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When it comes to cookie dough, most traditional versions come with a “look but don’t touch” warning, thanks to the raw egg and flour posing a pretty scary salmonella risk.
So for those of us who used to relish (or be deprived of) licking the batter bowl as kids, the search for edible cookie dough remains real. Sure, sticking a spoon into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked is a possibility, but that kind of sugar intake isn’t exactly an everyday solution to our cravings.
We’ve rounded up 23 healthier and safer ways to enjoy the chewy, gooey deliciousness of unbaked cookies. From dips and bars to cupcakes and smoothies, these recipes let you have your cookie dough and eat it too.
1. Pumpkin Pie Cookie Dough Energy Balls
There’s always one more thing to pumpkin spice-ify! Give your healthy cookie dough some festive flair by adding some of the canned veggie into the mix, with vanilla protein powder for more staying power. We’re thinking this could work great as a pre- or post-workout snack, even when the holidays have long passed.
2. Sugar Cookie Dough Dip
Dates and chickpeas aren’t your average snickerdoodle ingredients, but thanks to these unconventional healthy swaps, you can enjoy sugar cookie flavor without butter, flour, or any actual sugar.
3. Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls
Once they’re out of the oven, gluten-free cookies can run the risk of tasting like cardboard. Solution? Just don’t bake ’em! This recipe uses almond flour, flax, and peanut butter to give you all the chewiness of a good cookie, without the health hazards of raw egg.
4. Skinny Red Velvet Cookie Dough Dip
Turn heads with this dip variation of a classic cake. With nut butter instead of oil, maple syrup instead of sugar, and a hint of dark cocoa powder, it may not be your traditional red velvet recipe, but it takes a fraction of the time to make, and it’s healthy enough to eat every day. Good enough for us!
5. Chocolate Chip Funfetti Cookie Dough Bites
Using smaller amounts of refined flour, butter, and brown sugar, this recipe is all about that authentic cookie dough flavor, but the bite-size packaging makes it easier to stick to portion sizes. It’s the perfect way to indulge in moderation when “healthified” variations won’t cut it.
6. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
Make cookie dough even more irresistible by dunking balls of it into melted chocolate. Once chilled, you’ll have a crispy outer shell and a perfect, chewy center. Nobody needs to know that the inside is made up entirely of heart-healthy cashews!
7. Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Trying to find a way to warm up to the tang of Greek yogurt? Turning it into cookie dough should help. Almond butter, honey, and dark chocolate cut the tartness, add even more protein, and can be eaten as dessert for breakfast or breakfast for dessert.
8. Healthy Gingerbread Cookie Dough Dip
Who says you can only indulge your gingerbread cravings during the holidays? Healthier than your average homemade cookie and so much better than the store-bought snaps, these richly spiced bites come with many classic ingredients like molasses and nutmeg, but the chickpea and peanut butter base (plus the dash of chili powder!) makes them extra special.
9. Vegan Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
Cookie dough and cheesecake in a single dessert sounds anything but light, and while these bars are plenty rich, the nut-based crust, coconut oil, and maple syrup makes them much healthier as far as ingredients are concerned. As a bonus, there’s no baking involved—just chill the mixture until it’s set enough to be sliced into.
10. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bars
You’re getting two recipes in one with these bars; one version uses regular peanut butter, while the other opts for peanut flour to cut down on the fat while maintaining that nutty flavor. The one thing that’s not negotiable? Chocolate chips. Skimp at your own risk.
11. Vegan Cookie Dough Brownies
If you thought chickpeas were a nontraditional dessert ingredient, your jaw may drop further at the idea of using red lentils to fulfill your cookie dough craving. But the high-protein legumes are actually key players in these brownie-bottomed bars. You’ll want to make this recipe just to believe it!
12. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Snack Bars
Calling for fewer than five healthy ingredients and no baking time, these make getting your cookie dough fix a breeze. The hardest part is waiting for them to set before you can cut them into bars—we don’t blame you if you polish off half the dough long before it’s ready.
13. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies
You’ll need a few special items like brown rice flour and gluten-free baking powder to whip up these squares, but the ooey-gooey results are totally worth it. In fact, it might be useful to have those ingredients on hand all the time, since it’s likely you’ll be making these very often once you’ve tasted them.
14. Vegan Cookie Dough Pie
A no-bake, gluten-free cookie dough crust. A homemade, dairy-free ice cream. Lots of chocolate shavings on top. This frozen dessert will make even healthy dessert skeptics drool.
15. Vegan Cookie Dough Muffins
While grabbing a handful of actual cookie dough isn’t an option, you can always reach for one of these muffins instead. Slightly doughy in the center and crisp around the edges, these gluten-free babies are cookie dough perfection.
16. Healthy Chocolate Mousse Pie With Chocolate Cookie Dough Crust
Added cocoa powder gives the crust a welcome hint of chocolate, which goes perfectly with the chocolaty, tofu-based filling. With all that chocolate going on, you won’t believe that each slice of this silky mousse has only seven grams of sugar.
17. Chocolate Egg Muffins Stuffed With Cookie Dough
This blogger describes this recipe as cookie dough “hugged” inside chocolate muffins. Given that they have six grams of protein per serving, a peanut butter drizzle, and plenty of chocolate chips, we want to hug her for creating it.
18. Vegan Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes
If chickpeas can be used to make cookie dough dip, chickpea flour works just as well to make cookie dough cupcakes. Both the whole bean and its pulverized version are used in these fudgy treats, where cookie dough dip is stuffed inside the baked muffin and slathered on top.
19. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Nice Cream
Banana “ice cream” has been a thing for a while now. But add some peanut butter to the mix and cram it with chunks of homemade, peanut buttery, chickpea-based cookie dough, and you’ll have a whole new appreciation for how amazing it can be.
20. Healthy Cookie Dough Milkshake
You can use any milk you prefer for this recipe, but we recommend going with coconut for the proper milkshake experience. Almond butter and vanilla give it that distinct cookie dough flavor, while cacao nibs (or chocolate chips) add a sweet crunch to every sip.
21. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Smoothie
Refueling post workout with cookie dough sounds almost too good to be true, but this smoothie makes it possible. Packed with protein, plus healthy carbs from the oats, it’s the most delicious way to re-energize and treat yourself.
22. Healthy Cookie Dough Cheesecake
Greek yogurt replaces half the cream cheese and adds the perfect amount of tang to offset the sugar in this super-smooth cake, while oat flour and ground flax make up the base of the cookie dough that’s hidden throughout the batter. If this is what a healthier dessert looks like, it’s easy to eat well.
23. Oatmeal Cookie Dough Smoothie
Instead of putting yourself through the work (and the potential mess) of baking cookies from scratch, just throw your ingredients into a blender and call it a day. The oats, almond butter, and protein powder make this smoothie super thick and filling, while bananas and dates add sweetness without sugar.
Want More? How to Keep Cookies Soft
