8 Best Edible Cookie Dough Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Cookie dough is a classic dessert, and one of the first many people learn to make when they start baking. While most cookie dough is considered tasty if it produces a well-baked cookie, many brands of dough are also enjoyable when eaten raw. However, before the 2020s, store-bought raw cookie dough almost always had an ingredient that made it unsafe to eat without baking -- eggs.

As more customers crave the indulgence of cookie dough, industry leaders like Pillsbury and Nestlé Toll House have made safe-to-eat raw dough so patrons can have the option of baking the cookies or simply eating the dough out of the tub. In fact, cookie dough company Dō was created with the sole purpose of bringing edible cookie dough into the hands of people who loved to lick the spoon while baking as a kid.

The edible cookie dough industry is booming, and it is also saturated with a myriad of brands claiming to make the best version of the irresistible dessert. With so many options, it can be difficult to know what brand is best for you to indulge in. Luckily, I tasted a variety of edible cookie dough brands and ranked them worst to best -- based primarily on taste and texture -- so you have the brand you need to satisfy your next cookie dough craving.

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer/distributor/etc.

Read more: 23 Best Ice Cream Brands Ranked

8. Bhu Foods

Bhu Foods cookie dough is a sweet treat for those looking to watch their sugar intake, or those following a keto diet. Bhu Foods' protein cookie dough products are unique, in that it is one of the only edible cookie dough brands on the market that comes in bar form in addition to bites and the more traditional jar and tub packaging. I tried the bites, which are made with 4 grams of protein each and less than a gram of sugar. Plus, the package conveniently cases six individually wrapped bites. This product is also vegan and gluten free. But unfortunately, the nutritional value and convenient nature of these bites' packaging are the best parts about this cookie dough.

The chocolate chip cookie dough bites have a syrupy taste that is overwhelmingly sweet. The product barely tastes like cookie dough; rather, it has a similar taste to a zero-sugar carbonated drink that is usually way sweeter than the regular version. The cookie dough also has an aftertaste that is consistent with the qualities of the monk fruit sweetener that is used. As far as texture, the cookie dough is crumbly and firm, making it difficult to bite into.

7. The London Dough Co.

Cookies and ice cream are an iconic combination, and The London Dough Co. puts that combo into bite-sized form, refreshing it by using gelato. With a myriad of flavors ranging from chocolate chip to chocolate truffle, and even to fruity flavors like strawberry and blueberry, the brand has an option for everyone.

The bites themselves are a bit chewier than I would have expected, and they taste almost like a soggy cookie that has been sitting with ice cream on top of it for too long. The actual gelato part is refreshing and enjoyable, and with the mint chocolate chip flavor, the mint flavor comes through well. The chocolate chip dough is paired with vanilla ice cream, which is just about as classic as it gets, and the vanilla is creamy -- the pairing tastes quite similar to a Chipwich, which makes sense considering that the outside of these bites is rolled in cookie crumbs. Perhaps that is also where the grainy texture comes from.

The flavor combinations work well in both the mint chocolate and the chocolate chip with vanilla gelato. Unfortunately, these bites fall flat with the thick and soggy texture, which is often a make-or-break aspect of desserts. In this case, the texture ruins the cookie dough bites, making them a bit too unenjoyable.

6. Nestlé Toll House

Nestlé Toll House has been making cookie dough since 1939, and it is still a household classic today. The brand's cookie dough bites use the same semi-sweet chocolate chips as the classic Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe. When you open the packaging, the aroma is a mix of sour and sugary, and the cookie dough holds a welcome softness despite being refrigerated.

Interestingly, this chocolate chip cookie dough tastes like a marshmallow, in that it is slightly fluffy with a lot of saccharinity. The dough also has a grainy texture, so much so that you can hear a crunch when you chew it. As I was chewing, I was trying to figure out what exactly the taste was that was so prominent on my taste buds -- and then I reread the packaging, which notes the use of butter. The cookie dough has a significant buttery taste that is more overwhelming than any other flavor, coming through prominently in the taste and texture. It leaves a cookie dough bite that is tangy yet creamy. The flavor profile is not necessarily ideal for a chocolate chip dough, but the texture is certainly lovable.

5. Ben & Jerry's

Created in Vermont in 1978, Ben & Jerry's has quickly become a household name for all things ice cream. Because the company's cookie dough ice cream is its most popular flavor today, Ben & Jerry's began to sell the chocolate chip cookie dough chunks on their own. The cookie dough flavors mirror some of the company's ice cream flavors -- half baked, s'mores, peanut butter, and classic chocolate chip.

The texture of the peanut butter dough is rich and very firm, due in part to the fact that these are required to be frozen (not just refrigerated). The peanut butter taste comes through well, however, and the mini peanut butter cups mixed in provide a crunchy offset to the rich texture. In the s'mores flavor, the graham cracker cookie dough tastes grainy and smells like syrup. The marshmallow truffles mixed in are chocolatey while remaining light and fluffy. While the graham cracker flavor is faint, these flavors combine to set this dough apart.

The classic chocolate chip flavor stands on its own. The chocolate chip chunks are more dough than chocolate chips — so if you don't like a doughy bite, these aren't for you. The half baked mix, with classic chocolate chip dough and chunks of fudge brownie, have a rich, chocolatey flavor akin to the namesake ice cream. The pairing is tasty, but the flavor might be a bit too full-bodied to eat more than a few pieces in one sitting.

4. Pillsbury

With a variety of flavors and packaging — from rolls of cookie dough to small squares — Pillsbury is a well-loved brand. In 2020, the brand made a safe-to-eat-raw version of its cookie dough so customers would avoid eating the unsafe dough simply because it was enjoyable. Flavors range from classic chocolate chip and sugar to Reese's and even pumpkin. The Pillsbury cookie dough squares in particular are convenient and fun to eat, with a smooth texture.

The dough melts quickly when out of the fridge, so be sure to only take it out when you're ready to eat it (or to bake it, as the product is still bakeable). The chocolate chip dough is more dough than chocolate chip, but the flavor is balanced in sweetness and richness. However, the ratio is not consistent square by square -- some squares have the perfect number of chocolate chips, others are lacking, and still others have too many chocolate chips to be enjoyable. With the lack of consistency, the chocolate chip dough isn't the most reliable, although it does have a good flavor profile.

The sugar cookie dough is more consistent, in that it is subtle across the board. The squares barely have a taste -- the sugar comes through in the grainy texture that adds a crunch with each bite. The sweetness isn't significant, which is surprising for a sugar cookie, but I also don't mind that. The subtlety allows this to not be overwhelming; it is an easy-to-eat snack.

3. EatPastry

EatPastry has been making safe-to-eat-raw cookie dough since 2008, using heat-treated flour and no eggs. All of the cookie dough products sold by the company are vegan and plant-based, and a gluten-free chocolate chip option is also available, which makes the product perfect for anyone with dietary restrictions.

Even as a non-vegan myself, this was one of my favorite cookie doughs on the list. The chocolate chip flavor is the one I would go back to -- the dough perfectly balances sweetness without going over the top, and the chocolate chips are the perfect mini size for each bite. The texture of this dough is smooth with no palpable graininess, and it is thick, creamy, and rich.

The peanut butter flavor is slightly less enticing. The dough forms some oil at the bottom after a while of being unopened, and it is much thicker than the chocolate chip dough. It is thick in the same way peanut butter is thick enough to get stuck on the roof of your mouth. The peanut butter taste itself comes through only slightly, and the texture is a bit grainy -- just not enough to make you want to stop eating. Overall, the peanut butter flavor is not as strong as the peanut butter texture of this dough, so I wouldn't necessarily call it a peanut butter cookie dough.

2. Cappello's

Based in Denver, Cappello's is a multi-faceted company making pizza, pasta, and, of course, cookie dough. Depending on the cookie dough product, options that are vegan, gluten free, grain free, soy free, kosher, and/or paleo are available. The brand makes rolls of double chocolate and chocolate chip cookie dough, and bags of brown butter sugar and chocolate chip with flaky sea salt cookie dough. I tried the roll of chocolate chip dough.

The product combines complex flavors by perfecting the ratio and making each bite enjoyable. The use of semi-sweet chocolate chips helps to add a tangy bitterness to keep the dough from being too sweet, and the added sea salt to the ingredients makes the chocolate more prominent in flavor, elevating the dough to something more sophisticated. With most bites, you get equal parts dough and chocolate chip, and sometimes you get more chocolate chip than anything else. This is a slightly lopsided ratio that I welcome here, because the inconsistency is not overdone like with Pillsbury.

The texture of the dough starts off with a little bit of graininess but smooths out as it melts in your mouth. The salty flavor is prevalent, combining with the semi-sweet chocolate to slightly overtake the taste of the dough itself. I personally love when a cookie dough uses salt to its advantage, but if you're looking strictly for sweetness in your cookie dough, this would not be the dough for you.

1. Sweet Loren's

Sweet Loren's has created a safe-to-eat cookie dough that I will keep coming back to. The brand makes pizza crust, biscuits, and cookie dough, and each product is gluten free and vegan. There are more than 10 flavors of cookie dough, and the fudgy brownie flavor is highly rated on Target's website — and it is no surprise why.

As soon as you open the package, you inhale the chocolatey aroma, and you can immediately see that the dough balls -- which come in packs of 12 -- are thick but slightly grainy. The grainy texture isn't as prominent as some of the other brands on this list, so the dough remains delectable. Made with dark chocolate and cocoa powder, the product tastes exactly how it is supposed to -- like a very chocolatey fudge brownie that is decadent and rich in flavor. The texture would be overwhelming were it not for the chocolate chunks mixed in. These chunks add a crunch to balance out the consistency.

Sweet Loren's fudgy brownie cookie dough is the cookie dough for chocolate lovers, unmarred. The double-chocolate dough tastes like a mix of an elegant chocolate truffle and a hearty homemade brownie. Simply put, Sweet Loren's nails it.

Methodology

The cookie dough brands in this article were tasted based on each one's popularity in the market. The cookie dough products listed here were ranked based primarily on taste and texture. Crucial to both the flavor profile and texture of the cookie dough was the ability of the ingredients to work well together and create a balanced bite. A successful cookie dough product struck the perfect balance of sweetness without going over the top, had a consistent and even ratio of dough to mix-ins, and had a texture that was smooth and creamy. Higher rankings were also given to the cookie doughs that I would be most likely to return to, and that I would recommend keeping on-hand to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.