us that both the eggs and the wheat flour in cookie dough can be contaminated with germs that can make you sick. Raw flour may contain e. coli, and raw eggs pose a risk of salmonella.

Instead, try this healthy edible cookie dough, which is made specifically to be eaten raw. Even better, it’s way healthier than your usual cookie ingredients. We use a flour base of almond and coconut flours, both of which are completely safe to eat without cooking or baking; coconut oil takes the place of butter, and it’s sweetened with maple syrup, which has a lower glycemic index than sugar. No eggs are involved, so there’s no risk there, either: Basically, this is a whole food alternative to cookie dough, and one you can snack on without ever bothering to turn on the oven. 

This recipe is vegan, grain, and gluten-free by default, and it could easily be made keto as well by swapping in sugar-free syrup and chocolate chips. For the chocolate chips, standard size or mini both work well — there are many brands available that are dairy-free, free of refined sugars, and more, depending on your needs.