I’ve said this for years! Eating raw cookie dough can make you sick! I remember my kids wanting to snack on the dough as I was allowing them to help me make cookies. I’d take some chocolate chips or raisins and place them in mini-cups for them to snack on, instead of the dough. Why? Call it gut instinct.
I grew up with parents owning several businesses. One was a bakery in New York the other a restaurant in Winter Haven, Florida. My dad was a neat freak! He kept his workplace neat. He had sayings such as, “You want to learn how to cook? Learn how to clean first!” We never ate cookie dough.
Now, the truth is that raw processed white flour and raw eggs can make you sick. The CDC has put out a statement read here, but in a nutshell, the article urges:
- Do not eat raw dough — or anything made with raw flour
- Do not let kids play with or eat raw dough (kids put their fingers in their mouth!)
- Prepare foods at a proper temperature and follow recipe directions.
- Do not make milkshakes with raw flour or cake mixes
- Do not use the raw dough in ice cream (the ones you buy are cooked to kill harmful bacteria)
- Keep raw foods separate from ready to eat foods (flour is a powder and can be airborne and harmful).
- Refrigerate raw cookie dough.
- Clean up with soap and water — all hands, utensils, bowls, countertops, cutting boards, cookie utensils, etc.
Parents – please be careful! Kids can still frost cookies and help in other ways with decorations.
Here is what I would do:
- Purchase organic whenever possible. Not that that in itself is the total answer, but it can help.
- Use sprouted organic grain. You can soak the grain overnight – when it begins to sprout dry it in a warm oven. 150 degrees or less. Be sure to heat oven and turn it off before you put in the sprouted grain. Then, grind.
- Be sure to keep your baking area clean. Use hot water and soap.
It is a wonderful tradition to bake cookies with your children but safety is first! Have a wonderful time, and be safe!
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