Traditional raw cookie dough isn’t safe during pregnancy—which may be bad news for those of you who bake cookies for the sole purpose of eating dough in a socially acceptable way (we’ve all done it!).
Cookie dough, at least once you’ve added your eggs and flour to it, is on the naughty list when it comes to prenatal nutrition. This is because raw eggs involve a food safety risk, specifically Salmonella, a bacterium that can cause a pretty severe foodborne illness. For this reason, it’s generally advised that you also avoid runny egg yolk during pregnancy—even when frying or poaching eggs, although guidelines can vary.
To get your cookie dough fix, there are store-bought and homemade edible versions of that you can consume safely. They’re often egg and flour-free, or at least involve the use of heat-treated flour.
