These 5-ingredient sweetened condensed milk cookies are yummy and delicious. Made with 25 minutes of hands-on time, they are easy, quick, and simply the best cut-out cookies.
Sweetened condensed milk cookies recipe
Sweetened condensed milk cookies are easy, cut-out types of cookies made with little effort. No wonder shapes with St. Valentine's or Christmas themes are great for making them.
Jump to:
While the original recipe uses regular condensed milk, it can easily be adapted for those with dairy allergies. Don't hesitate to scale the recipe: double it to make a big batch of cookies or halve it.
These cookies have a slightly different flavor than traditional cornstarch-based Brazilian biscoito de maizena. Instead of flour, the Brazilian cookies use cornstarch, a gluten-free alternative. But they differ from thumbprint cookies; they resemble shortbread cookies.
Ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
- All-purpose flour: I haven't tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
- Baking powder: Use fresh aluminum-free baking powder.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter right from the fridge. It should be chilled, not softened butter. You can replace butter with margarine or vegan butter.
- Condensed milk: Use homemade condensed milk or store-bought sweetened condensed milk, such as Nestle or MilkMaid. Don't confuse this with evaporated milk. For the vegan version of the cookies, use Nature's Charm vegan condensed milk.
- Salt: A pinch of salt is optional but good to use to enhance the flavor of cookies. Omit the salt if you use salted butter.
How to make condensed milk cookies
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, mix all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and sift using a flour sifter.
Step 2: Add cold butter and cut into small pieces. Crush and rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the sandy texture (photo 1).
Step 3: Add sweetened condensed milk and mix until it forms a cookie dough ball. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water if the dough seems too dry.
Step 4: Wrap the dough in plastic film and chill in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to 3-4 mm thick (photo 2).
PHOTO 1
PHOTO 2
Step 6: Cut out the cookies using your favorite cookie cutter, such as a round-fluted cutter (photo 3). If the dough becomes too soft to handle, refrigerate it for a few minutes.
Step 7: Arrange the cutouts on a baking tray covered with parchment. Optionally, add a few flaked almonds to create a flower pattern. Then, just press them down slightly (photo 4).
Pro tip: For the second batch, re-roll the leftover dough, chill it if necessary, and cut cookies out until the cookie dough has been used.
PHOTO 3
PHOTO 4
Step 8: Bake cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are lightly golden brown. Don't overbake your cookies: they tend to color quickly!
Step 9: Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack. Dust with a little bit of icing sugar.
Expert Tips
- Correctly measure flour with a digital scale or scoop and level method.
- Don't skip the chilling time; it is essential to make these cookies.
- Use an adjustable rolling pin to get a perfectly even dough thickness.
- Use cookie sheets interchangeably with baking sheets if owned.
- Don't overbake cookies; they tend to burn very quickly. 8-10 minutes is enough for them to be fully baked.
Recipe variations
- Replace cornstarch with white flour in the cookie-baking process.
- Swap cornflour for chestnut flour if you want to make chestnut-based cookies.
- Use cooked condensed milk instead of a regular one to give your cookies a caramel flavor.
- Play around with different cookie cutters, but stay within the optimal range of 1.5 inches/3.5-4 cm for excellent results.
No cookie cutters? You don't even need them! Just use a sharp knife to make diamond-shaped cookies.
Once baked and cooled, dust cookies with icing sugar, drizzle with melted chocolate, dip them in melted chocolate, or sandwich them with the filling of choice.
Storing and freezing
Store cookies at room temperature in an air-tight container for one week.
Freeze plain (undecorated) cookies for up to 3 months. But first, let them cool down completely. Then place them in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag in flat layers divided by parchment paper so they don't stick together.
To thaw, let cookies stay at room temperature for a few hours.
The best thing is to freeze the cookie dough to bake cookies later. Shape it into a log, wrap it with plastic film, and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQ
Condensed milk is thicker and sweeter, so it works as a sweetener and binding agent in the recipe. Unfortunately, you can't replace condensed milk with evaporated milk because they are not exactly alike.
You can make the cookie dough in a food processor at low speed, but make sure not to overmix it. Just pulse the ingredients until they come together.
Yes! The dough should be chilled for 30-45 minutes. This step facilitates cutting cookies out of the dough and helps avoid spreading the cookies in the oven.
Just replace regular condensed milk with coconut condensed milk and butter with vegan butter.
Love cookies? Try these next!
- Cookie cutter cookies
- Italian shortbread cookies
- Chocolate chunk cookies
- Coconut macaroons
- Or browse all the cookie recipes
Want more delicious and beautiful recipes? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for my latest updates. If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and comment below!
PrintRecipe card
Sweetened Condensed Milk Cookies
These 5-ingredient sweetened condensed milk cookies are yummy and delicious. Made with 25 minutes of hands-on time, they are simply the best.
- Total Time: 25 minutes (plus chilling time)
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups plus 1 ½ tablespoons (200 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (50 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2.8 oz. (80 g) cold unsalted butter
- 6.2 oz. (175 g) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 pinch of salt (optional)
- flaked almonds (optional)
- icing sugar (optional)
Instructions
-
In a large mixing bowl, mix all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and sift using a flour sifter.
-
Add cold butter, and cut into small pieces. Crush and rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the sandy texture. Add sweetened condensed milk and mix until it forms a cookie dough ball. If the dough seems too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water.
-
Wrap the dough in plastic film and chill in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
-
Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to 3-4 mm thick.
-
Cut out the cookies using your favorite cookie cutter, for example, a round-fluted cutter. If the dough gets too soft to handle, place it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
-
Arrange the cutouts on a baking tray covered with parchment. Optionally, add a few flaked or slivered almonds to create a flower pattern. Then, just press them down slightly. For the second batch, re-roll the leftover dough, chill it if necessary, and cut cookies out until the cookie dough has been used.
-
Bake cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden brown. Don't overbake your cookies: they tend to color quickly.
-
Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Dust with icing sugar.
Notes
- Correctly measure flour with a digital scale or scoop and level method.
- Don't skip the chilling time; it is essential to make these cookies.
- Use an adjustable rolling pin to get a perfectly even dough thickness.
- Use cookie sheets interchangeably with baking sheets if owned.
- Don't overbake cookies; they tend to burn very quickly. 8-10 minutes is enough for them to be fully baked.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 69
- Sugar: 3.2 g
- Sodium: 8 mg
- Fat: 2.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 9.9 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
- Cholesterol: 8 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
Comments
No Comments