Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

This food-safe Peanut Butter Cookie Dough is creamy, rich, and indulgent! It’s easy to make and perfectly safe to consume  (heat-treated flour and no eggs!).

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

For those who’ve been cautioned against eating raw cookie dough but do it regardless, this recipe is a must-try. It’s become incredibly popular on my site, quickly rising to the top recipe this past month, and many of you have tried and loved it.

Increasingly, many of you are baking from home, exploring new recipes, and relishing comfort food – just as we are. I firmly believe that a good treat can solve numerous problems. This edible cookie dough is a recipe for which you likely already have most, if not all, of the ingredients, making it an ideal dessert option when a store visit isn’t possible.

This past week, I’ve worked diligently to create not just one, but three new edible cookie dough recipes: Peanut Butter Cookie Dough, Edible Brownie Batter, and Edible Cake Batter. I hope these recipes bring you joy – they’ve certainly brightened my boys’ days!

Ingredients In Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

• White Flour: Gives the dough its shape. It’s heated to kill germs so it’s safe to eat raw.
• Butter: Makes the dough rich and creamy. It’s used at room temperature for easy mixing.
• Peanut Butter: The main flavor of the dough.
• White and Brown Sugar: Sweeten the dough. Brown sugar also makes it moist.
• Heavy Cream: Adds creaminess.
• Vanilla Extract: For extra flavor.
• Salt & Baking Soda: Salt boosts flavor, and baking soda is for a cookie dough taste.

How To Make Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

1. Heat Flour: Heat treat the flour to kill germs and let it cool.
2. Dry Mix: Combine cooled flour with salt and baking soda.
3. Wet Mix: Cream together butter and peanut butter, then add white and brown sugars, heavy cream, and vanilla.
4. Combine: Mix dry and wet ingredients together.
5. Extras: Stir in optional ingredients like chocolate chips.
6. Enjoy: Eat the dough fresh, chilled, or frozen.

Heat Treating Flour

Heat treating flour is essential for safe edible cookie dough, as raw flour can contain harmful germs like e. coli. There are three methods:

1. Buy Pre-Treated Flour: Look for flour labeled as heat-treated. Read more about it here.
2. Microwave Method: Place extra flour in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring each time, until it reaches 165°F. Be careful to avoid burning.
3. Oven Method: Spread extra flour on a lined baking sheet and bake at 300°F. Stir and check the temperature every 1 and 1/2 minutes until it reaches 165°F.

Storage

While you can reduce the amount of each of the ingredients called for in this recipe to make a smaller batch of dough, I recommend skipping the trouble, making this recipe as is, and then dividing it into portions, and freezing. In fact, this peanut butter cookie dough is divine straight out of the freezer!

Divide the dough into portions, wrap portions tightly with plastic wrap, and place them in an airtight bag or container. Label the bag and freeze until you are ready to eat it. This way you have edible Peanut Butter Cookie Dough on hand whenever you need it! 

When wrapped and stored correctly, this cookie dough will stay fresh in the fridge for up to five days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

More Peanut Butter Treats:

• Peanut Butter Granola delicious snack or breakfast!
• Peanut Butter Blossoms peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses
• The BEST Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies (reader favorite recipe!)
• Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats with chocolate topping
• No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake

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5 from 6 votes

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

By Chelsea Lords

This food-safe (edible) Peanut Butter Cookie Dough is creamy, rich, and indulgent tasting! It's easy to make and perfectly safe to consume (heat-treated flour and no eggs!).

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 and 1/4 cups white flour
• ▢ 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• ▢ 1/4 cup white sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, optional
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt AND baking soda
• ▢ Optional add-in suggestions: coarsely chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, chopped mini Reeses, coarsely chopped Reese's pieces, coarsely chopped Nutter Butters, swirl of marshmallow fluff

Instructions 

• HEAT TREAT FLOUR: You can heat treat flour in the microwave (Note 1) or in the oven (Note 2). Test the flour to ensure it's reached a safe temperature of 165 degrees F. Let flour cool COMPLETELY to room temperature before using. Don't use any burnt or clumpy flour (if it's off-color or smells burnt, it is burnt). The flour should be light, white, and fluffy. Spoon the cooled flour into a measuring cup and level the top of the measuring cup with the back of a table knife.
• DRY INGREDIENTS: Add the spooned and leveled 1 and 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to a medium-size bowl and stir. (While we aren't baking this dough, the baking soda gives it an authentic cookie dough flavor; leave it out if desired, just don't forget the salt!)
• WET INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl with a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer), add beat 8 tablespoons room temperature (not melted) butter and 3/4 cup peanut butter. Beat until very smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar and beat to combine. Beat for an additional 3-4 minutes or until mixture becomes light, smooth, and fluffy. Add the 2 tablespoons heavy cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix until combined.
• COMBINE: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat until just combined; do not over-mix. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. If the dough is at all dry, add in a bit more heavy cream; if it is wet, add in a tablespoon or two more of the heat-treated flour.
• ENJOY: Stir in any of desired mix-ins and enjoy! We love this dough freshly made, chilled, or even frozen!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Heat treat the flour in the microwave: Add the flour to a microwave-safe bowl. I recommend heat treating more than the recipe calls for (1/2 to 1 cup extra) just to ensure you have enough. Microwave on high in bursts of 30 seconds, stirring in between each burst. Take your time to make sure none of the flour burns or clumps. Use a thermometer to test the flour in a few places to make sure it has reached 165 degrees F throughout all the flour. (If you get less than 165 degrees, return the flour for one more burst of 30 seconds.) 

Note 2: Heat treat it in the oven: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan (with sides) with a nonstick liner or parchment paper. Spread the flour on the pan (treat 1/2 to 1 cup more than you'll use). Bake the flour, removing and stirring it, every 1 and 1/2 minutes. Every time you remove the flour to stir, test it with the thermometer. As soon as it reaches 165 degrees F, it's safe. (This takes about 3-6 minutes in my oven.)

Nutrition

Serving: 6servings | Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 31.5g | Protein: 9.5g | Fat: 33g | Cholesterol: 43.5mg | Sodium: 140.6mg | Fiber: 2.2g | Sugar: 11.8g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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