These 3 ingredient, sweetened condensed milk cookies are sweet, buttery, and melt in your mouth! They’re perfect for picnics, afternoon teas, and snacks in the garden. Change up the filling to make a different cookie each time–speculoos or chocolate-hazelnut spread, lemon curd, peanut butter, or even melted chocolate are all great additions.–Eloise Head
Condensed Milk Cookie FAQs
The biggest difference between evaporated and condensed milk is that evaporated milk is unsweetened, and condensed milk contains about 40 to 45% sugar. It’s sweeeeet.
Evaporated milk is just fresh milk that’s heated until about 60 percent of its water content evaporates, and then it’s canned. Condensed milk also has reduced water content, but sugar is added before the canning process.
Keep in mind that the terms “condensed milk” and “sweetened condensed milk” are used interchangeably, and there is no such thing as unsweetened condensed milk. Also, note that condensed milk and evaporated cannot be substituted for one another.
Absolutely! Like with our cranberry pistachio cookies, this is a great cookie dough to keep in the freezer for those cookie cravings. Once you get your dough together, form it into a log, wrap it well with cling wrap or waxed paper, and place it into an airtight ziptop bag.
The dough will keep for up to three months. When you’re ready for cookies, take the dough from the freezer, thaw it slightly and cut it into cookie-shaped rounds. Bake and fill as directed.
☞ Like cookies? Try these:
- Spiced Rye Ginger Cookies
- Superfood Breakfast Cookies
- Easy Shortbread Cookies
- Clove, Cinnamon, and Chocolate Cookies
3 Ingredient Condensed Milk Cookies
Ingredients
For the sweetened condensed milk cookies
- 7 1/2 tablespoons (3 3/4 oz) cold salted butter, cubed
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed and for dusting
- 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
For filling
- Your favorite jam
- Nutella
- Lemon curd
- Melted chocolate
Instructions
Make the sweetened condensed milk cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Have a nonstick or parchment-lined baking sheet at the ready.
- Combine the butter and flour in a large mixing bowl and rub them together with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk, then mix together with your hands to form a soft dough, adding 1 extra tablespoon of flour at a time if the dough is still sticky.
- Tip the dough onto a floured surface then roll it out to about 1/4-inch (5-mm) thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch (8-cm) cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough, then re-roll the trimmings and repeat to use all of the dough. You should have about 16 cookies.
- Using the base of a piping nozzle or small bottle cap, cut out a hole in the middle of half the circles. Place all the circles on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1-inch (2.5cm) apart.
- Bake until lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet.
Fill the cookies
- Once cool, place about 1 teaspoon of your filling in the center of the cookie bases (the ones without the holes), then place the cookie lids on the top. The filling will help secure the lids in place.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
With only 3 ingredients for the cookie dough, this condensed milk cookie recipe makes a surprisingly delicious cookie that has a nice buttery flavor and just the right amount of sweetness from the condensed milk with no additional sugar needed.
The dough is easy to handle and can be cut into various shapes, in addition to the simple round shape in the photo. I used a 3-inch fluted cutter which gave the cookies a nice, scalloped shape.
I also dusted the tops with confectioners’ sugar before I assembled them. I made a double batch and filled half with apricot preserves and the other half with strawberry preserves. As the recipe indicates, the filling can be whatever you prefer.
I was drawn to this three-ingredient cookie dough recipe due to its simplicity and short execution time. You can make a batch of cookies plus clean up in 30 minutes start to finish. Snacking on a homemade cookie in less time than it takes to watch an episode of “The Great British Baking Show”!
However, this is not just a quick fix to your cookie craving. These condensed milk cookies are flaky, buttery, and have just the right sweetness to ensure any filling carries the flavor profile.
Any filling is complimented perfectly by the golden shortbread-style cookie. A cookie that pairs beautifully with jam, peanut butter, lemon curd, Nutella, or frankly with just another cookie. They’re that good!
These sweetened condensed milk cookies were simple to make–just three ingredients, all of which were in my pantry! The cookies were light and sweet but not overly sweet. The ability to be creative and customize them allows for some fun with my family.
This is a perfect cookie for mid-morning coffee or tea. They’re buttery and not too sweet. They have a nice crunch but melt in your mouth.
I used a farmstand blueberry jam in the middle and found it provided just the right amount of sweetness. After cutting circles out of the interior of the dough on half the cookies, I rerolled the dough and cut more cookies for a total of 14 lovely cookies.
I often buy sweetened condensed milk and only need a couple of tablespoons, so it’s nice to find good recipes that make use of the rest of the can!
These 3 ingredient condensed milk cookies are a unique twist on the usual buttery sandwich cookie. They’re like shortbread cookies, but with a bit of sugar-cookie softness and sweetness.
I’ve been doing a lot of fruit-centric baking lately, so I used homemade Nutella. This variation was good, but because the cookies themselves are quite dry, I think a jam or citrus curd would have complimented them better.
This recipe is very easy and makes an excellent cookie–exactly as described–sweet, buttery, and melt in your mouth. I used apricot preserves as the filling, and the cookies were delightful.
I was so intrigued by this sweetened condensed milk cookie recipe that was made up of only three ingredients followed by a choose-your-own-adventure filling.
The dough comes together quickly. I added 1 extra tablespoon of flour and found it really easy to roll out. To cut the cookies out, I used a 2-inch round cookie cutter with a piping nozzle that has a 1-inch-wide opening. I transferred the cutouts to a single baking sheet with ease using a spatula.
The cookies were still soft when they came out of the oven, but they firmed up as they cooled on the baking sheet. I filled the cookies with a combination of store-bought raspberry and apricot jams, which looked so pretty together. I can only imagine how delicious these cookies would be with a homemade strawberry or blueberry jam.
The cookies are tender and sweet, reminiscent of shortbread, and just as tasty on day 2 as they were freshly baked. It’s a tasty and versatile recipe to take you through the seasons with a change of filling each time.
Whoa! Did I read this right? The “freeze dough into a log and slice” option makes them sound like a slice-n-bake with no dough rolling (other than making the log). You’re telling me this will work? The easiest cookie in the world just got easier?🍪
They may not be as symmetrical, but I’m actually a big fan of things that don’t look quite perfect, so the flattened edge I tend to get with a slice-n-bake cookies is right up my alley.
Done this way, mine surely will not be as pretty as the circles, scallop-edge, and heart-shaped cookies here, but I do have a tiny star-shaped cutter that I might use for the inside hole to fancy ’em up a bit. I hope you answer soon because the condensed milk in the pantry is screaming, “Put me in, coach!”
Thank you.
Jozie, I assure you they work as slice-n-bake babies! And…as I get old, I find I look for easier and easier ways of cooking and baking.
These cookies were amazing. We tried the exact same recipe with Arrowhead 1 to 1 gluten free flour and also substituted with organic coconut condensed milk. They were delicate, delicious and a tad powdery (just the right “polvoron’ consistency).
This is going into our favorite recipe drawer!!! The kids loved helping out and it was so easy to make. Love using my hands to make it all come together!
Wonderful, Theresa! We’re so pleased to hear that the recipe works well with gluten free flour. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I tried this recipe because I was intrigued by a 3 ingredient cookie. I used a Cuisinart to mix the dough. The dough rolls out beautifully. The dough has a nice consistency, I wonder if it is due to the condensed sweetened milk. I used blackberry jam. Crisp and buttery and easy to make. And the cookies look great.
Reiko, you’re cookies look amazing. We’re delighted that you enjoyed making the recipe and that they turned out so well. Thank you for taking the time to comment.