Joy Bauer's Fiber-Packed Edible Cookie Dough Is So Simple, It'll Knock You Off Your Feet
It's a quick recipe that you'll make again and again!
Reviewed by Dietitian Annie Nguyen, M.A., RD
Many of us know the allure of breaking off a piece of raw cookie dough when you're in the mood for something sweet, but we also know it's not always the wisest decision. Most cookie dough contains raw flour and egg, both of which can contain germs like Salmonella and E. coli that could make you sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Raw flour was tied to a Salmonella outbreak as recently as this year.
The good news is that there are cookie dough options (whether you make them or buy them) that skip or cook the raw ingredients to make them ready for snacking. As luck would have it, Joy Bauer just added another one of those helpful recipes to our to-make list.
Bauer, who you might know as the tip- and trick-sharing dietitian on the Today show, posted this simple, happy dance-inducing recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough on Instagram this week, where commenters fell immediately in love. ("Another must-make!," one commenter declared, and we have to agree.) All you'll need for this cookie dough is raw walnuts, rolled oats, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon and a little kosher salt—plus your toppings of choice.
Just dump the dough ingredients—leaving out the chocolate chips or other add-ins—into a food processor and blend for about five minutes, until the mixture is rich and creamy. Remember to stop a few times to scrape down the bowl and reincorporate everything. (You can also try this recipe in a high-powered blender, Bauer says, though you may have to scrape more often.)
Related: Joy Bauer Just Shared Her Recipe for 2-Ingredient Chocolate Fudge Cakes—and They Pack an Anti-Inflammatory Punch
When the dough mixture has cooled off from its vigorous processing, move the dough to a bowl and stir in your chocolate by hand. You could also switch up the add-ins to your taste—try white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts, golden raisins or even some cocoa powder for an added chocolaty boost. When your dough is all mixed up, it's ready to eat or store.
This recipe definitely yields a whole bunch of cookie dough, so you'll probably want to store your dough in the fridge. If the dough gets dry and crumbly in the fridge, simply microwave it for 15 seconds and it'll transform into a creamy texture. Bauer recommends keeping the dough in the fridge for a maximum of six weeks. If you're looking for a longer storage solution, you could roll the dough into balls, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze, like we do with our Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls. That means you can make this fun snack way in advance and have it on hand for whenever your sweet tooth strikes.
If the minimal ingredients and effort required for this recipe didn't win you over already, the fiber quantity might just do the trick. Fiber can help you feel full for longer—which is a winning quality to have in a snack—and it's essential to having a healthy gut microbiome. Both oats and walnuts add some fiber to the recipe that can give you extra staying power, and the walnuts also offer a source of healthy fat. The walnuts, oats and cinnamon are also anti-inflammatory ingredients, so they offer lots of nutrients to help you enjoy your day.
This edible dough might not be able to fully replace our need for cookie dough in the future—after all, we'll still need a supply of bake-able cookies—but a batch of this stuff will be a great cure for our snacking needs. Just add a little ball to your next work lunch or picnic basket for an easy-peasy snack that hits the spot.
Related: Joy Bauer Shares Her Favorite Protein-Rich Dinners for Heart Health—Here's How to Make Them
