Raw cookie dough trend hits Nashville, and you can thank this Belmont grad

Edible cookie dough — the latest food trend taking over your Facebook and Instagram feeds — has arrived in Nashville.

You can thank Belmont University grad and entrepreneur Megan Beaven for bringing the sweet treat that’s perfectly safe to eat to Music City. Beaven left her career in the music business to launch No Baked Cookie Dough, and she’s preparing to open a retail shop this fall.

“I had been making cookie dough like this for myself since my freshman year of college,” said Beaven, a Louisville, Ky., native. “I took a big tub of it with vanilla wafers and made it like a dip at one of my friend’s birthday parties. It wasn’t until then I realized I’m not weird for liking to eat raw cookie dough; everyone likes it.”

Indeed, eggless cookie dough appears to be one of the hottest trends in the dessert industry, now that people have moved on from cupcakes and Cronuts. A new shop in New York City selling cookie dough like ice cream regularly draws a line of customers down the block.

Unhappy in her music business career, Beaven decided to turn her passion for sweets into a full-time gig. She spent her lunch breaks developing a website and then reached out to local social media influencers to post about the product on Instagram. She rents space by the hour at Nashville’s Citizen Kitchens to make the dough.

“Nashville is such a trendy city that loves new and up and coming things. They love desserts. As I was sitting there hating my job and dreading every day and making the cookie dough on the side, I realized I could easily start this business,” Beaven said.

No Baked Cookie Dough’s online store went live in April and since then, Beaven has been scooping up the dough to hungry and curious customers at various events around town. She’s shipped orders everywhere from California to New York, including weekly orders of three tubs of cookie dough to the same customer in New Jersey. 

The cookie dough is eggless and made with heat-treated flour. She sells her flavors of classic chocolate chip (the most popular), double chocolate chip and confetti sugar in 8-ounce tubs for $5. The dough, which keeps in the fridge for about three weeks or freezer for three months, is meant to be eaten and not baked.

Beaven is in the process of securing a retail space in the Midtown area to open a cookie dough shop this fall. If the store is successful, she’d like to bring it to other markets, particularly in the South.

“People don’t want to only order food online; they want to be able to come and experience it and taste it and try it in person,” Beaven said. 

Reach Lizzy Alfs at lalfs@tennessean.com or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.