Edible cookie dough shop now slinging cones, cups and shakes in Tacoma
Tacoma’s first dedicated edible cookie dough shop will open this weekend in the Stadium District with more than 20 flavors of the ready-to-eat treat.
Auburn couple Stephanie and Joel DeWitt own and operate the new franchise of Cookie Dough Bliss, a 5-year-old company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. With nine other locations in seven states, the Stadium shop at 634 N. 1st St. is its first on the West Coast.
Edible cookie dough satisfies that seemingly innate human desire to scoop raw egg and flour batter from the baking bowl, despite consistent admonishments from health authorities. Unlike the real thing, most edible cookie doughs omit eggs and use flour treated in extremely high heat, which essentially eliminates risks of foodborne illness.
The trend has grown from coast to coast since 2015, when Dō in New York City began to attract two-hour-long lines, according to Eater. Cookie Dough Bliss opened in Concord, a suburb northeast of Charlotte, in 2017. Tubs of the stuff have been on supermarket shelves for a decade: In 2011, two sisters launched The Cookie Dough Cafe in central Illinois, landing a Shark Tank deal in 2014, growing to some 10,000 retailers and opening their first cafe in Portland, Oregon. Recipes for home cooks abound on cooking blogs, too, while brands from Ben & Jerry to Nestlé have caught the wave.
In addition to scoopable dough, available in a cup or fresh waffle cones, Cookie Dough Bliss also serves cookie dough pops, actual cookies (made with a different recipe), and an array of desserts that blend it with eight flavors of Cascade Glacier ice cream: sundaes, pies, ice cream sandwiches and milkshakes.
“It’s got this silkiness that you don’t expect,” said Joel DeWitt of the latter — his favorite offering — which includes three scoops of ice cream, one scoop of cookie dough and milk. They will also offer a vegan version made with dairy-free ice cream, vegan dough and almond milk. In fact, the concept caters to dietary restrictions with various vegan, gluten-free and keto friendly options.
The Tacoma shop will stock around 20 flavors — all made in-house — and the corporate company is “constantly innovating,” said DeWitt, with up to 40 flavors in rotation, from Sugar Cookie and Cake Batter to Andes Mint, Snickerdoodle, Bourbon Butter Pecan and Samoa Cookie. Most recently, they received the recipe for Key Lime Pie.
The standard dough uses applesauce as a binder, plus a bit of sour cream. A couple flavors, including chocolate chip, incorporate pasteurized egg whites.
“The recipes are interesting,” said DeWitt, who will retain his day-job at a Seattle-based software company while his wife Stephanie, a real estate agent, manages the shop. Each recipe differs slightly from the next, but they all come to the franchises highly tested by the corporate team in North Carolina.
The DeWitts toyed with the idea of opening their own business for a few years. After discovering edible cookie dough as a product and then the affordable Cookie Dough Bliss franchise two years ago, they knew the South Sound was ripe for the idea.
“This is a great opportunity to bring something here that doesn’t exist,” said Joel DeWitt, nodding to Sugar + Spoon, a Seattle food truck that sometimes pops up in Tacoma.
He described visiting the original Concord shop for training and the string of dessert shops on the same stretch: build-your-own cinnamon rolls, ice cream and edible cookie dough. “They were all thriving,” he said.
The Stadium location, formerly a Sports Clips franchise, closed in 2020. They wanted a walkable, heavily trafficked area, and in the future — presuming they’re right about satisfying that sweet tooth — they hope to open additional South Sound stores.
COOKIE DOUGH BLISS TACOMA
▪ 634 N. 1st St., Tacoma, 253-267-0276, facebook.com/cookiedoughblisstacoma
▪ Daily noon to 9 p.m.
▪ Details: edible cookie dough shop, opening May 8 (takeout only) with raffle for a Cookie Dough prize pack
This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.