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Crisp-edged, crunchy cookies with an intense but perfectly balanced vanilla flavor make up these homemade vanilla cookies. These bite-size cookies go way beyond putting traditional ‘Nilla Wafers to shame, they’re a whole new ballgame.
Homemade Vanilla Wafers
I could not be more ecstatic over these vanilla wafer cookies: the crunch, the flavor, the everything. They are utterly wonderful. While I was working on the recipe for Banana Pudding Ice Cream, I became low-key obsessed with homemade vanilla wafers. (I’m happy to tell you that ice cream is fantastic with both homemade AND store-bought cookies, so feel free to go either route with that one.)
I made these cookies so many times that I lost count while working on this recipe. In the end, I am thrilled with them. So very, very happy. I never would’ve chosen a vanilla cookie as a favorite cookie before making these vanilla wafer cookies, but now? They’re a top 5 for me.
These cookies have proven completely irresistible to every single person who has tasted them, and we all wind up going back for “just one more” all day long.
I find it amusing that I adapted this recipe from a Swan’s Down recipe using their cake flour. But in the end, I preferred the vanilla wafers when I re-tested them with a slightly lowered amount of plain old all-purpose flour. If you prefer a chewier cookie, the cake flour delivers that. My goal was a crispy cookie, most similar to the original Vanilla Wafers, and the all-purpose flour delivers that.
Vanilla Cookie Recipe
Take note that you want to scoop the teeny tiniest little balls of cookie dough when baking these cookies. They will spread beautifully, resulting in the perfect bite-size cookies.
And don’t forget to line your pans with parchment before baking. Parchment is indispensable in removing the finished cookies from the pan when you’re making so very many little cookies.
Homemade Vanilla Pudding is a classic dessert that simply doesn’t get the love that it deserves. So, often we reach for chocolate or caramel to satisfy a sweet craving, but I’ve come to appreciate the awesomeness of a great vanilla dessert. Vanilla does not equal boring, my friends.
I have a well-established love of ice cream, with over 160 ice cream recipes here on the website, and yet I still make this simple Vanilla Ice Cream recipe at least once a month. There’s a reason why we call this the easiest (and best!) ice cream you will ever make or taste.
Vanilla bean cheesecake in a lightly sweetened almond crust makes everyone smile. And this creamy Vanilla Walnut Fudge is this year’s latest addition for your holiday dessert table.
Homemade Vanilla Wafers
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the egg, vanilla, and milk. Beat again until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Add flour mixture and mix on low until incorporated.
- Place very small scoops of dough (about 1 teaspoon in size, the cookies will spread out) on the parchment-lined pans about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-9 minutes, depending on size. Watch for doneness.
- The cookies should be golden on the edges and when you turn one over it should be golden brown on the bottom of each cookie.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sadly my cookies do not look like yours. Mine are flat and chewy. I followed the recipe, accurately measuring, using all purpose flour.
I stopped after baking off 2 dozen and am chilling the leftover dough. Cookies are spreading more than I would have expected. I also think my dough could use a bit more flour for better structure. I’ll try making it work because I do like the flavor with the tiniest sprinkle of Maldon salt before baking.
These cookies will turn out much more flat if they are larger. When I say “tiny little 1-teaspoon portions” I mean that literally. As in, look at a teaspoon and only measure that much dough or slightly more – definitely keep the size under 2 teaspoons. They spread a good bit, but they turn out exactly as pictured that way.
vanilla wafer cookies
your ingredient list shows Baking Soda but the written instructions say Baking Powder
which one should be used?
sorry about that! It is baking soda.
A naive question: can I use these for banana pudding? I do not like what they have done to Nilla Wafers – they’ve changed the ingredients and made them smaller – not as good as they used to be in my hunble opinion. I am looking for a substitution.
You bet!
These look amazing Mary, my question is can I make these gluten free. A wee treat for a coffee morning.
Unfortunately, I do not have a GF variation for this recipe.
Approximately how many cookies should this recipe make when using a 1 tsp size ball of dough?
I forgot to count them when I took the photos with the final recipe test! Sorry, Lisa. The cookies filled a gallon size ziploc bag, but beyond that I honestly couldn’t say.