Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Raise your hand if you were always stealing bites of cookie dough as a kid! My brother and I were notorious for snatching squares of Nestle Tollhouse cookie dough out of the package my mom always tried to hide in refrigerator. By the time she'd go to make cookies, the package would be half empty... Oops.

Some years later, cookie dough is still just as great of a treat as it was when I was younger. However, since we very rarely have premade cookie dough in the house, I had to figure something else out... That led to the creation of these SALTED. CHOCOLATE. CHIP. COOKIE. DOUGH. BITES. This dough is made without eggs, so it's totally safe to eat!

To make these delicious bites, here's everything you'll need:

• All-purpose flour

• Salt

• Light + dark brown sugar

• Unsalted butter

• Vanilla extract

• Milk

• Chocolate chips

The fist thing you want to do is basically "heat treat" your flour. By doing so, you kill off any bacteria that might be present in the raw flour. To do this, measure out your flour and sprinkle onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread out the flour to a relatively thin layer. Bake the flour as is in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely before adding to the dough.

While your flour is cooling, what you'll want to do next is cream together the softened butter, dark brown sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Once that is creamed together nicely, add in the cooled flour, salt, and mini chocolate chips. As this combines, the dough will be very crumbly and WILL NOT stick together. That's okay, though-- that's what the milk is for! Then, you'll add 1 tablespoon at a time of milk to the mixer as it's going, until your crumbly dough starts to actually look like sticky, smooth cookie dough. *You shouldn't need more than 2 tablespoons of milk. You want to be sure your dough is stiff enough to roll into balls*

Now it's time to make the balls! I like to use my small cookie scoop when making these so that I know each one is the same size! To start, I take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Scoop the cookie dough into balls and place them on the baking sheet. You should get 18-20 cookie dough balls. Once all of the dough is scooped, take each scooped dough ball and roll in between your palms to form it into an actual ball.

NOW- You can definitely stop here if you want. If you just want balls of cookie dough goodness, no need to go on. Just refrigerate and enjoy! But who wouldn't want to coat these bad boys in a nice layer of chocolate and sprinkle them with huge flakes of sea salt?! If that is you, then keep on readin'!

If you choose to coat your cookie dough in chocolate, be sure to refrigerate the dough for at least 30-45 minutes. The colder the dough= the easier it is to coat them.

NOW IT'S TIME TO MELT THAT CHOCOLATE! Here's what you'll need for that luscious chocolate coating:

• Chocolate of your choice

• Coconut oil

• Flaky sea salt to top

You can melt the chocolate and coconut oil on the stove in a double boiler, or in the microwave if you'd prefer. DISCLAIMER: I do not trust myself to melt chocolate in the microwave without scorching it. So be careful if you choose that method. Also, you don't need an actual fancy double boiler to melt the chocolate. I use a small sauce pan filled with a few inches of water, with a bowl on top that is slightly bigger than the opening of the pan.

Once all of the chocolate is melted, and the melted coconut oil has made the chocolate extra glossy and smooth, go ahead and take your chilled dough out of the refrigerator. Just a heads up... coating these can be a tricky step. It will most likely be messy, especially if you've never done it before. What I have found works best is 1.) a large spoon and 2.) a large serving fork. One at a time, take your cookie dough balls and place it in the melted chocolate. Using the large spoon, roll the ball around in the chocolate and make sure that it is coated evenly all around. Then, using the serving fork, gently slide it under the coated ball, and gently tap the fork on the edge of the bowl, to allow the excess chocolate to drip off.

Then, slide the ball off the fork onto a lined baking sheet. You can use the same one the dough was chilling on, or a newly prepared baking sheet. Once the bites are coated and on the baking sheet, it's time for the salt. My personal preference-- I usually let them sit for about a minute or two until you see the chocolate juuust starting to dry before I sprinkle the sea salt on top. If the chocolate is still too melty, the sea salt can sink in through the chocolate or down the sides of the bites.

Once all of the cookie dough bites are coated and salted, they need to chill in the refrigerator again for about 15 minutes, to allow the chocolate to set completely. Then, they are ready to devour!

Hope you enjoy! ♥

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Recipe by Chrissy

Yields

18

Bites

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooling Time

1

hour 

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour*

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened

• ¼ cup dark brown sugar

• ½ cup light brown sugar

• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

• ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips

• 1-2 tablespoons milk

• Chocolate Coating

• 4-5oz of chocolate of your choice*

• ½ teaspoon coconut oil

• Flaky sea salt to top

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F degrees. Sprinkle your measured flour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the flour for 5 minutes, to kill off any bacteria that may be in the raw flour. Allow to cool.
• In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, dark brown sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract.
• Add in the cooled flour, salt, and mini chocolate chips.
  *The dough will be crumbly!*
• One tablespoon at a time, add the milk to the mixer until the dough starts to form together and actually looks like cookie dough.
• Using a small cookie scoop/melon baller, scoop the completed cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet. You should get between 18 and 20 scoops Once they're all scooped, roll each scoop between your palms to form balls. Place them back on the baking sheet.
• Refrigerate the cookie dough balls for 30-45 minutes. The colder the dough is, the easier it is to coat them in chocolate.
• In a double boiler or microwave, melt the chocolate of your choosing and the coconut oil. Once completely melted and smooth, remove your cookie dough from the refrigerator. Drop the balls one at a time into the chocolate mixture. Use a spoon to make sure they get completely coated. With a fork, gently scoop them out of the chocolate, and tap on the side of the bowl, to get any extra chocolate off.
• Slide the bites off the fork and onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt is so desired.
• Once they're all coated, chill for at least 15 minutes to allow the chocolate to set.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• *To eliminate the risk of bacteria in the raw flour, you can bake it on a cookie sheet in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes. Allow to cool before using,
  
  *For coating the cookie dough balls, you can use whatever chocolate you like best. I like a mix of semisweet and dark chocolate, but you can definitely use whichever you prefer.