Doughlicious

By Naperville Magazine
Appears in the September 2024 issue.

By Peter Gianopulos

In 2016, Jeff Schultz raced home, eager to tell his family that he’d decided to make a dramatic career change. After years working in finance, he’d learned that Cookie Dough Creations, a Naperville shop specializing in edible cookie dough, was going up for sale. He’d decided to make owner, Jim Bewersdorf, an offer to buy out his retail business. The Schultz family was officially going into the cookie-dough business.

His family’s reaction to the big news? “Both my wife and daughter laughed at me,” Schultz says, “and they kept laughing—uncontrollably.” Good gag, Hon. Funny one, Dad. Only the look on Jeff Schultz’s face—as serious as a root canal—made it clear this was no prank. The Schultz family really was going into the edible-cookie-dough business.

Flash forward to 2024, and Cookie Dough Creations remains a downtown staple at 22 West Chicago Avenue. Schultz says he talks to Naperville expats who make it a priority to return home for a cupful of the original edible cookie dough (it’s made without eggs so it’s safe to eat raw). Schultz refuses to fuss with a good thing. He still uses the same recipe that Bewersdorf perfected for decades, scooped into tiny cups like you’d get at a gelato shop. “People have tried to copy the recipe,” Schultz says, “but no one has come close to replicating it.”

The only changes Schultz has made, in terms of his eight cookie dough offerings, was to swap out a turtle flavor for a s’mores option, which he co-created with his daughter. He scoops up other sweet treats, too—ice cream, cookie-dough shakes, and cookie-dough sandwiches (cookie dough smooshed between fresh baked cookies)—but Schultz thinks the shop has survived 30 years because the original recipe wasn’t just the first, it is the best.

Photo: Cookie Dough Creations