Some people braver than I enjoy risking their lives when they reach for a dessert. (I'm not talking about diabetes, although with the amount of sugar I consume daily, that should be a concern, too.) No, I'm talking about the risks associated with eating raw cookie dough. I prefer my cookies baked or at least semi-baked (hello Levain); however, I seem to be in the minority. If you don't have a kitchen to make your own cookie dough or the thawed Nestle package isn't cutting it, here are four places in Manhattan to fill the cookie dough-shaped hole in your life!
1.) Cookie DŌ
Our first stop is Cookie DŌ NYC wherein you can buy safe-to-eat raw cookie dough in a variety of flavors, from the basic chocolate chip and sugar cookie to the more creative flavors like s'more, fluffernutter, and cake batter. They also have seasonal flavors such as coffee toffee and cinnamon poptart, and gluten-free, grain-free and vegan variations for those of you with dietary restrictions.
DŌ just opened its first ever storefront in a beautiful, airy store in Greenwich Village, right by Washington Square Park. Now you can order sundaes, baked goods, milkshakes, and of course, scoops of dough in Konery cones, in a space where "dreams dough come true."
2.) Schmackary's
Next we're moving north to Hell's Kitchen, where you'll have to push through the throngs of tourists and theatre-goers to find blue-and-white striped Schmackary's. I personally love the red velvet cookie and millionaire's bar from this cookie-centric bakery, but for the purpose of this article, we're going to order the chocolate chip cookie slathered in cookie dough frosting. My roommate approved of this cookie and she's a cookie dough snob. Beware: Schmackary's rotates their flavors daily, so check the website for their monthly schedule!
3.) Molly's Cupcakes
Time to hop on the subway and head down to the West Village. If you have time between VSCO-ing the winding streets and wondering whether the girl who just passed you is an Instagram model, check out Molly's Cupcakes. Could we go grab a vegan, gluten-free cookie from nearby Sweets By Chloe? Sure, but we're not here for health. Molly's offers a wide variety of filled cupcakes, including seasonal varieties such as mint chocolate and the requisite pumpkin spice, but luckily for you, the cookie monster is made daily. Topped with vanilla buttercream and a mini chocolate chip cookie, the vanilla cupcake base surrounds a gob of freshly made cookie dough. Some Yelp reviewers claim there isn't enough cake; true cookie dough lovers know there is never enough cookie dough.
4.) Tompkins Square Bagels
Hours have passed since I began this cookie dough crusade and since then I've passed out from a sugar coma. Once I figure out I've somehow made my way over to the East Village and am laying on a bench in Tompkins Square Park, we're going to hop across the street to Tompkins Square Bagels. Hopefully there isn't a long line, because we're going to want warm bagels asap. TSB has tons of different flavored cream cheeses if you're into that, one of which is cookie dough. Did you just eat cookie dough and a day's worth of carbs for breakfast? Yes, with #noragrets.
Cookie dough is so versatile. It can be eaten straight out of the tub or mixing bowl, whipped into cream cheese or icing for bagels and cupcakes, or half-baked into cookies that are still molten inside. Cookie dough seems to be having a moment right now; doughn't get left behind in the mixing bowl! (I doughn't apologize for the puns.)