Nestle Toll House offers edible cooking dough that’s safe to eat raw

If you were one of those kids (or adults, we don’t judge) who licked the spoon after making cookie dough, you’re going to love this news.

Nestle Toll House is now selling tubs of Edible Cookie Dough.

The treat comes in the classic Chocolate Chip flavor as well as the new Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Monster.

Manufactured cookie dough that’s advertised to consume without baking is safer to eat than typical homemade dough because it doesn’t use raw eggs, reducing the chance of salmonella poisoning, which can lead to diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Some commercial edible cookie dough, including Nestle’s, also uses heat-treated flour to minimize exposure to E. coli and other things that can make people sick.

While Nestle is the latest company to jump on the trend, cookie dough as a standalone dessert gained national attention several years ago when the highly Instagrammable New York-based-company Dō, Cookie Dough Confections, gained popularity. A Dō pop-up shop is serving this summer at Chicago’s Navy Pier.

Of course, Dō isn’t the only one around selling the sought-after treat. Many shops across big cities have been serving up edible cookie dough desserts.

Scooped Cookie Dough Bar, which originated in San Antonio, Texas, opened a Chicago outlet last summer at Water Tower Place. It offers chilled scoops in varieties including red velvet, oatmeal raisin and cake batter.

Wonderland Cookie Dough’s CEO Derek Plaisted worked in the ice cream industry prior to opening up his edible cookie dough shop in Celebration, Florida. He cut the ribbon on his first location in 2017 after researching dessert trends and landing on edible cookie dough. He now operates a handful of retail locations and has expanded to New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

”I do not see it dying down any time soon,” Plaisted said. “It’s something that people are still interested in. ... It’s still at the cusp of mass production.”

Plaisted said companies like Nestle Toll House selling edible cookie dough is a good thing for ones like his because it means more people will know the dessert option exists.

In June, more specialty edible cookie dough shops opened. NoBaked Cookie Dough, a Nashville-based gourmet edible cookie dough company, announced a grand opening in Cincinnati and New York-based Dough Life opened in Rivertown, Michigan.

Julia Schmid and Joan Pacetti started The Cookie Dough Cafe in Normal, Illinois, in 2011. They sell a variety of dough flavors, including Oreo and confetti cake. Products are sold in jars, bars and snack-sizes, so you can indulge at home and on the go. Find them at stores such as Walmart or order online.

”We have preferred eating cookie dough over baked cookies our entire life,” Schmid and Pacetti said in an email statement. “We knew we were not the only ones!”

In April, Ben & Jerry’s debuted Edible Cookie Dough Chunks at retailers nationwide, including Target. The addictive snacks are bags of the same cookie dough chunks used in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. They’re made safe to eat raw by using pasteurized eggs and heat-treated flour, the company said. Dough comes in three flavors: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough; Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.