NYC Eats: Dō

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The shop is famous for its cookie dough scoops. (ERIKA ORTIZ/THE OBSERVER)

By RUBY GARA

Cookie dough. To some, it is the predecessor to the cookie itself. To others, perhaps most of us, the heavenly taste of it encapsulates a delicious childhood memory in which the day would instantly become brighter when our mothers would bake fresh cookies, and the sweet smell would permeate the air in the house played around with our nostrils. You would then proceed to sneak a bite, or perhaps much more than a bite, by scraping off the leftovers from the mixing bowl, and relishing on that soft dough that is, quite possibly, better than baked cookies.

That memory, that you can almost taste now, is instantly followed by the memory of your mother taking the bowl away from you, and warning you about eating raw cookie dough. And unfortunately, it is also followed by the memory of those terrible stomach cramps you inevitably got from eating all of that cookie dough. Although we know the health risks that may occur from ingesting that raw deliciousness, we still cling to the memory of it― the taste that reminds us of our childhood.

To cookie dough enthusiasts, living in New York City may just have presented yet another benefit: a new and trendy dessert café, a cookie dough scoop shop called Cookie Dō (pronounced “dough”), opened its doors  last year in Greenwich Village to satisfy our cravings. Although it is famous for its edible cookie dough, Dō also sells picture-worthy milkshakes, sundaes and ice cream sandwiches ― or, as they call them, ice cream sandōwiches”.

One scoop of Dō cookie dough costs $4, which may be compared to the price of a regular scoop of ice cream. Although one scoop sounds small in theory, the portions are rather generous and filling, which is why I recommend their smaller portion. They have several flavors and combinations too, such as the classic chocolate chip and the signature peanut butter snickerdoodle, which allows everyone to indulge in their sweet tooth. I decided to taste the “confetti,” which is edible cookie dough with rainbow sprinkles, white chips and chocolate chips.

As they prepared my scoop of heaven, I looked around and enjoyed the atmosphere inside the confectionery. The place itself smelled sweet, and was lit by a bright pink fluorescent light that read “dreams dough come true.” Only then did I realize the mass of people crowded outside of the store and huddled in front of the glowing white “dō” sign; everybody was desperate to taste the customizable cookie dough!

Although I have a sweet tooth, and Dō was a great treat post-midterms, I personally think that the cookie dough itself was too sweet. It did taste great, as it had the smooth texture of the dough combined with the crunch from the chocolate chips, but a few bites are more than enough to fill you up as it is truly rich in flavor.

Cookie Dō and its concept of selling edible cookie dough are most definitely innovative, and although it may be too sweet for some, I would recommend it to everyone. It was a great experience overall, and I personally would return just to try out the other delicious sounding flavors!