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It’s a party, and you’re all invited! Gluten Free Birthday Cake Cookie Dough is exactly as fun and delicious as it sounds, full of the nostalgic flavors of a classic birthday cake. This edible cookie dough is 100% safe to eat, loaded with rainbow sprinkles and white chocolate chips!
I know, I know. We’ve all snuck a spoonful of raw cookie dough from the mixer at one point. It’s an inevitable part of home baking (I mean, it’s right there, looking all sugary, doughy and delicious). Still, why gamble with the risk of foodborne illness when edible cookie dough exists?
This amazing, flavorful, homemade birthday cake cookie dough is exactly what I’m talking about. Moist, sugary dough with all the beloved flavor of a classic white cake, dotted with white chocolate and – of course – loaded up with rainbow sprinkles. It’s like a party that you can stir up at a moment’s notice!
Edible cookie dough is the genius gift to mankind that lets us eat cookie dough by the scoop without a care in the world! Plus, this cookie dough recipe is totally gluten free, with the option to make it vegan. If that’s not worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.
What Makes this Recipe Work
The usual culprits that make regular cookie dough recipes unsafe to eat are the raw eggs, and raw flour. This is because uncooked eggs and untreated flour can harbor dangerous bacteria like salmonella and e. Coli. There was a good reason our mothers were always swatting our hands away from the raw cookie dough!
This edible cookie dough recipe works because it takes eggs out of the equation, and heat-treats the raw flour. Heat treating flour is super easy and only takes a few minutes to kill off any icky bacteria. Afterwards, you can rest assured that your cookie dough is 100% safe to eat!
Recipe Ingredients
Edible cookie dough calls for a handful of pantry ingredients, plus your choice of add-ins. In this case I’ve opted for white chocolate chips and sprinkles, in true birthday cake fashion. Below is everything you’ll need, with the full ingredient amounts found in the recipe card further down:
- Butter: Salted or unsalted butter will both work in this recipe. Keep in mind that if you use salted butter, you may want to consider using less of the salt that comes later in the recipe. If you’re making dairy-free or vegan cookie dough, use a dairy-free alternative (we’re partial to Miyoko’s vegan butter).
- Sugar: I go half and half with brown sugar and white sugar, for the perfect balance of sweetness and moisture.
- Flavoring: A combination of vanilla extract and almond extract achieves that classic white birthday cake flavor we all know and love.
- Gluten-Free Flour: I use both almond flour and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour in this recipe. Feel free to use regular all-purpose flour if you’re not making your cookie dough gluten-free.
- Sea Salt
- Sprinkles: What’s a birthday cake without sprinkles?! Make sure yours are gluten free. In these photos, I use natural rainbow sprinkles that are gluten free and vegan.
- White Chocolate Chips: Use dairy-free chocolate chips if you’re making this recipe vegan. Avoid Ghirardelli, as that brand is not gluten free. But Nestle Toll House generally is (check the product labels!).
- Milk: Whole milk or 2% works great. Alternatively, you can sub in unsweetened plain almond milk or another dairy-free milk alternative.
Just a couple of easy steps separate you from this delectable, gluten-free birthday cake cookie dough! Here’s how to whip up a batch in 5 minutes or less:
Make the Cookie Dough: Using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar together with the vanilla and almond extracts. When the sugar mixture is nice and fluffy, fold in both flours and salt. Adjust the texture as needed by adding in a bit of milk at a time.
Fold In the Add-Ins: Finally, stir in the white chocolate chips and sprinkles. Serve it in small bowls or jars with a spoon, portion the dough using a cookie scoop for storage, or you can opt to serve it as a dip, too. See below for more tips for storage and serving.
Tips for Success
- Avoid the Sprinkles Leaking Color: This cookie dough will work with any kind of sprinkles. However, to prevent leaking colors in funfetti and birthday cake-themed treats, I recommend using jimmies or quins.
- Can I Bake the Dough?: Please, don’t try to bake this edible cookie dough! This recipe leaves out important ingredients like eggs, baking soda, and baking powder that lend structure and leavening to baked cookies. You’ll wind up with birthday-themed, flat pancakes on your hands.
Variation Ideas
Like cookies themselves, cookie dough has endless possibilities for variations! Here are some ways you can mix up the add-ins and ingredients of your birthday cake cookie dough:
- Chocolate Birthday Cake Cookie Dough: Mix cocoa powder into the cookie dough and swap the white chocolate chips for semisweet or dark chocolate chips.
- Peanut Butter Cookie Dough: Peanut butter lovers, stir peanut butter into the cookie dough.
- Add Coloring: Turn your birthday cake cookie dough pink, blue, or any color of your choosing with a drop or two of food color in the mix.
- Different Add-Ins: Change the white chocolate chips for toffee or peanut butter chips, add in chopped macadamia nuts or hazelnuts, or shredded coconut. Or stick with classic chocolate chip cookie dough.
Gluten-free cookie dough is a treat that’s delicious on its own! Eat it by the scoop or by the spoonful whenever you’re craving something sweet.
Serve your cookie dough scoops topped with Vanilla Frosting (in true birthday cake style), Homemade Chocolate Frosting, with whipped cream, or drizzled with Hot Fudge Sauce or strawberry syrup.
It’s also easy to crumble up and include in creamy Homemade Ice Cream recipes like the classic cookie dough ice cream. Or, toss in chunks of birthday cake cookie dough when making Funfetti Birthday Cake Ice Cream Cake!
Try turning it into a frosting, filling between the layers of Gluten Free Funfetti Cake or scooping it on top of simple Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes.
You can easily turn this birthday cake cookie dough into a fun Cookie Dough Dip. Simply mix in a bit of milk a spoonful at a time to thin out the texture a little. Serve it alongside gluten free graham crackers and apple slices for a delicious dessert or party appetizer!
How to Store It
Store your cookie dough scoops in a parchment-lined, airtight container in the fridge. It will keep fresh for up to 5 days, for a little bite of happiness whenever you like!
Yes! Make sure to portion out your dough balls in a freezer-safe, parchment-lined container, then pop the whole thing into the freezer. Once the dough scoops are solid, keep them stored frozen in the same container or transfer them to a freezer bag. Simply thaw your scoop(s) of birthday cake cookie dough in the fridge for an easy sweet treat.
Gluten Free Sprinkles
Beware, not all brands of sprinkles are gluten free. In fact, one of the most popular brands, Wilton, manufactures theirs in a facility that carries a cross-contamination risk. Luckily, there are lots of alternatives, including some that are vegan and use only natural colors instead of artificial dyes. Here are a few that I’ve used before.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (dairy-free if vegan, we used Miyoko's)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free if needed, we use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup sprinkles
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips (dairy-free if vegan)
- 2-4 tbsp milk (unsweetened plain almond milk if vegan)
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract until light.
- Fold in the almond flour, all-purpose flour, and sea salt. Mix until well combined. If needed, add in the almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time until your desired texture is reached.
- Stir in the white chocolate chips and sprinkles. Serve in small bowls or jars with a spoon. Or using a cookie scoop, scoop out 12 scoops and place them in a parchment-lined lidded container. Alternatively, serve as a dip. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Did you make this?
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