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Edible Sugar Cookie Dough is the dessert for everyone who licks the beaters, egg free, made with heat treated flour, and swirled with white chocolate chips and crushed peppermints, and when I made a batch on a snowy December afternoon Maddie and Lizzie ate it straight from the mixer bowl with spoons. If you would rather bake a classic batch, our sugar cookies are the traditional route.
The whole bowl comes together in about 15 minutes, and there is zero baking beyond a quick flour toast.
Edible Sugar Cookie Dough Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 8 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 7 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 15 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 8 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 603kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet vanilla sugar cookie base with cool peppermint and creamy white chocolate
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on the same no-fuss level as our homemade Christmas fudge
Quick Answer
Heat treat the flour in a 350F oven for 5 to 7 minutes until it reaches 160F, then cool it completely. Cream softened butter with granulated sugar, mix in powdered sugar, then add milk, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Mix in the cooled flour in batches, fold in white chocolate chips and crushed peppermints, and serve by the scoop.
Jump to:
- Edible Sugar Cookie Dough Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Edible Sugar Cookie Dough
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Edible Sugar Cookie Dough FAQs
- Other Recommended Holiday Dessert Recipes
- Edible Sugar Cookie Dough
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Heat treating the flour. Raw flour, not eggs, is the real food safety risk in cookie dough. Toasting it to 160F kills any bacteria so the dough is genuinely safe to eat by the spoonful.
- No eggs, no problem. Eggs only exist in cookie dough to bind it during baking. Since this dough never sees the oven, milk steps in for moisture and nothing is missing.
- Creaming the butter and sugar. Two full minutes of creaming dissolves the sugar into the butter and whips in air, which is what makes the dough fluffy instead of dense and greasy.
- Powdered sugar for texture. The cornstarch in powdered sugar smooths the dough and thickens it slightly, giving that ice cream shop scoopable consistency.
- Adding flour in batches. Dumping all the flour at once packs the dough and leaves dry pockets. Slow additions keep it silky and evenly mixed.
- Folding mix ins last. Stirring the chips and candy in gently at the end keeps the peppermint pieces crunchy instead of dissolving pink streaks through the dough.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It is completely safe to eat raw, heat treated flour and zero eggs mean nobody has to sneak spoonfuls behind your back.
- It tastes like the holidays, sugar cookie, white chocolate, and candy cane in one bowl, the same crowd that loves our peppermint white chocolate Chex mix will lose it over this.
- It is a 15 minute dessert, no chilling, no baking, no decorating, just scoop and hand out spoons.
Key Ingredients
Every ingredient in this dough is doing a specific job, and there is not an egg in sight.
- All-Purpose Flour: The base of the dough, and the one ingredient that needs special treatment. A few minutes in the oven heat treats it so the raw dough is completely safe to eat.
- Butter: Softened butter creamed with sugar is what gives the dough that rich, melt on your tongue sugar cookie flavor.
- Two Sugars: Granulated sugar creams into the butter for structure and sweetness, while powdered sugar keeps the texture smooth and scoopable instead of gritty.
- Peppermint Extract: One teaspoon turns plain sugar cookie dough into a candy cane flavored treat. Add it to taste, a little goes a long way.
- White Chocolate Chips and Crushed Peppermints: The mix ins that make it. Creamy white chocolate and crunchy candy cane pieces in every single bite.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This dough is a blank sugar cookie canvas, swap the mix ins and it becomes a whole new dessert.
- Classic chocolate chip: Skip the peppermint extract and crushed candy, fold in mini semisweet chocolate chips for the traditional edible cookie dough experience.
- Funfetti style: Trade the peppermints for rainbow sprinkles and use the white chocolate chips as is, instant birthday cake energy.
- Truffle it: Roll the chilled dough into balls and dip them in melted chocolate like our cookie dough truffles for a giftable version.
- Ice cream mix in: Fold chunks of this dough into softened vanilla ice cream, or go straight for our no churn cookie dough ice cream.
- Dairy free: Use plant butter, oat milk, and dairy free white chips, the method does not change at all.
How to Make Edible Sugar Cookie Dough
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread the flour onto a sheet tray and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until it reaches 160F on an instant read thermometer, this makes the raw flour safe to eat.
- Cool the flour completely on a wire rack, then mix in the salt. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the milk, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract, then mix to combine.
- Slowly add the cooled flour in batches until fully mixed in, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips and crushed peppermints. Scoop and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Verify the flour hits 160F. That is the temperature that makes it safe, if you do not have a thermometer, bake the full 7 minutes and stir once halfway.
- Cool the flour completely before it goes anywhere near the butter, warm flour melts the creamed mixture and the dough turns greasy.
- Soften the butter, do not melt it. It should dent with light finger pressure, melted butter cannot hold the air that makes the dough fluffy.
- Crush the peppermints in a bag with a rolling pin to keep pieces coarse, a food processor turns them to powder and tints the whole bowl pink.
- Add peppermint extract to taste. Start with half a teaspoon, mix, and taste, brands vary wildly in strength.
- Too thick? Add milk a teaspoon at a time. Too soft? A tablespoon of powdered sugar brings it right back.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Serve it in small dessert cups with spoons and a sprinkle of extra crushed candy cane on top, it is rich, so a little scoop goes further than you think.
Set it out on a holiday dessert board next to our Christmas fudge and mint chocolate Ritz cookies and watch which disappears first.
For a cozy movie night pairing, spoon it alongside mugs made from our hot cocoa bombs, cookie dough plus hot chocolate is unbeatable.
Stored in an airtight container, it keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping.
Edible Sugar Cookie Dough FAQs
Yes, this Edible Sugar Cookie Dough is designed to be eaten raw. It contains no eggs, and the flour is heat treated in the oven to 160F, which eliminates the bacteria risk that makes ordinary raw dough unsafe. Those are the only two hazards in regular cookie dough, and this recipe removes both.
Spread the flour on a sheet tray and bake at 350F for 5 to 7 minutes, until an instant read thermometer registers 160F. You can also microwave it in a bowl in 30 second bursts, stirring between each, until it hits the same temperature. Cool it completely before mixing the dough.
Edible Sugar Cookie Dough keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It firms up when cold, so let it rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before scooping. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months and thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
No, Edible Sugar Cookie Dough is not meant for baking. It has no eggs or leavening, so it will not set or rise like real cookies, it would simply melt and spread. If you want baked cookies, use a proper sugar cookie recipe and save this dough for eating by the spoonful.
Grittiness almost always means the butter and granulated sugar were not creamed long enough. Beat them a full 2 minutes so the sugar starts dissolving into the butter. Using cold butter causes the same problem, it must be truly softened to room temperature before you start.
Absolutely. Leave out the peppermint extract and crushed candy and you have a perfect vanilla edible sugar cookie dough base. Fold in mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, chopped candy bars, or toffee bits instead, the base recipe works with practically any mix in.
Building a whole treat tray? Our cookie dough truffles are the dipped, giftable cousin of this bowl.
When you do want to bake, our red velvet blossom cookies are the 4 ingredient payoff.
Edible Sugar Cookie Dough
Ingredients
- 1 & ½ cups all-purpose flour
- pinch salt
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract or to taste
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup crushed peppermints
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread out the flour onto a sheet tray.1 & ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Place it in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until the flour reaches 160°F, this will ensure you kill any possible bacteria.
- Place the sheet tray on a wire rack to cool completely, add the salt and mix it in, set aside.pinch salt
- In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter with the granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, 2 minutes.3/4 cup butter, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Add in the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed.1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- Add in the milk and extracts, mix to combine.3 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Slowly add the flour in batches until fully mixed in, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips and crushed peppermint. Serve immediately.1 cup white chocolate chips, 1/3 cup crushed peppermints
Notes
- Start with less peppermint extract and add more to taste – different brands can vary in strength.
- Use room temperature butter for easier mixing.
- If the dough feels too dry, add a little bit more milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
- For an extra festive look, roll the dough into small balls and coat them in crushed peppermint.
- Serve it as a dessert spread with graham crackers or fruit slices.
- For a fun twist, try mixing in different extracts like almond or coconut.
Nutrition
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