I honestly don’t make cookies very often. It’s not that I don’t like cookies. I LOVE cookies! But I’ve found that since the boys in our house have been hitting the gym more, the less junk they are eating at home. Which is a great thing. I’m ecstatic that they are as health-conscious as they are. And there are more cookies for myself and the little ones when I do make them, right?
Anyways, whenever I do whip up a batch of cookies, my husband almost always tells me how he loves eating raw cookie dough. Hence, the inspiration for this recipe. And BONUS…these are gluten-free, grain-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and vegan. So without further ado, let’s get to making some vegan, gluten-free, incredible edible cookie dough!
Why can’t you eat regular cookie dough?
Eating raw regular cookie dough is not a smart idea. Since it is made with flour and eggs, eating it uncooked can lead to some serious symptoms.
Eating raw or undercooked eggs is linked to salmonella poisoning. Most times when people get ill from eating raw cookie dough, the eggs are the culprit.
If infected with salmonella bacteria, you may experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. According to the CDC, symptoms start 6 hours to 6 days after swallowing the germ and go away within 4 to 7 days.
Secondly, the raw flour present in cookie dough is also an issue. It is untreated and therefore may contain the bacteria E. coli. This germ can make you sick within 3 to 4 days and last up to a week. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea and vomiting.
With both foodborne illnesses, people ages 65 years and over or under 5 years old are more likely to have a serious illness when infected.
What makes this edible cookie dough different?
There a a few things that set this recipe apart from traditional edible cookie dough recipes. Let me fill you in on these very important differences.
Flourless Edible Cookie Dough
A lot of edible cookie dough recipes you’ll see on the web use flour that is required to be heat-treated. This recipe does not use any grains or flours. So no need to heat-treat anything in the microwave or oven prior to mixing the ingredients.
I use almond flour instead. This adds potassium, protein, and heart-healthy unsaturated fat to the recipe.
Dairy Free Edible Cookie Dough
I also used unsweetened almond milk in place of cow’s milk in this recipe. This allows the recipe to remain vegan and is also safe for those with lactose intolerance or milk allergy.
By using unsweetened almond milk you can cut back on added sugars. Using sweetened or flavored versions will have some sugar added.
No Butter Edible Cookie Dough
Most edible cookie dough recipes use some type of butter as the fat source. Here, I use a product called Cocavo. It’s a blend of coconut oil and extra virgin avocado oil.
When breaking down the nutritional facts, 1tablespoon of butter has only 0.5 gm more saturated fat (11.5 gm per tablespoon) than the same amount of Cocavo (11 gm per tablespoon). Another small difference is that the Cocavo has a small amount of heart healthy fats (mono- and polyunsaturated fats) and 0 gm cholesterol compared to butter’s 30 mg cholesterol per tablespoon.
No Refined Sugar Edible Cookie Dough
Don’t be fooled here. This recipe does have sugar in the form of maple syrup. But what it does NOT have is granulated sugar or brown sugar which you’ll see in other edible cookie dough recipes.
So you see, this is not a sugar-free recipe by any means. In fact, maple syrup is very similar to refined sugar in terms of the amount of calories and carbohydrates (sugar) they provide per serving.
There are a few differences to using maple syrup over regular sugar. Notice I don’t feel confident enough to use the word “advantage” here.
For one, maple syrup has a slightly lower glycemic index of 54 compared to table sugar which has a glycemic index of 65. Medically speaking, this may raise your blood sugar slower than refined sugar. Secondly, maple syrup has minerals like manganese and zinc along with numerous antioxidants.
Despite these wonderful sounding qualities, this is NOT a good reason to eat more maple syrup. It is still considered an “added sugar”. For more great info on added sugars, check this article out.
How To Make Edible Cookie Dough
This is another easy recipe that requires no oven, stovetop, or cooking of any kind.
All the equipment you need is:
- A large bowl
- A spoon to mix with
- And a baking sheet
As far as ingredients, you will need:
- Almond flour- I used Bob’s Red Mill brand
- Maple syrup- grade A or B works
- Coconut/avocado oil blend- I used Cocavo brand
- Almond butter
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Vanilla extract
- And vegan chocolate chips- I used Enjoy Life brand semi-sweet mini chips
You take all the listed ingredients and add them to the bowl. Then mix, mix, mix. I do usually leave out the chocolate chips until the very end though. This is just so they don’t break apart and leave little chocolate specks throughout the dough. I want little chips of chocolatey goodness, not non-existent, tiny, specks.
Once this is done, you can start scooping the dough into balls. I make mine larger, so I end up with 6 cookie dough balls. But feel free to make yours larger or smaller. For reference, the nutritional information below is per each ~1 inch ball when forming them into a total of 6 cookie dough balls.
And believe me, just one is all you need to satisfy your sweet tooth. So this is enough to almost get you through your 7 day work week.
Storing Incredible Edible Cookie Dough (Vegan, Gluten Free)
These little balls of deliciousness should be kept in the fridge or freezer to keep them firm and to prevent any bacteria growth while at room-temp.
They can be kept in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To store them longer, you can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Simply freeze individually on a baking sheet, then transfer to an airtight container and place back in your freezer.
Incredible Edible Cookie Dough (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups almond flour
- 3 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp. Coconut/avocado oil
- 1 Tbsp. almond butter
- 3 Tbsp. unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp. vegan mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl to form the cookie dough mixture.
- Add chocolate chips to cookie dough mixture and stir to combine.
- Roll cookie dough into 6 1-inch sized balls and place on baking sheet.
- Refrigerate for about 1 hour until firm. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- If you prefer other forms of toppings, try those instead. Like chocolate chunks, pecans, walnuts, even sprinkles! Keep in mind that some changes may add gluten or dairy, making this recipe no longer vegan and/or gluten-free.
- I realize that these have a large amount of total fat and saturated fat per ball, so I would recommend rolling these into a total of 12 edible cookie dough balls.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe. For similar recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth try my:
Share With Me: Did you try this Incredible Edible Cookie Dough Vegan, Gluten Free recipe? Comment below and let me know your thoughts.
Kiran Campbell is a registered dietitian and entrepreneur with 13 years of experience. She has a degree in psychology as well as dietetics. She is also a proud member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ and its Cardiovascular Health and Well-being Dietetics Practice Group among others. Kiran proudly presents and promotes the most up-to-date, science-based nutrition information on all things heart-related. She aims to serve not only individuals with heart disease, but also those wanting to protect against it. Learn more about Kiran by visiting her About Page.