Homemade Vanilla Wafers
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Homemade Vanilla Wafers are surprisingly simple to make, but the results are so good. They have crisp edges, a tender center, and lots of real vanilla flavor. After trying these, the boxed ones just don’t compare.
Table of Contents
- Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- In Photos: How To Make Vanilla Wafers
- Flavor Variations
- Serving Ideas
- Storage and Make-Ahead
- Recipe FAQs
- More Cookie Recipes
I’ve tried a few different vanilla wafer recipes, but none of them tasted all that much like the original. This one really nails it. It has the same crunchy texture but isn’t at all hard. The cookies practically melt in your mouth, with a rich, buttery, and intensely fragrant vanilla flavor.
Best of all, the recipe is so simple. Just a handful of basic ingredients in the mixer, and you’ve got a batch big enough to make around 65 cookies. Now that’s a lot of toddler snacks!
These cookies are really versatile. You can eat them on their own, make sandwich cookies with frosting, crumble them into parfaits, or use them as a homemade crust for banana pudding or cheesecake.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Real ingredients, real flavor. Butter, milk, and vanilla give these a rich, bakery-style taste.
- The method is simple: just one bowl, quick mixing, and no need to chill the dough.
- Perfect texture. They have a light, crisp texture and a delicate sweetness.
- So versatile. Eat them straight up, or use them anywhere you’d use store-bought wafers.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you’re cooking.
- Unsalted butter: Unsalted butter gives the wafers their classic, rich, and crisp texture. If you only have salted butter, just use a little less added salt.
- Powdered sugar: Makes the cookies extra tender and gives them a melt-in-your-mouth feel.
- Granulated sugar: Creates crisp edges and the perfect sweetness.
- Milk: Loosens the dough just enough for piping and keeps the cookies from baking up dry. Whole milk is ideal, but lower-fat works.
- Vanilla extract: The star flavor. Use a good one since it really shows here.
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour gives the cookies structure but keeps them light. Be sure to spoon and level the flour so you don’t use too much.
- Kosher salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the vanilla flavor.
In Photos: How To Make Vanilla Wafers
Step 1: Prep your pans
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line your baking sheets with parchment paper so the cookies come off easily and bake evenly.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugars
Beat the butter, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar together for 3 to 5 minutes, until the mixture is pale and fluffy. This step is important for a light texture, so make sure to mix well.
Step 3: Add the liquids
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the milk and vanilla. Mix just until everything is combined.
Step 4: Mix in the dry ingredients
Add the flour and salt, and stir until you don’t see any dry spots. Try not to overmix, as this can make the cookies less tender.
Step 5: Pipe the cookies
Put the dough into a piping bag with a plain round tip (1A). Pipe 1-inch (2.5 cm) circles onto the baking sheets, leaving space between each for spreading.
Step 6: Bake
Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are golden. The cookies should be lightly golden at the edges, not dark on top.
Step 7: Cool and store
Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet so they can crisp up. Once cool, store them in an airtight container.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Softened butter matters: If it’s too cold, you won’t get enough air in the creaming step. If it’s melty, the cookies can spread too much.
- Do not rush the creaming: Take your time with the creaming step. Mixing for 3 to 5 minutes gives the cookies the best texture.
- Pipe evenly: Try to pipe the cookies evenly. When they’re all the same size, they bake more evenly. For perfect rounds, you can trace circles on the back of the parchment as a guide.
- Watch the bottoms: Check the bottoms of the cookies. They’re done when the bottoms are golden, and the edges are lightly browned.
- Cool fully before storing: Let the cookies cool completely before storing. If they’re still warm, they’ll lose their crispness.
Flavor Variations
- Vanilla bean: For extra flavor and those nice vanilla specks, try using some vanilla bean paste instead of part of the vanilla extract.
- Citrus: Add a few pinches of finely grated lemon or orange zest for a fresh, bright flavor.
- Warm spice: A small pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg gives the cookies a warm, cozy flavor.
Serving Ideas
- Try layering them into banana pudding. It’s a great combination!
- Crush the cookies to use as a base for pie crust or cheesecake.
- Dip halfway in melted chocolate and let set for a play on the half-and-half cookie!
- Use these cookies to make ice cream sandwiches with a thin layer of softened ice cream.
Storage and Make-Ahead
At room temperature, keep the cookies in an airtight container for up to one week.
To freeze, store the baked cookies in an airtight container for up to two months. Thaw them uncovered at room temperature to keep them crisp.
Recipe FAQs
Powdered sugar makes the cookies tender, and granulated sugar helps them get crisp and brown well.
Usually, the dough is too thick because of extra flour. Next time, spoon and level the flour. You can also let the dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften.
A piping bag gives the classic wafer shape, but you can also use a spoon to make small mounds and gently flatten them. They’ll look more rustic but taste just as good.
Let the cookies cool completely before storing, and keep them tightly sealed. Humidity can make them soft, so use an airtight container.
More Cookie Recipes
- Fluffernutter Cookies
- Ricotta Cookies
- Butter Cookies
- Blueberry and Cream Cookies
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Homemade Vanilla Wafers
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, (1 stick), softened
- 1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (61 ml) milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the butter, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes).
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then mix in the milk and vanilla until combined.
- Stir in the flour and salt, taking care not to overwork the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1A tip. Pipe 1-inch diameter circles onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottoms and around the edges.
- Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! I basically gave up trying to find decent vanilla wafers (not made with junk) in the stores after Trader Joe’s stopped selling the good ones they used to carry.
I made these with salted butter and homemade cashew milk (as one in my family cannot tolerate any milk products other than butter), and they turned out great! Here are my observations for anyone trying this for the first time: the dough is quite stiff–I tried squishing it through a pastry tip as suggested above at first, but it was really hard; so I bailed on that after a few and measured them out with a very small scoop. Also, they don’t spread or flatten by themselves in the oven at all. I found the easiest way to shape after scooping them all was with 2 clean fingers or a thumb. All my utensils stuck to the dough, but fingers were fast. 😉 In the end, they came out looking like the ones in your picture and were very yummy!
Hey Allie!!!! These are my family’s fav! Can I make these without using a pastry bag?
That’s great! Absolutely, you could just use a small cookie scoop or a spoon. Good luck!
Has anyone tried this with non-dairy substitutes? My go-to would typically be Silk Unsweetened Cashew Milk and Melt plant based butter, or just straight cold-pressed coconut oil.
I would love to get your feedback on how these might turn out!
“Made with real ingredients like butter and milk…”
Cashew milk is a real ingredient. Vegan butter (made from live active cultures and coconut) is a REAL ingredient.
Ten YEARS ago I woke up to the fact that ANY use of dairy, eggs, milk, butter, meat, fish, honey, etc… inherently involves exploitation and unspeakable suffering to animals.
Yes, even your precious backyard chickens eggs involve suffering. Unless those chickens just wandered into your yard, they came from a breeder who is selling off hens, and killing their baby brothers because they’re considered useless since they don’t lay eggs. Even if that weren’t the case, those eggs are not YOURS. They belong to the chickens, and any unfertilized eggs that don’t hatch, the hen eats them HERSELF to restore her health, as laying an eggs depletes her of many valuable nutrients.
Look – I get it. I’m from Wisconsin. Born and raised to a famous “dairy celebrity” and a well known restauranteur. There’s no one who was raised more meat and potatoes and CHEESE than I was.
If I can do it — YOU can do it. There are no excuses anymore.
Pick up a copy of “The Joy of Vegan Baking” by Colleen Patrick Goudreau. Pick up “The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples” by Miyoko Schinner.
It’s beyond easy and accessible to make baked goods, meals, snacks….. basically ANYTHING you can make, I can make VEGAN and BETTER!
Do you know what it’s like going to bed each night knowing no animals had to suffer for my sake? No cow had to be forcibly impregnated (think what else we might call that) in order to produce milk, not did they have to have their babies taken away from them the day they’re born.
I don’t have to separate babies from their mothers to get milk!
And I don’t have to murder countless baby male chicks and steal a hen’s precious eggs in order to bake cookies.
GET CREATIVE ABOUT FOOD! Are none of you even curious about the idea “Hey, there are other ways to do this”??? You’ve all been sold a myth that eggs are necessary in baking. They’re just NOT. They can be replaced with so many things — and often even with NOTHING! My Oma’s german apple streusel cake calls for an egg in the crust. Guess what turned out to be the best substitute? Nothing! Literally just SKIPPING it yielded a PERFECT result.
You’ve all allowed marketing to turn you into the kind of people who justify the HORRIBLE things we do to animals.
And if you aren’t aware what we do to animals, go watch the documentary “Dominion” before you respond to me.
Any response not grounded in an understanding of the industry standard cruelty PERMISSIBLE toward animals will not be taken seriously.
Yes, absolutely! Feel free to substitute with your favorite non-dairy milk or butter substitute. As long as you’re using a product that can sub 1:1, it should work no problem. There are no eggs in this, so you are already a step closer to a vegan recipe before you even start. Good luck and I hope you enjoy!
These homemade vanilla wafers require minimal ingredients and effort, but deliver on taste and texture! I used salted butter since that’s all I had and made no other changes to the recipe-they piped beautifully and turned out great! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
My pleasure Nikki! I’m so happy it worked well for you!
this is the best vanilla wafer cookie recipe I’ve tried yet. excellent texture, but I would suggest that it be baked at 325° degrees F. fir the same length of time if you’re out of parchment paper…
So happy you enjoyed! And thanks for the tip!
I tried this recipe yesterday. It was absolutely perfect!!! Cookies are delicious, very addicitive! Thank you for an amazing recipe, desfinitely will be trying other recipes 🙂
You’re welcome Marcela! I’m so happy you enjoyed. Thank you so much for the 5-star review!
Could I put the dough in a cookie press and make spritz?
Hey Steph! I would think so, but rather than fiddle with that, it might be a lot easier just to use my spritz cookie recipe. You can find it by typing “spritz” into the search bar at the top of my site. Good luck!
Is the video still available. I see where it says recipe video but when I click on it nothing happens.
Yes the video is there. It starts just a few paragraphs down from the top of the post, and as you scroll down it moves into the lower right sidebar.
I’m based in the UK and my brother wanted me to make him magnolia bakery banana pudding for his birthday as he was craving it. However i was not able to find any nilla wafers and came across this recipe. I’ve just baked them and they are seriously yummy. No idea what a nilla wafer tastes like but these are amazing. Il be baking these again for sure. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
My pleasure Bhav! I’m so happy you were pleased. Thanks so much for the 5-star rating!
I made these vegan using soy-free Earth Balance and vanilla coconut creamer and they were fantastic. I made them for Banana Pudding but I honestly could’ve just eaten the whole tray, as-is, they were so good. Thanks for sharing.
That sounds fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing, I’m sure there are vegan readers that will really benefit from this knowledge!
Hi. I’m pretty new to baking and I’d love to try this recipe, but I don’t have a piping bag. Can the dough just be dropped onto the sheets with a spoon? Thanks.
Hey Stephanie! I’m so happy you’re going to give this recipe a try! You can try scooping the dough- I’m sure it will still work but they just may not have quite the same smooth, round appearance. Good luck and I hope you enjoy!
I just made these and they turned out great! I ended up using a freezer bag with a hole cut in the corner to pipe the dough out. This was my first experience piping and it was fun. I very much appreciate the video. Being new to baking, I often have no idea what my dough is suppose to look like. I find it helpful to see a video of the process. This also helps me know what size baked goods are supposed to be before going in the oven. Thanks so much for this recipe! Yummy cookies!
Yay! So happy they turned out well despite not having a piping bag, and so happy to know that you are enjoying the videos! I’m hoping to have a video for every new post moving forward. Thanks so much for the encouragement!
Hi I am Australian and wanting to try make Banana Pudding… But i dont know where to buy Vanilla Waffers. Would these homemade ones work the same?
Thanks
Mikaela
Yes! This is a homemade version of vanilla wafers.
I didn’t see any leavening. I made according to recipe and they seem to need leavening.
Hey Holly! No this recipe does not include leavening but you could add a pinch if you prefer. Just keep in mind it will cause the cookies to spread and flatten out.
omg thank you so much. These cookies were a hit. im going to use some for a vanilla pudding and the rest will be for kid snack. some times recipes don’t work for me but this was so wonderfully explained and instructed.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Teresa! Thanks so much for the positive feedback!
Do these freeze well?
Yes absolutely! You can put them in an airtight container or zip top bag and stash them in the freezer for a few months. Thanks for the great question!