These homemade vanilla wafers are rich and buttery and can be enjoyed on their own or used as a versatile ingredient in various desserts like banana pudding.
These crispy and light cookies are infused with the rich aroma and flavor of vanilla, making them irresistible to vanilla lovers.
The homemade version allows for customization, allowing you to adjust the sweetness and level of vanilla to your preference.
Whether enjoyed as a snack with a cup of tea or used as a base for banana pudding or ice cream sandwiches, Homemade Vanilla Wafers are sure to satisfy your sweet cravings.
For more vanilla desserts, check out my vanilla cheesecake, vanilla muffins, and vanilla cupcakes.
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Why this recipe works
- Ease- This vanilla wafer cookies recipe is perfect if you are looking for an easy one-bowl recipe for vanilla wafers!
- Time- It is a not-chill cookie recipe, so you don't need to chill the dough! This recipe is quick to make and comes together in under an hour!
- Better than store bought- these wafers have a perfect buttery flavor and are so much better than store bought! The texture, flavor, and everything about this is just better!
- Versatile- these can be enjoyed in so many ways, from dipping them in coffee or tea to making homemade banana pudding to crushing them and using them for a cheesecake or pie crust, the options are endless.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this vanilla wafers cookies recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Egg- you will need 1 egg for this cookie dough. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Powder sugar- is known as confectioners sugar. For a smoother icing, sift it before adding it to the butter.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder – baking powder allow the cookies to rise and spread. Make sure that your leveler isn't expired.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Milk- use your favorite type of milk for this. I used whole milk but you can use plant-based milk as well.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. You can use regular vanilla extract for this or use vanilla bean extract for a stronger vanilla flavor.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and kosher salt, and mix with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with a guitar attachment for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
Add the milk and egg and mix until smooth and well combined.
Add the flour and baking powder, and mix until just combined and a dough forms. Do not overmix.
Use a 2 tsp cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular teaspoon, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10-11 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and they have a light golden brown color.
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
Faq's
We use all-purpose flour for this recipe, and cake flour will work great as well.
We used regular unsalted butter for this recipe. If you want to use salted butter in this recipe, simply skip the salt and make the recipe as written.
If your dough is too sticky, you may have used butter that is too warm when making the cookie dough. Your butter should be at room temperature and it should be soft to the touch.
Another reason can be that you didn't measure your flour correctly. You may add not enough flour to the dough. Make sure that you measure your flour correctly.
No. Store bought vanilla wafers have strong artificial flavors that give these a questionable flavor.
But these homemade wafers have a perfect buttery and vanilla flavor that is so much better than anything you try from the store.
Yes! You can double or triple this recipe. There is an option to automatically double, half, or triple this recipe in the recipe card below!
Storing
Store these wafers at room temperature for up to a week. Store these in an airtight container so they won't dry out.
Freezing
Freezing these cookies is very easy. Simply cover them with a plastic wrap tightly (a few layers) and transfer them into an airtight freezer-friendly container and freeze it for up to 2 months.
Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for about an hour.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
Chocolate- make these into chocolate wafers by swapping ¼ cup of flour with cocoa powder.
Lemon zest- add lemon zest to the cookie dough for a delicious lemon flavor and aroma.
Extract- swap the vanilla extract with your favorite extracts like almond extract or lemon extract!
Cinnamon sugar- roll the dough in cinnamon sugar before baking for a delicious twist.
Serving tips
- Banana pudding- make homemade banana pudding with these wafers to take your banana pudding to the next level!
- Melted dark chocolate- Dip each cookie in melted dark chocolate, white chocolate, or milk chocolate for a delicious twist.
- Cheesecake crust- make your homemade cheesecake more delicious by crushing the cookies in a blender or a food processor and using them to create the most flavorful and delicious made-from-scratch crust.
Equipment
- Baking sheet and rack set (our fave)
- Cookies scoop set of 3 (the best cookie scoop we used)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
More vanilla recipes
Vanilla cheesecake- This vanilla cheesecake is a creamy and easy cheesecake that is made without a water bath and can be topped with fresh berries, caramel sauce, or chocolate ganache.
Moist vanilla muffins- These classic vanilla muffins and moist, tender, fluffy, and made in one bowl. They are filled with vanilla flavor and are the perfect base muffin recipe so you can add many flavors and fillings!
Vanilla cake- This 8 inch vanilla cake is made with 3 layers of tender, fluffy, and moist vanilla cake layers, topped and filled with a decadent vanilla buttercream that makes the perfect cake.
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Homemade Vanilla Wafers Cookies (Nilla Copycat)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter
- ¾ cup Powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 Egg
- 1 tablespoon Milk
- 1 ½ cups Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and kosher salt, and mix with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with a guitar attachment for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
- Add the milk and egg and mix until smooth and well combined.
- Add the flour and baking powder, and mix until just combined and a dough forms. Do not overmix.
- Use a 2 tsp cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular teaspoon, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10-11 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and they have a light golden brown color.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
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