These Cream Wafer Sandwich Cookies are my all-time favorite cookie recipe. It’s two light and flaky cookies sandwich together with rich and sweet buttercream. These are a must-make Christmas Cookie you’re going to love at much as I do!
Cream Wafer Sandwich Cookies:
The 12 Days of Christmas is about to get a whole lot sweeter thanks to ten delicious cookie recipes! Today (Day 2) is packed with holiday sweetness. Ten bloggers (a.k.a. Christmas Cookie Squad), including yours truly, have teamed up for a fun and delicious cookie swap. This is your one-stop spot for holiday cookies.
Because there’s a lot going on in this post, let me give you a quick overview. First, I’ll share my cookie recipe. The, I’ll link up to the nine other cookie recipes.
Sound good? As always, if you happen to recreate anything you see on IBC’s 12 Days of Christmas, be sure to post it on social media with the hashtag #IBCholiday. Additionally, if you’re making any of these cookie recipes, you can share those with #ChistmasCookieSquad. All of us bloggers love to see your take on our ideas, so be sure to let us know about your creations.
For my Cookie Swap contribution, I’m sharing my absolute favorite cookie – Cream Wafers. I will use any excuse to make these cookies, and I will pass up every other cookie if these are available. Sorry, chocolate chip.
Updated: I originally shared this recipe with tree-shaped cream wafter cookies. However, when I make them every year for Christmas, I do a circle cookie with green and red filling. As you will see throughout this post, there are a mix of the tree-shaped cookies and the round shape cookies. The recipe is exactly the same, I just used a different shaped cookie cutter.
Why are these cookies so yummy? Well, they are basically sugar and butter with a little flour to hold them together. How bad can that be? Soft flaky cookies sandwiched together with heavenly buttercream. Sometimes simple is best, and this recipe proves it!
I bake these cookies every year, but typically I just make them round. Since this is a special occasion, I decided to get creative and make trees. I made them fairly small, too. For easy eating of course. You can just pop them whole, right into your mouth.
How to Make Cream Wafer Sandwich Cookies:
These cookies are simple to make, but they do take a little time and patience. Be sure to chill your dough before attempting to roll it out; it makes a huge difference.
Also, since these have a somewhat intricate shape, I decided to use a piping bag to add the filling. Normally, when working with round cookies, I use a butter knife, but piping made the process go faster. Plus, it cut down on mess.
Cookie perfection. If you’ve never tasted or made these, I hope you’ll give them a try. They might become your new favorite. Let’s take a peek at the recipe.
Now that you have my cookie recipe, it’s time to check out the rest of the cookies recipes in the swap. Happy Baking!
THE #CHRISTMASCOOKIESQUAD
- Everything Sweet Sugar Cookies – Sugar & Cloth
- Peppermint Drops – Julie Blanner
- Linzer Christmas Cookies – Freutcake
- Elf Quote Christmas Cookies – Lovely Indeed
- Blood Orange Vanilla Bean Meringues – Paper & Stitch
- Italian Meatball Cookies – The Sweetest Occassion
- Almond Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies – The Effortless Chic
- Color Dipped Gingerbread Cookies – Studio DIY
- Candy Cane Peppermint Bark Fudge – Sugar and Charm
Cream Wafer Sandwich Cookie Recipe:
Cream Wafer Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar - for dusting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter - softened
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream
- Food coloring - optional
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter 3-5 minutes until it's light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour and then the cream. Mix until just combined. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least two hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with a small tree-shaped cookie cutter. (Alternatively, you can use any style of cookie cutter you prefer.)
- Add the sugar to a separate small bowl. Press the cut out trees into the sugar. Then, place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Prick with a toothpick or fork.
- Bake 7-9 minutes, removing the cookies from the oven just before they start to brown. Remove them from the cookie sheet to cool.
- In the meantime, make the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and salt until light and fluffy (This will take 3-5 minutes.) With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, and vanilla. Then add the food coloring. If the filling seems too thick, add more heavy cream until desired consistency is achieved.
- To easily frost the cookies, put the filling in a piping bag. Once the cookies are cool, pipe the filling on the back of one cookie. Top with another cookie and press to secure.
- Pack and store in an airtight container.
Video
Nutrition Facts
How do you press in the sugar without it losing the shape?
Just lightly. It sticks well.
xo Michael
Can I freeze the wafers? How long?
I wouldn’t freeze these. They are too delicate.
xo Michael
For those asking about using gluten free flour: Tried making these with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, and sadly, it was an epic fail. The dough felt and performed as if it was almost pure butter. Tried to salvage it by pressing out into the pan for a sheet cookie, and after baking, it still had a butter-like texture that was soft and held no shape.
These look so good! I just finished baking 8 double batches of shortbread cookies for friends and family. These look so delicious and a close cousin to my shortbreads. Thanks for sharing!
Made these for the first time last night and OMG were they good. I subbed almond extract for the vanilla in the frosting because my family & I love almond buttercream frosting. This recipe is definitely going to be one I make again and again!
Obsessed! Made a batch and shared with friends, we ate them in minutes! Making 12 dozen for a cookie exchange this weekend, it’ll be a hit for sure!
12 dozen!? You’re my hero!! That’s amazing!!
xo Michael
I”ve Made these cookies for years And they are really good.
I found this recipe last year and have never had better. Just wanted to say thanks again for sharing and I am glad I was able to find you again! I hope you are doing alright through all this.
Mine crumbled and fell apart! Maybe I didn’t cook them long enough?
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that. I’m not sure what happened?
xo Michael
Thanks for the great looking recipe! Can’t wait to give it a try…quick question, have you (or any other readers) ever tried making these with gluten free all purpose flour? I have a daughter with celiac and I make most recipes with the substitution, but wasn’t sure about these due to the delicate nature of them. I also don’t want to muck up the recipe-lol
Thanks in advance!
I haven’t personally, but maybe someone else will chime in.
xo Michael
I am trying to do my cookie making this year spread out (over 3 weeks) so it is not so much at once. I am trying to see which ones i can make ahead of time and store. Could these be made and stored for about 3 weeks before eating? Would you suggest freezing? Or could I just make the cookies and store them (freezer vs fridge), then fill right before eating?
Love these and have never seen the recipe posted before! My dad has been making since I was born. We call them pain-in-the-butts (seriously, I’ve never heard of them as cream wafers lol).
When my dad makes them he rolls the dough and then uses a modified round hair brush to get even holes throughout the dough before cutting the shapes – works like a charm!!
The directions don’t say when to add the vanilla? Also, do you use confectionary sugar or granulated to dip the dough in?
You use granulated sugar to dip the dough into. It really doesn’t matter when you add the vanilla. I typically do it with the heavy cream.
xo Michael