Siblings Alex, Chris and Jess Reece began their edible cookie dough company, Cookie Doh Co., in Melbourne in early 2016, and officially launched their colourful tubs of the stuff last month.
“We always used to spend time in the kitchen making cookies and cakes and the best part was always licking the spoon or whisk,” says Alex. “It was that memory that made us go ‘this is something really cool, and we want to run a business together’.”
Regular cookie dough contains raw eggs and flour, carrying the risk of causing harmful bacterial illnesses – Cookie Doh Co. has done away with both ingredients. The siblings’ recipe doesn’t contain eggs, and they’ve swapped regular flour for a heat-treated variety.
This gives their cookie dough a shelf life of several months if refrigerated, and three weeks if stored in the pantry. (It also means that you can’t actually bake cookies with it.)
“It’s basically like you’re creating the mixture for a cookie but we’ve taken out all the things that make it bakeable, making it safe to eat straight out of the tub,” Alex says.
As a small operation, everyone pitches in across different facets of the business – their mum, for example, relishes her role as chief taste-tester.
Cookie Doh Co. has launched with three flavours. Alongside classic choc-chip is an apple and cinnamon version – inspired by home-made apple crumble – and an indulgent triple chocolate, which Alex says is “basically like a brownie”.
It’s all packaged with slick, eye-catching design by Andy German, a UK-based cousin of the Reece family. He’s used contrasting bright pops of colours with a custom typeface, which echoes the look of early digital fonts.
The tubs are currently only stocked online, but the Reeces are in the process of selecting stockists and retailers. In Melbourne, for example, doughnut shop Bistro Morgan is already using the stuff for cookie dough sandwiches.
While there are plans for more flavours, the focus right now is on showcasing the dough’s versatility. All orders come with a set of recipe cards for apple and cinnamon doughnut balls, triple-chocolate milkshakes as well as choc-chip peanut slices.
“It’s one of those things that you can eat sitting on the couch watching The Bachelor or take it to the park with some friends,” Alex says.
Cookie Doh ships nationally.
