Does edible cookie dough need to be refrigerated? Edible cookie dough should not be left out of the fridge for more than two hours. Leaving perishable food at a temperature of 40-140F for over two hours increases the chance of sickness resulting from bacteria growth.
Cookie dough can sit out for two to four hours at room temperature. After that point, you should wrap it and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. The ingredients to watch for in cookie dough include eggs and butter, both of which require refrigeration to prevent spoiling and potentially making you sick.
Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the less cookies spread.
The cookie dough doesn’t need to be refrigerated – although it will remain firmer if kept in the fridge. It is best to eat the dough within 2-3 days. The dough can also be frozen, for 2-3 months. Just defrost at room temperature.
As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that and you won’t see a noticeable difference in the final product, says Haught Brown.
Is dough OK if left out overnight?
If left overnight, dough rises so high forcing it will likely collapse on the weight of itself, making the dough deflate. For best results always keep dough in the refrigerator when leaving to rise overnight.
Merrill recommends putting dough near a warm stove, and pounding it with a rolling pin once it starts to soften. Trena cuts the dough into smaller pieces using a pastry cutter, figuring that they will come to room temperature faster.