The Internet Is Going Wild Over This Edible Cookie Dough Made With A Super Polarizing Ingredient, So, Of Course, I Had To Try It

I'm really taking one for the team here. You're welcome.

In case you haven't noticed, cottage cheese has been having its moment of fame. It feels like I haven't been able to scroll through my For You page in months without stumbling upon a recipe utilizing this super polarizing ingredient — from bread to ice cream, truly no food is safe from this cottage cheese era we're living in.

TikTok / Via tiktok.com

I think almost 550 million views on TikTok speaks for itself — people are coming up with cottage cheese recipes left and right. They range from basic cottage cheese toast to pasta sauce to a wild array of desserts. I even saw someone put it in their coffee. Their COFFEE, you guys. I told you nothing was safe.

I'm not really sure who to credit for the hype, but the "cottage cheese boom" seems to have started pretty innocently as a way to get some extra protein in your diet. Personally, I have never been a cottage cheese fan — the flavor is pretty mild, but the texture makes me recoil. And while I'm a gal that often struggles to get enough protein in, I'm usually not a fan of every single one of my favorite foods getting a "healthy" or "high-protein" makeover. Sometimes (okay, pretty much always), I just want my ice cream to be ice cream, ya know?

Timotei Voicu / Getty Images/500px

So, you can imagine my skepticism was at an all-time high when I came across Jake Cohen's video for edible cottage cheese cookie dough that's racked up over 5 million views. Does it look like cookie dough? Sure. But I really doubted it would taste anywhere near a big tub of Nestlé Toll House.

@jakecohen

COTTAGE CHEESE EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH. I’m unwell, I know, but I need a steady stream of sweets throughout the day and lots of protein so I’m actually vvvvvvvv into a few spoons of this magic whenever my sweet tooth is acting up!! Very easy! Don’t try to bake it! Hope y’all are getting swole!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰 Cottage Cheese Edible Cookie Dough 1 pound low-fat cottage cheese 1/4 cup maple syrup 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups almond flour 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder 1 cup dark chocolate chips In a blender, combine the cottage cheese, maple syrup, and vanilla, then purée until very smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the almond flour and protein powder until well incorporated, then fold in the chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

♬ original sound - Jake Cohen

@jakecohen / Via tiktok.com

And since Jake's recipe went viral, people have been taking to TikTok to recreate it and, to my surprise, most of the reviews are pretty positive. But there does seem to be some disagreement on whether or not it ACTUALLY tastes like cookie dough.

TikTok / Via tiktok.com

Even though I'm not a cottage cheese enthusiast, since Jake is a New York Times best-selling cookbook author, I figured there was no one better to trust with a cottage cheese recipe than him. He's also wearing a Barefoot Contessa T-shirt which immediately upped my level of trust even more. So, following the wise words of Ted Lasso, I decided to be curious, not judgmental.

@jakecohen / Via tiktok.com

So, off I went on this wild cottage cheese adventure. The cookie dough uses six ingredients: low-fat cottage cheese, maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond flour, vanilla protein powder, and dark chocolate chips.

Claudia Santos

More specifically: 

One pound low-fat cottage cheese

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup vanilla protein powder

1 cup chocolate chips

I did cut the recipe in half since I didn't want to end up with a huge mass of cookie dough, especially if I ended up not liking it.

First step is to blend your cottage cheese, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a blender — or in my case, a food processor since my blender broke — until completely smooth.

Claudia Santos

And I mean COMPLETELY smooth — you don't want a single chunky curd in this cookie dough unless you're looking for a textural nightmare.

Claudia Santos

You don't even need a strong blender for this. I just turned the puree function on my trusty food processor, blended for about a minute, and I was golden. Make sure you scrape the sides down so that ALL of the cottage cheese is incorporated.

Again, because I'm a major skeptic, I had to give this a quick taste test before proceeding. And let's just say, so far, I wasn't loving it.

Claudia Santos

To be fair, I think my facial expression is a little exaggerated and filled with anti-cottage cheese bias. It pretty much just tasted like slightly sweetened, super tangy yogurt. It wasn't bad, but I definitely wouldn't say it was good at this point.

But remember, we're being curious. So, I went ahead and transferred the cottage cheese mixture to a large bowl and added the almond flour and protein powder.

Claudia Santos

And please, please, please do NOT sub the almond flour for regular flour. There's a reason why this cookie dough is "edible" — almond flour is safe to consume raw, whereas all-purpose flour needs to be heat-treated/baked to get rid of any harmful bacteria before it's safe to consume.

Then I threw in some chocolate chips — measuring them with my heart, as always.

Claudia Santos

I gave that all a good mix until there were no visible dry spots remaining, and the result truly did look like chocolate chip cookie dough. Albeit, mine was a bit runnier than Jake's, so I popped it in the fridge for about 30 minutes in hopes that it would firm up (I'd also normally do this with regular cookie dough, so I figured, why not?).

Claudia Santos

I got it to firm up a bit, but it was definitely not as firm as the one in Jake's video, making it a little less "cookie dough" and a little more "frangipane." Since measuring cups, ingredients, and a bunch of other factors can affect recipes, I just chalked it up to user error. I'll maybe use less cottage cheese and/or more flour if I try this again.

Now, for the moment we've all been waiting for: the taste test. *Cheers*

Claudia Santos

Can you tell how excited I am?!

I'm shocked. Baffled. Stunned. This was genuinely good. As I suspected, it didn't taste exactly like cookie dough, and you really shouldn't expect it to if you decide to make it. It definitely did give me frangipane vibes because of the almond flour, but I actually really liked it. In fact, I liked it so much that I'm literally eating more of it as I write this.

Claudia Santos

Because I'm always trying to add a little ~razzle dazzle~ to my desserts, I wanted to find a simple way to amp this up. So, leaning into the almond flavor, I decided to throw in some almond extract. A little goes a long way — I probably only added about 1/4 teaspoon, if that.

Claudia Santos

I know this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I freakin' loved this addition. I actually thought the little bit of almond extract made it taste more like a classic sugar cookie, or even a bit like the filling of an almond croissant (but please, don't tell a single French person I said that).

It just goes to show how versatile this recipe is — you can really get creative once you have the base down. Maybe you want to try a strawberry shortcake version or throw in some lemon zest and blueberries to make it super summery. The possibilities are truly endless.

I did notice a few people in the comments section asking if they could just replace the protein powder with more almond flour, and I personally wouldn't recommend that. Not only does the protein powder add sweetness, but it also gives it somewhat of an "artificial vanilla" taste that helps with the classic cookie dough flavor.

So, there you have it — I'm officially no longer a cottage cheese hater. Be sure to give Jake a follow on socials for more recipes and let me know in the comments if you try this one out for yourself! Happy cheesin'!