Fully baked cookies in a 90 F car

Question

I made some cookies about four days ago - a modification of a fairly standard chocolate chip cookie recipe augmented with cocoa powder in the dry ingredients, and marshmallows in the center. They are moist at the center and crisp at the outside. Baked at 350 F for about 15 minutes.

They were left in my car, at a temperature of probably about 90 F (outside temps were cooler, and I was parked in the shade, but it was very hot out), for about two hours later that day. They've been in my refrigerator since then.

Now, ordinarily I wouldn't hesitate to leave them out on the counter (at a normal 70 F or so) or in the fridge, and eat them until they were gone, or became too stale. I confess, I didn't think twice about eating one this evening, either, until I read about food safety on here and saw the special rules about 90 F and higher temperatures.

My question is: Are foods that are normally considered safe for some days/weeks at 70 F unsafe after a shorter time 90 F? If so, does the standard "one hour at 90 F" rule apply, or is it some longer period of time? Is the added risk significant enough to be determinable?

Edit: In appreciation of the thorough answers, just want to update everyone: after more than a day, no ill effects. I've continued to eat them. Believe me, they are amazing cookies. If anything else happens, I'll update again, but otherwise, thanks for the responses and it looks like no harm, no foul! (Naturally, this is only anecdotal, but at least it's a nice data point.)

Answer 1

Baked goods are generally considered to be a 'low risk' food when you're dealing with health codes. That is to say, you don't typically need to worry if they've been kept in the 'food danger zone' for too long on a period.

In fact, I'd say that some of the best cookies I've had in the past decade were chocolate chip cookies that had spent an hour or two in a hot car shortly before eating. (the chocolate was just to the point where it melted in your mouth as you ate it, without being so warm that it was melting all over your fingers).

So, is there increased risk? Yes, especially if they had been contaminated with something before being put in the car. But for breads and cookies, I wouldn't personally worry about a couple of hours at a warmer temperature.

I'd be more cautious with baked goods more hospitable to microbial growth -- wet pie fillings, meat pies, etc. Although pepperoni rolls are generally okay, as the pepperoni itself is something that's shelf stable for multiple weeks. (and they're really good when they're slightly warmed, like having been in a warm car)

If you wanted to be really paranoid about the whole situation, you could've put most of the cookies in the fridge, but have left out a couple at room temperature in a sealed container. This would serve like a petri dish to attempt to determine if there is significant microbial contamination to worry about. If they don't go all strange on you after a couple of days, the ones in the fridge should be fine to eat.

Answer 2

One of the most important things to consider with regards to spoilage is "Water Activity"...Bacteria need water to be able to reproduce, and things (like cookies) that have very little water activity are very unfriendly to bacterial colonies.

I wouldn't worry about cookies. They'll go stale, but it's unlikely they'll grow any significant bacteria.