Three things happen during baking that change the flavor of a cookie.
Maillard reaction, caramelization, and the melting of fats. There are more, but those are the three we’re going to talk about.
The maillard reaction takes raw flour and turns it brown. It absorbs some of the sugar in the process, and creates a more complex, nutty flavor. Caramelization also browns some of the sugar, giving it a smoky, bitter flavor. They also give the cookie a firm or crispy texture.
You also melt any fats, like butter, that are in the dough. Melted butter separates and spreads throughout the cookie.
There’s also often an egg that helps build structure for the baked dough, and sometimes baking soda for fluffiness.
This means uncooked dough is sweeter than a baked cookie. It has a soft, dense, and moist texture that disappears when fully baked. It’s butter and sugar held together with flour and egg, and it’s delicious.
Same reason people love raw cookie dough. They just like the taste.
Salmonella brings people together.
You can get eggs from Salmonella vaccinated chickens, it’s just not the norm in north America.
It’s in the flour not the eggs. Eating raw flour is riskier than eating raw eggs.
Yep. Specifically it’s because the flour is not generally sanitized/processed in any way that removes bacteria from the grain or the finished product.
Flour is traditionally only used as an ingredient and will through the cooking process experience heat high enough to kill any bacteria.
If you want to make safe cookie dough to eat raw at home just spread the flour on a sheet tray and toast it in the oven at ~200 degrees for something like 10 minutes. There’s specific directions online.
This is how I’ve loved cookies for my entire life. I’m just happy they are easier to find now.
Because I will eat fistfuls of raw cookie dough. Raw eggs are safe where I’m at anyways.
You can make safe edible cookie dough pretty easily . The eggs aren’t the only issue, it’s the flour itself. If you bake it at like 275F for 30 mins in a sheet pan it’ll sterilize it. For edible cookie dough that won’t be baked you don’t even need eggs.
Having said that, I too have eaten my share of regular cookie dough.