Cookie dough dip

J.M. Hirsch, AP Food Editor

This summer, I had the misfortune to encounter the Internet culinary sensation known as cookie dough dip.

It
was at a pot luck party and folks were raving about this creation,
which until then, I'd been ignorant of. Being fans of all things cookie
dough - not to mention feeling a fair degree of affection for all manner
of dips - my son and I were eager to try this seemingly miraculous
blend of two of nature's most wonderful food products.

The look of
betrayal on my son's face as he put a heaping bite of it into his mouth
was hilariously heartbreaking. So I tried it. He was right. This wildly
popular dip is made by blending canned white beans and chocolate chips,
among other unlikely ingredients. The idea is to create a healthy dip
that supposedly tastes like cookie dough.

It doesn't. It's not cute. It's not tasty. It's not coy. And it's certainly not good.

Much
as I love hummus, I do not love hummus that pretends to be cookie
dough. Nor do I want my cookie dough spiked with puréed beans. Call me
crazy.

So I decided to create my own version of this monstrosity.
Except that my chocolate chip cookie dough dip would actually taste like
chocolate chip cookie dough miraculously transformed into a dip. It
would be sweet, but not too sweet. It would be studded with deliciously
chewy chunks of cookie dough. Real cookie dough, not masticated beans.

The result was a delicious sugar rush that begs for something crunchy and salty to dip in it.

For
the cookie dough nuggets, I used a modified version of an eggless
chocolate chip cookie dough recipe from Lindsay Landis' book, The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook
(a fun book for anyone who loves raw cookie dough). You could use
purchased cookie dough instead, but be certain to use one that contains
only pasteurised eggs.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Food Editor J.M. Hirsch is author of the cookbook High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking. Follow him to great eats on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JM_Hirsch or email him at jhirsch@ap.org.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Start to finish: 30 minutes

Servings: 24

For the cookie dough:

6tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1tbs milk or cream

1tsp vanilla extract

1/4tsp salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

For the dip:

Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

6tbs milk

1tsp almond extract

Pinch salt

1/2 cup sour cream

10 Oreo (or similar) cookies, crushed

METHOD:

To make the cookie dough, in a large bowl use an electric mixer to beat the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the milk, vanilla and salt, then mix well. Add the flour and mix just until thoroughly blended. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Divide the mixture into chunks, about 1 teaspoon each. They don't need to be perfectly rounded. Arrange them without touching on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, then place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Process until smooth and creamy. Add the milk, almond extract, salt and sour cream, then process. Transfer to a bowl, then use a spatula or spoon to gently stir in the crushed cookies.

Once the cookie dough chunks have chilled, gently stir them into the dip. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.