Friday, February 26, 2021

Edible Cookie Dough, from Doughp

Update Review - 2018-2019

As always, please start with my original review to learn about Doughp, an edible cookie dough maker in San Francisco that I discovered a few years ago.  After falling in love with some of the flavors before, I eagerly ordered from Doughp for several events I catered over the next few years, with just small jars of a slew of flavors at one event (so we could try them all!), and going for full on huge catering setup for another (50+ people, we needed a lot of dough!).

I was pleased with my choices to use Doughp both times, and my guests were all fascinated too, for many of them, it was their first experience with edible cookie dough.

Take Home Jars

The OG.
"Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough."

Starting with the basics, the most classic type of cookie dough there is: chocolate chip cookie dough.  Blonde sweet base, little chocolate chips.

This one is fine.  Fairly classic sweet buttery cookie dough taste.  Fairly classic chips.  Not much more to say.

Good texture, good sweetness, very basic cookie dough.  Not one I felt compelled to have more of though at room temperature.
Ready to bake!
Of course, you can bake it though.  Or, as I prefer, half-bake.

I did bake it into full cookies a few times, generally accidentally (getting distracted while intending to half-bake!), and never cared for it that way.  Because, well, it was just a cookie.  It does bake up into totally normal seeming cookies though, nothing strange about them.
Eminem.
"M&M Cookie Dough."

Slightly more interesting than simple chocolate chip, "Eminem" replaces the chocolate chips with colorful M&Ms, again, fairly classic.

Nearly exactly the same as the OG, although I liked it a bit more because the M&Ms were crunchier.
This S'more is Hella Awesome.
"Marshmallow fluff-infused dough + grahams + chocolate chips."

Now, kicking things up a few notches to a Doughp signature flavor: This S'more is Hella Awesome.  Yup, s'mores, as a cookie dough.

The dough is marshmallow fluff infused, which I might not have noticed or identified entirely without the description, but it did have a different style of sweetness that I liked, and I did see occasional bits of white in it.  I just didn't really taste the fluff goodness, nor find any telltale Fluff goo however.  Fluff is all about the gooey mess!

I'm also not really sure where the grahams were.  Again, not distinct pieces, but also, it just didn't taste that different, no "graham-y" flavor.  That I didn't mind though, I'm not the biggest graham cracker fan.  It also had little chocolate chips like the OK.

So for me, this was the OG, but with a better sweetness.  I liked this one at room temperature well enough, probably my third pick at room temperature.
Nut-Hella Oreo.
And ... another notch up: Nut-Hella Oreo.

Yup, Nutella base with Oreos.

Now, you know I don't generally care for Nutella.  I don't generally care for Oreos.  I didn't like the Oreos when they were included in the Peanut Butter Oreo flavor I had the first time I tried Doughp.  But still, I tried it.  It was the most distinct looking of all the varieties, much darker in color, and loaded with Oreo.

At room temperature, or fridge temperature, yup, not really for me.  I didn't taste Nutella actually, but the Oreo texture and flavor wasn't something I like.  I was ready to move on.

But I gave it one more try.  I warmed some up.  I didn't fully bake it into a cookie, but rather half-baked it.  It was soft.  It was gooey.  It was more like a hybrid skillet cookie-brownie.  I added vanilla ice cream.  Now, now it was good.

I still never tasted the Nutella, but I didn't care.  Warmed up, topped with ice cream, this was quite enjoyable, so I'm glad I gave it the chance.

I tried it again at room temp, and again wasn't really into it.  So I baked it.  And, yup, loved it again.  Half-baked, with vanilla ice cream, a total winner.

One of my favorites, but only when warmed up.
Seasonal Special: PB Chip, 4 ounces.
"Peanut Butter Cookie Dough with Chocolate Chips." 

Mmm, peanut butter.  Doughp makes a number of peanut butter based flavors, such as "You Jelly?" with berry preserves or "Fluffed Nuts" with marshmallow fluff, both of which I was eager to try, but alas, the seasonal special at the time was the more basic PB chip.  Slightly more exciting than the PB Oreo I tried last time, but still not the one I'd pick if I had more options.

Still, peanut butter? I was in.
PB Chip, Close Up.
I dug in with glee.  There really is something so fun about cracking into a jar of cookie dough.  It was well loaded with chocolate chips, not too many, but enough to get some in every bite.  Nice peanut butter flavor to the base.

And wow, it was rich!  A big spoonful of this went a long way.  Really, I'm all for sweet rich things, but there is no way I could just eat a jar of this in one sitting.  Which, is probably a good thing.

This was best when balanced with some whipped cream, even better when drizzled with chocolate sauce, and went great with the vanilla cones.  That said, it wasn't one I felt the desire to really devour at any point, making it my least favorite at room temperature.
Seasonal Special: Redrum, 4 Ounces.
"Red velvet cake smashed into a blonde cookie dough."

Next up?  "Redrum", or, Red Velvet!  Brilliant red color.

I didn't find any distinct bits of cake in it, but the dough was sweet, smooth, and really quite tasty.  I detected a cream cheese-eque taste to it, which I think was the red velvet nature.

Best plain so you could taste that cream cheese, and with sprinkles on top.  I liked it at room temperature quite a bit.

My favorite of this batch of jars, still behind the Amber Rose though, and behind the special flavor I had for a catered event I organized ...
Red Rum: Half-Baked.
I baked this one too.  Or, half-baked.  Just hot and gooey.  And ... well, perfect.

It was just so crazy good warmed up like this, topped with vanilla ice cream, and sprinkles. 

Catering

"DOUGHP MAKES EVENTS REALLY DOPE.
Quit it with the cupcakes already. Let DOUGHP take the wheel and turn up the awesome factor at your next event."
I couldn't agree more.  When I had a birthday themed event to host, I couldn't wait to bring in Doughp for our sweet treats.

For catering, Doughp offers 3 types of events: "DOUGH-IT-YOURSELF" (drop off service where you set up your own event with big tubs of cookie dough, toppings, bowls, etc), full service (them setting up and scooping to order on site), or, just dropping off individual jars.
DOUGH-IT-YOURSELF Package.
"We’ll drop off enough cookie dough, cups, spoons and sprinkles to serve up your entire crew. Your crew can then serve themselves for a little DIY action!"

I went for the Dough-it-Yourself option, selecting a single flavor of dough (birthday themed), and a few toppings.

I appreciated that they brought me an ice cream scoop to use to serve it, plenty of spoons, and Doughp branded bowls.

And a very, very big bowl of cookie dough.  ZOMG.
Toppings: Peanut Butter Sauce, Chocolate Sauce, Sprinkles. $0.50 each per person.
Topping choices were coconut, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, peanut butter sauce, M&Ms, Heath Bar bits, and Oreo.  I went for the sauces and sprinkles (because birthday).

The sprinkles were the hard, round kind, and they complimented nearly every flavor well, adding texture and color.  Highly recommended.

The peanut butter sauce was ... just peanut butter, a bit thinner so you could spoon it on.  It was fine, but, not particularly interesting.  Chocolate sauce was equally just ok, thin sauce, easy to drizzle, not particularly flavorful, though it did compliment peanut butter based flavors well.

Each was provided in its own tub, $0.50 each per person, I ordered for 30 people, which means each of these tubs was $15, which does feel a bit steep.  $15 for a little container of chocolate sauce?  For sprinkles?  Eh.
Vanilla & Orange Creamsicle Waffle Cones. $1.25/each.
If you prefer to eat your ice cream, er, cookie dough, from a cone rather than bowl, Doughp has you covered.  Fun flavored (and colored!) waffle cones are available in vanilla, red velvet, orange creamsicle, chocolate hazelnut, and birthday cake.

I eagerly ordered an assortment, particularly looking forward to the birthday cake ones I've seen online, but, alas, they only had orange creamsicle and vanilla in stock the day of my event.

The vanilla though aren't boring, they are black, and when you fill them with colorful cookie dough, are stunning.  They truly are vanilla flavored, not just plain.  Well made cones, not stale, great flavor.  This one worked as a wonderful base for nearly any flavor of dough.

The orange creamsicle were, orange, as expected.  The taste?  AMAZING.  I didn't think I'd like these, and they were the ones I was least excited for to be honest, but, they were crazy flavorful. Fruit loops-eque.  They didn't combine great with some flavors though (peanut butter based dough was NOT a match!)

Overall, I was quite impressed with the quality and flavor to the cones, and I look forward to trying the red velvet and birthday cake cones sometime.
Doughp 4Hope: 50 Servings.
"Sugar cookie base with cake pieces and sprinkles." 

O.M.G.

This was good cookie dough.  Really good cookie dough.  Seriously good cookie dough.  Yes, I could totally just eat this entire bowl.  50 servings?  Challenge accepted!  I'm only kinda joking.

It was sweet.   It was buttery.   The same sugar cookie base that I had really enjoyed with the Amber Rose before.

It had fun texture from the sprinkles.  And the cake pieces?  AMAZING.  I don't know what they were, but they were white chunks of sweet deliciousness.

I adored everything about this dough.  It was great plain by the bowl, er, spoonful.  It was great with whipped cream.  It was great with more sprinkles.  It was great in any flavor cone.

It was, well, just amazing.  My favorite, no question. Absolutely the best flavor at room temperature too, and it stayed softer than the others in the fridge.

But there is more to this flavor.

"This funfetti cookie dough will taste good and make you feel good. 100% of proceeds are donated to a local nonprofit every 3 months."

Yes, it is the special flavor they make in partnership with local nonprofits .  For August-October 2018, it was The Bread Project, La Cocina, and OneLove, all local nonprofits in the food industry that I was already familiar with.
Doughp 4Hope: 90% baked.
I was meaning to only half-bake this, but got distracted talking to people, and let it bake far more than I wanted, nearly making a cookie.  Oops.

It was still good warm, and I smothered it in ice cream and whipped cream and sprinkles, but, I was aiming for gooey more dough-like consistency, so I wasn't entirely happy.
Redrum & Doughp 4Hope, Half-Baked.
I did better the next time, putting the (toaster) oven only at 325*, and not straying far.  I only let it bake long enough to go get some ice cream and whipped cream ready.

The result?  Perfect!  Half-baked, soft, gooey, deliciousness.  Neither flavor actually *needed* me to add ice cream or whipped cream, as both these flavors have a decent amount of complexity to them, but I did anyway.  Because ... warm dessert and cold ice cream is my thing!

I think I might I actually prefer both of these at room temp though, not baked.  Its a toss up though, not clear.
#veganlyfe
"The Original, but vegan and gluten-free."

I give them Doughp props for making a vegan and gluten-free flavor.

This one is a bit different in that it always requires refrigeration.  It is also different in that it ... isn't buttery, decadent, and delicious.  The texture is different, kinda gloopy.  And, well, it tastes like soy?

I didn't care for it, but I had appreciation for the inclusion of those with dietary restrictions.

Original Review, 2017

"Doughp makes edible (and bakeable) raw cookie dough! We serve up the raw dough in sugar cones or cups for a ridiculously unique dessert experience. "

Yup, edible cookie dough.  You have seen this taking over the Instagrams lately right?  Will it reach the level of the cupcake craze of years ago?  Probably not, but I see potential to perhaps rival cronuts.

Edible cookie dough is exactly what you think it is.  Cookie dough, made safe for eating without baking.  Sold at speciality shops with long lines, and ever creative ways of making the product look more and more Instragram worthy.  (I've also had amazing cookie dough as a dessert at Little Donkey restaurant in Boston, served on a beater.)

Doughp is the latest San Francisco establishment to join this craze (say the name outloud and you'll get it).  They started as a popup at Spark Social events, did a bunch of catering, and now have space inside The Myriad.

They use flaxseed eggs to make the dough safe for eating, and do note that you could bake this dough into actual cookies if you wanted.  But, that isn't what people do.

No, they go to the shop, and get ... cones of cookie dough.  Yes, imagine an ice cream shop, but, instead of scoops of ice cream, you get scoops of cookie dough.

Doughp offers a slew of flavors (nearly 20, which they rotate), including some with names that made me laugh (like, "Eminem" for the M&M flavor, or "Red Dum" with "Red velvet cake violently smashed into a blonde cookie dough"), and plenty that sound amazing ("Fluffed Nutz" I have my eye on, peanut butter & marshmallow fluff!)

And then, the cone.  Flavored cones, like a brilliant red velvet one.  For an extra $1.50 of course.  And toppings, colorful ones, like Fruity Pebbles.  Add $0.50.  Pick your pairings based on looks, or how they'll taste together, depending on your priorities.

The dough itself is $6 a scoop.  Would I pay that?  Nah.  Do I really want a full scoop of cookie dough at a time?  It turns out, no.  But if someone brought me a container full, and I had it stashed in my fridge for a few days/weeks (they say it keeps for a month), I'd gladly eat a couple spoonfuls every day ...
Assorted Edible Dough!
I got to try an assortment of flavors when a friend brought them to a party.  We didn't have them as scoops, or in the colorful cones, or served with toppings, but we still had all the joy of eating cookie dough with a spoon.  And honestly, eating it right from a container like this taps into the same part of my brain as eating Ben & Jerry's from the pint for me, making it that much more satisfying than if in a cone.

The flavors I tried were: Amber Rose, Matcha Dood, That Eclipse, Dough, Oh Snap, and PB Oreo.  My reviews below follow in my order of preference (favorite to least favorite).

All had an enjoyable cookie dough texture, a buttery sweetness.  I didn't taste the flax in any of them, which I was really fearful of, as I don't like flax.
Amber Rose.
Amber Rose: "Cranberry sugar cookie with a hint of elderflower & rose water."

I loved the Amber Rose.  My favorite, no question.  It was a beautiful pink color, studded with dried cranberries.

It was buttery, it was sweet, it was everything good about cookie dough.  I didn't know what the flavor was when I was trying it, but I could tell there was a fascinating subtle something going on, which I guess was the elderflower, and it was sweet in a lovely way, which I guess was the rose water.  I don't even really care for dried cranberries, but I even liked them in here, a bit of texture, more sweetness.

Certainly not a flavor I would have picked, but I loved it, and it was my favorite of the bunch.
Matcha Doodle.
"Snickerdoodle cookie dough with a matcha green tea twist." 

Next I went for the crazy green looking one, Matcha Doodle.  I'll admit, the color wasn't necessarily appealing, but, I knew it was matcha based.  The name ... sounded familiar to me.  Why?  Uh, I think Doughp got inspiration from Humpry Slocombe, who has a flavor of the same name, described as "Generous chunks of cinnamon-y house-made snickerdoodle cookies are mixed throughout creamy matcha green tea ice cream."

Anyway, *this* matcha doodle didn't taste like snickerdoodle in any way, which, was fine with me.  I'm not really one for snickerdoodle.

It did taste like matcha, sweet butter matcha that is, and had a few little bits of white chocolate for added sweetness.  As a fan of matcha, I liked this quite a bit.  My second favorite.

That Eclipse, Dough (Limited Edition).
Ok, back to interesting colors, the limited edition, jet black That Eclipse, Dough.  You can probably guess when this was offered: the eclipse.

While it *looked* interesting, it didn't taste like anything.  Just buttery sweet cookie dough.  The color comes from being charcoal-activated, which didn't add anything to the flavor.  Very plain, boring, but I'm sure it was a top seller during the craze around the eclipse, and probably looked very Instagram worthy in the bright cones (just like the Nano X soft serve from JP Licks, also charcoal activated).

So, fine, but boring.
Oh, Snap!
Speaking of snickerdoodle, next was the plain looking Oh, Snap! the snickerdoodle flavor.

It looked just like regular cookie dough, and that is what it tasted like too.  Very seasoned, very cinnamony, and probably good, if you like snickerdoodle.  Not the flavor for me.
PB Oreo.
I saved the PB Oreo for last, expecting it to be my favorite.  It was my least favorite.

The peanut butter cookie base was ok, but I wasn't into the Oreo.  Which I guess makes sense, as I don't like Oreo much, but I thought the peanut butter and chocolate combo would win me over, and that I'd appreciate the texture.  I didn't.  Meh to Oreo (sorry Dad, I know you love them).

My least favorite, but Ojan enjoyed it (although he also noted that while it was good, it wasn't $6-a-scoop-good).

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