What you need to know about raw cookie dough, according to a dietician

New York's hottest new food trend? Raw cookie dough. 

The beloved sleepover and pre-baking snack has been upgraded from a spoon-licker to a scoopable cup filler for $4 at DO, Cookie Dough Confections in New York City, which currently boasts one of the longest lines for sugary Instagram bait in the city. See ya, Cronut.

Made without eggs to prevent unintentional salmonella poisoning, DO's cookie dough comes in flavors ranging from chocolate chip to sugar cookie to oatmeal M&M and is available with a variety of festive mix-ins, like rainbow marshmallows and (already-baked) cookie pies. 

Of course, one could simply whip up a batch of egg-free cookie dough at home before spending hours in line for this sugary gimmick. But where's the fun in mixing up a few ingredients together in sweatpants at home when you can freeze in the Lower Manhattan cold to spend twice the subway fare on a cup of uncooked dough? No fun at all. 

In case you can't make it to the line, or decide to, you know, be more reasonable, DO shared its original egg-less recipe with Today, so you can not-bake a batch of the must-have dessert in the comfort of your kitchen. Here's how much cookie dough the recipe produces:

Rounded into a ball, here's what one serving looks like — that spoon's for scale:

But is this raw craze just indulging trend-obsessed food lovers with colorful cupfuls of alluring junk food?  

A quick look at the nutrition facts for the recipe, which serves 10, may save you a few hours of your life. 

That's close to 450 calories, more than 20 grams of fat and almost 55 grams of sugar for a little piece of batter. Now look at the size of the scoops served up at the brick-and-mortar:

That's at least three servings of the recipe we whipped up at home — so multiply those nutrition facts by three. How's your appetite looking now?

"Raw cookie dough has the same components as a cookie, including butter, sugar and flour," Alissa Rumsey, a registered dietitian and owner of Alissa Rumsey Nutrition and Wellness said via email, explaining that the dough should be looked at like a treat. "One serving has almost 500 calories, which is 25-30% of what many people need for an entire day. Plus a serving has 55 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to about 14 teaspoons of sugar — double the amount of added recommend for a whole day." To compare, a single sugar packet has about 4 grams of sugar, meaning that a serving of raw dough has about 14 packets of sugar. 

To lessen your sugar intake, Rumsey recommends simply splitting the serving size in half, cutting it down to 220 calories and only about 27 grams of sugar, which is still more than the recommended 25 grams. 

Another benefit to making raw cookie dough yourself: You can ingredient swap and up the nutritional value of your raw dough. Rumsey suggests using less sugar and swapping out some or all of the flour for whole wheat flour, almond flour or oat flour. 

When it comes to cookie dough, even healthed-up cookie dough is still an indulgence. "Raw cookie dough is a treat and should be enjoyed on occasion, not on a daily basis," Rumsey said. "Think once or twice per week." 

Still, two days with healthier cookie dough is better than none!