Cream Wafer Sandwich Cookies

Thin wafers with a smooth flavored center

Chill the dough, roll it thin, and join the cooled pairs

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Cream wafer sandwich cookies begin with a chilled three-ingredient dough of all-purpose flour, softened butter for the wafers, and heavy cream. After an hour in the cold, the dough is rolled 1/8 inch thick, cut into small shapes, turned on both sides in white granulated sugar for coating, and pricked before baking. Two fully cooled wafers then hold a small spoonful of creamy filling between their flat sides.

Plan the work around 60 finished sandwich cookies and two patient rests: about one hour to firm the dough and about one hour to cool the baked pieces completely. Work with only one-third of the dough at a time so the remaining portions stay cold while you roll and cut. The wafers bake for seven to nine minutes at 375°F and should look set without taking on brown color, a useful visual cue when the first batch is ready to leave the heat.

Mix the simple dough and chill until firm

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Use measuring cups and spoons for the flour, butter, and cream, then place all three in a medium stainless steel mixing bowl. Bring them together with a mixing spoon, scraping through the center and around the sides until no dry pockets remain and the dough looks even.

Fit a bowl cover over the bowl and place it in the kitchen refrigerator for about one hour, or until the dough is firm. Keep it covered for the full rest so the surface stays protected, and leave it cold until the rolling area is ready.

Roll one cold portion at a time and coat both sides

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Heat the oven to 375°F. Take out one-third of the dough and keep the rest chilled. With a rolling pin, roll that portion to an even 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured pastry board. Check the center and edges before cutting so thick and thin pieces do not share the same short baking window.

Cut the rolled dough into the shapes you want with 1 1/2-inch cookie cutters. Spread a generous layer of the sugar over a large piece of waxed paper. Lift each cutout with a pancake turner, turn it in the sugar to coat both faces, and arrange it on ungreased baking sheets. Prick each piece about four times with a fork, then repeat with the two remaining cold portions.

Bake only until set and cool without rushing

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Bake each sheet for seven to nine minutes, watching for wafers that are set but not brown. Begin checking at seven minutes because the thin cutouts move through the range quickly. Use oven mitts to remove the hot sheet as soon as that pale, set appearance is reached.

Move the wafers from the sheet to a wire cooling rack and let them cool completely, about one hour. Match similarly sized pieces while they rest, but wait until every surface has lost its warmth before adding the filling.

Stir the filling smooth and sandwich the flat sides

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In the cleaned mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, softened butter for the filling, and your choice of vanilla extract, lemon extract, or peppermint extract. Stir until smooth. Blend in optional food coloring only if you want it, and add a few drops of water if needed to bring the filling to a smooth spreading consistency. Add the drops gradually so the adjustment stays small.

Turn the cooled pairs flat-side up. With an offset spatula, spread about 1/2 teaspoon of filling over one bottom, then place its partner on top with the sugared face outward. Continue until all the matched pairs are joined.

Pair, fill, and pass the little sandwiches together

Bring family, friends, or neighbors to the table once the wafers are cool and set the matched pairs in easy reach. One person can line up similar shapes, another can spread each measured bit of filling, and someone else can close the sandwiches with the sugar-coated sides facing out. Keep the chosen extract and optional filling color consistent as the cookies move from the filling station to the serving plate. The small shapes make the batch easy to arrange in rows, circles, or a mixed platter without needing extra decoration. Share a few as soon as the assembly is complete, then keep pairing and filling while conversation continues. With 60 finished pieces to work through, there is room for many hands to help and plenty to place at the center when everyone sits down together.

Join the recipe discussion to ask about chilling, rolling the wafers evenly, judging the pale bake, or adjusting the filling. Leave a comment.