Cookie dough. Arguably the most commonly sneakily eaten food in the history of the world. Mothers have been warning their kids of its dangers since the beginning of time, so we know we aren’t supposed to eat it. But we sneak it anyways, because it is just that good.

I have been making cake pops for a few years now (that’s a post for another day), but until now, I have never tried my hand at cookie dough pops! A quick Google search yields a lot of search results like this, this, and this. Since I’m not usually one for following recipes, I decided to make my own.

Call me a freak, but I actually prefer chocolate chip cookies sans chocolate chips. So I used mini chocolate chips as sprinkles and left them out of the dough. I do not regret it. Do yourself a favor, get some lollipop sticks, and make these immediately.

COOKIE DOUGH POPS

Servings: Makes ~20 pops (depending on how much of the dough you eat in the process)

Ingredients
1 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup butter (one stick, room temperature)
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp water

1 ½ cups dark chocolate morsels
1 Tbsp shortening
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Lollipop sticks of choice (I used these ones, cut in half)

Instructions

In a small bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

You might be thinking, “Baking soda? Is she dumb?” I know, I know – these are not going to be baked, so therefore require no leavening agent. BUT, stay with me here. Cookie dough in its natural state is delicious. How do we know that baking soda doesn’t play a part in that flavor profile? I’m cool with leaving out the raw eggs for the sake of safety. But since unbaked baking soda poses no health risk, I say it stays. It STAYS!

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, and vanilla, mixing until smooth.

TIP: Forgot to sit out your butter? No problem. Microwave at 30% power in 15-30 second increments until it is soft. For this recipe, it won’t hurt if it melts a little.

Continue mixing on low and slowly add in dry ingredients. Add 1 Tbsp water (if needed) to bring mixture together into a dough.

Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper, then scoop the dough by tablespoon and set aside.

TIP: I HIGHLY recommend using a cookie scooper so that all pops are exactly the same size.

Roll each mound of dough into a ball and line ‘em up on the cookie sheet.

So far so good right? We haven’t done anything yet that is any harder than whipping up a batch of cookies. Here’s where we begin to transform these delicious little balls of dough into “pops” instead of baking them into cookies.

Melt the dark chocolate morsels – either over a double boiler or in the microwave. My vote is always to keep things as easy as possible – so I typically microwave my chocolate. In a microwave-safe bowl (glass works well), microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

In a very small bowl (covered with a napkin or paper towel to avoid splatters) microwave shortening until melted (30s – 1min) – then add to the melted chocolate and stir until fully incorporated.

TIP: Adding shortening to the chocolate thins it out, giving a better consistency for dipping

Dip the very end of your lollipop stick into the melted chocolate, then insert it into the dough ball – pushing until about half way through. Sit the pop back on the waxed paper until you’ve finished sticking all of them.

Sit cookie sheet in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until the pops have set.

Reheat the chocolate if need be and prepare to dip!

Set up a “dipping station”

Cookie sheet of pops
Bowl of melted chocolate
Bowl of mini chocolate chips for decorating
Extra sheet covered in waxed paper for “dabbing” excess chocolate

One pop at a time, dip into the chocolate – you should dip and drag toward you 3-4 times until the pop is fully coated, then gently shake off the excess chocolate.