Cookie Butter Desserts: 14 Easy Spiced Treats That Taste Like Christmas Morning and Vanish Before the Coffee Is Poured
Cookie butter desserts are having their biggest moment yet, and it is easy to see why once you open a jar. The spread is made from crushed caramelized spice cookies blended until smooth, so every spoonful tastes like cinnamon, brown sugar and a little ginger, the exact flavor of a cozy Christmas morning. Searches for cookie butter have more than doubled since summer, and home bakers are stirring it into everything from fudge to cocoa. Below are 14 easy cookie butter desserts, from a no-bake cheesecake and gooey blondies to two-ingredient fudge, truffles, cinnamon rolls, a holiday fruit dip and even a homemade spread you can blend yourself. Each one has a short shopping list and simple steps, and most need no special skills at all. Grab a spoon, because the jar will be empty before the cookies are..
No-Bake Cookie Butter Cheesecake, the Queen of Cookie Butter Desserts
If you only make one thing from this list, make this. A crust of crushed spiced cookies and melted butter holds a cool, fluffy filling of cream cheese, whipped cream and cookie butter, and a warm swirl of spread goes over the top just before serving. It sets in the fridge overnight, so the oven stays free for the holiday roast. The flavor comes from the same caramelized spice biscuits that Belgian and Dutch families bake for Saint Nicholas Day, and you can read the story of the spiced speculaas cookie on Wikipedia. Slice it cold and watch it disappear..
You will need: 2 cups crushed spiced cookies, 5 tbsp melted butter, 16 oz cream cheese (softened), 1 cup cookie butter plus 1/3 cup for the top, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, extra crushed cookies.
How to make it: 1. Mix crumbs and melted butter, press into a 9-inch springform pan and chill. 2. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup cookie butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. 3. Whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold it in. 4. Spread over the crust and chill at least 6 hours. 5. Warm the remaining spread for 15 seconds, pour over the top and sprinkle with crumbs.
Chewy Cookie Butter Blondies
Of all the baked cookie butter desserts, blondies are the simplest. Blondies are brownies without the chocolate, and cookie butter gives them a deep caramel flavor that plain vanilla versions never have. The batter is stirred in one bowl, then dolloped with extra spread and swirled with a knife so every square has a gooey ribbon running through it. Pull them from the oven while the center still looks a little soft; they firm up as they cool and stay chewy for days. They travel well in a tin, which makes them a perfect choice for cookie swaps and office parties.
You will need: 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup cookie butter plus 1/4 cup for swirling, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, pinch of salt, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips.
How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and line an 8-inch pan. 2. Whisk butter, 1/2 cup cookie butter and brown sugar, then beat in egg and vanilla. 3. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and chips. 4. Spread in the pan, dot with the extra spread and swirl. 5. Bake 25 to 28 minutes and cool before cutting.
Cookie Butter Stuffed Sugar Cookies
These look like ordinary soft sugar cookies until someone takes a bite and finds a molten pocket of spiced spread in the middle. The trick is freezing small spoonfuls of cookie butter on parchment first, so they hold their shape while you wrap the dough around them. Roll the balls in sparkling sugar before baking for a crackly, festive finish. Kids love making them, and they are the kind of cookie butter desserts that turn a plain cookie plate into the one everyone talks about after dinner.
You will need: 1 batch soft sugar cookie dough (2 3/4 cups flour, 1 cup butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp baking soda), 1/2 cup cookie butter, coarse sparkling sugar.
How to make it: 1. Drop teaspoons of cookie butter on parchment and freeze 30 minutes. 2. Make the dough and chill 20 minutes. 3. Flatten 2-tablespoon balls of dough, set a frozen spread disc in the center and seal. 4. Roll in sparkling sugar. 5. Bake at 350F for 10 to 11 minutes.
Two-Ingredient Cookie Butter Fudge, the Fastest of All Cookie Butter Desserts
This is the easiest gift recipe of the season, and it is one of those cookie butter desserts that tastes like it took far more work than it did. White chocolate and cookie butter melt together into a smooth, creamy fudge that sets in the fridge with no candy thermometer and no stirring over a hot stove. Top it with crushed cookies for crunch, cut it into small squares, and pack it into tins with parchment between the layers. One pan makes enough for half a dozen little gifts for teachers and neighbors.
You will need: 3 cups white chocolate chips, 1 cup cookie butter, pinch of flaky salt, 1/2 cup crushed spiced cookies for the top.
How to make it: 1. Line an 8-inch pan with parchment. 2. Melt white chocolate and cookie butter together in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring until smooth. 3. Pour into the pan and smooth the top. 4. Sprinkle with salt and crushed cookies. 5. Chill 2 hours, then cut into small squares.
Cookie Butter Fruit Dip for Holiday Platters
Every holiday table needs something light next to the pies, and this whipped fruit dip makes a fruit platter feel like dessert. Cream cheese and cookie butter are beaten together with a little marshmallow creme until fluffy, then piled into a bowl in the middle of crisp apple slices, pears, strawberries, grapes and pretzels. It takes five minutes and keeps in the fridge for three days. Set it out at a holiday open house and you will see adults hovering around it just as much as the kids.
You will need: 8 oz cream cheese (softened), 1/2 cup cookie butter, 1/2 cup marshmallow creme, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, sliced apples and pears, strawberries, grapes, pretzel twists for serving.
How to make it: 1. Beat cream cheese until smooth. 2. Add cookie butter, marshmallow creme and cinnamon and beat until fluffy. 3. Spoon into a serving bowl and swirl a little extra spread on top. 4. Arrange fruit and pretzels around it. 5. Chill until serving.
Cookie Butter Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas Morning
Swap the usual cinnamon sugar filling for a mix of cookie butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, and your Christmas morning rolls get a warm, caramelized flavor that tastes almost like toffee. A glaze made with more spread and a splash of milk runs into every spiral. Shape them the night before, cover the pan and let them rise slowly in the fridge, then bake while the presents are being opened. These are the cookie butter desserts that make the whole house smell like a bakery before anyone is properly awake.
You will need: 1 batch soft roll dough or 2 lb store-bought pizza or roll dough, 1/2 cup cookie butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 3 tbsp soft butter. Glaze: 1/4 cup cookie butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 to 3 tbsp milk.
How to make it: 1. Roll dough into a large rectangle and spread with butter and cookie butter. 2. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon, roll up tightly and cut into 12 rolls. 3. Place in a greased pan, cover and refrigerate overnight. 4. Let stand 30 minutes, then bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes. 5. Whisk the glaze and pour over the warm rolls.
Cookie Butter Swirl Snack Cake
A snack cake is the kind you bake in a square pan and cut straight from the dish, no frosting or layers needed. This one is a tender brown sugar cake marbled with warm spread, so each slice has caramel-colored ribbons running through it. It is lovely with coffee on a slow December morning and sturdy enough to pack in lunchboxes. If you love easy pan desserts with a gooey middle, our cookie pie recipes are the perfect next bake. A dusting of powdered sugar is all the decoration it needs.
You will need: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup soft butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup cookie butter (warmed), powdered sugar.
How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and grease an 8-inch square pan. 2. Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs, then add sour cream. 3. Stir in flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. 4. Spread in the pan, dollop warm cookie butter on top and swirl with a knife. 5. Bake 30 to 35 minutes and dust with powdered sugar.
Cookie Butter Truffles Rolled in Spiced Cookie Crumbs
These no-bake cookie butter desserts taste like a cross between cheesecake and a gingerbread cookie. Crushed spiced cookies, cream cheese and cookie butter are mixed into a soft dough, rolled into balls and coated in more crumbs, or dipped in white chocolate if you want them to look like they came from a candy shop. They keep for a week in the fridge and freeze beautifully, so you can make a big batch early in December. Set them in little paper cups and they look stunning in a gift box.
You will need: 2 1/2 cups finely crushed spiced cookies (plus 1/2 cup for rolling), 4 oz cream cheese (softened), 1/3 cup cookie butter, 8 oz white chocolate (optional).
How to make it: 1. Mix 2 1/2 cups crumbs, cream cheese and cookie butter until it holds together. 2. Roll into 1-inch balls and chill 30 minutes. 3. Roll in the remaining crumbs, or dip in melted white chocolate. 4. Set on parchment and chill until firm. 5. Store in the fridge in a covered container.
Cookie Butter Hot Cocoa
Not all cookie butter desserts need a fork. One spoonful of spread turns an ordinary mug of hot chocolate into something you would pay a lot for at a coffee shop. Cookie butter melts right into warm milk and cocoa, adding cinnamon and caramel notes and a silky body. Top it with whipped cream or mini marshmallows and a few cookie crumbs, and serve it after sledding, during a movie night or alongside the Christmas Eve cookie plate. For a crowd, multiply the recipe in a slow cooker on low and let everyone ladle their own.
You will need: 2 cups milk, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp cookie butter, 2 oz chopped milk chocolate, pinch of cinnamon, whipped cream and crushed cookies for topping.
How to make it: 1. Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. 2. Whisk in cocoa, sugar and cinnamon. 3. Add cookie butter and chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. 4. Heat until steaming but not boiling. 5. Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream and crumbs.
Cookie Butter Pretzel Bars, the Salty-Sweet Cookie Butter Desserts Guests Ask About
Salty and sweet is a combination nobody can resist, and these layered bars lean all the way in. A crunchy base of crushed pretzels and butter is topped with a creamy cookie butter layer and finished with a thin shell of melted chocolate. There is no oven needed beyond a quick ten-minute bake for the base, and they cut cleanly into neat squares. They are always the first ones gone from a party cookie tray.
You will need: 2 cups crushed pretzels, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 cup cookie butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp soft butter, 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, 1 tbsp coconut oil, flaky salt.
How to make it: 1. Mix pretzels, melted butter and sugar, press into a lined 9-inch pan and bake 10 minutes at 350F. Cool. 2. Beat cookie butter, powdered sugar and soft butter, then spread over the base. 3. Melt chocolate with coconut oil and pour on top. 4. Sprinkle with salt. 5. Chill 1 hour and cut into bars.
Cookie Butter Cream Pie With Whipped Topping
This chilled pie is a gift for anyone who would rather not wrestle with pastry dough during the holidays. A press-in crumb crust holds a silky cookie butter pudding filling, and a tall cloud of whipped topping goes on just before serving. It slices cleanly straight from the fridge and tastes lighter than it looks. Put it on the dessert table next to the pumpkin and pecan pies, and do not be surprised if it is the first of the cookie butter desserts to be scraped clean.
You will need: 1 crumb crust (graham or spiced cookie), 1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix, 1 1/4 cups cold milk, 1/2 cup cookie butter, 8 oz whipped topping (divided), crushed cookies to garnish.
How to make it: 1. Whisk pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes until thick. 2. Whisk in cookie butter until smooth. 3. Fold in half of the whipped topping and spread into the crust. 4. Top with the remaining whipped topping. 5. Chill 4 hours and sprinkle with crushed cookies.
Cookie Butter Sandwich Cookies
Think of these cookie butter desserts as a holiday version of the classic cream-filled sandwich cookie. Thin, crisp spice cookies are pressed together around a fluffy filling of butter, powdered sugar and cookie butter, then left to rest so the cookies soften just slightly at the edges. Press your thumb into half the cookies before baking and you get a pretty window for the filling to peek through. Stack them in a jar with a ribbon for an easy homemade gift that looks bakery-perfect.
You will need: 1 batch thin spice cookie dough (or 24 crisp store-bought spice cookies), 1/4 cup soft butter, 1/3 cup cookie butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp milk.
How to make it: 1. Bake thin spice cookies and cool completely. 2. Beat butter and cookie butter until fluffy. 3. Add powdered sugar and milk and beat until creamy. 4. Pipe or spread a spoonful on half the cookies and top with the rest. 5. Let set 30 minutes before stacking.
Homemade Cookie Butter for All Your Cookie Butter Desserts
You do not need to hunt for a jar to make any of these cookie butter desserts, because the spread is surprisingly easy to blend at home. Crisp caramelized spice cookies go into a food processor until they are fine crumbs, then a little melted butter, milk and brown sugar turn them into a smooth, spreadable paste. Taste and add more cinnamon or a pinch of salt as you like. Spoon it into small jars and you have a sweet holiday gift that costs very little to make.
You will need: 1 package (about 8 oz) crisp spiced cookies, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/3 cup milk, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, pinch of salt.
How to make it: 1. Blitz the cookies in a food processor into fine crumbs. 2. Add brown sugar, cinnamon and salt and pulse again. 3. With the motor running, pour in melted butter, then milk a little at a time. 4. Blend until smooth and glossy, scraping the sides often. 5. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Make-Ahead Cookie Butter Icebox Cake, the Easiest Showstopper of the Cookie Butter Desserts
The last of our cookie butter desserts is the easiest showstopper of all. Crisp spiced cookies are layered with cookie butter whipped cream and left in the fridge overnight, where they soften into tender cake-like layers. When you slice it, every piece shows neat stripes of cookie and cream. It has to be made the day before, which is exactly what you want when the kitchen is busy on Christmas Eve. A drizzle of warm spread and a few crumbs on top make it look like it came from a pastry shop.
You will need: 2 packages crisp spiced cookies, 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup cookie butter plus 2 tbsp for drizzling, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, crushed cookies for the top.
How to make it: 1. Whip cream, 1/2 cup cookie butter, powdered sugar and vanilla to soft peaks. 2. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. 3. Layer cookies and cream, starting and ending with cream, for 4 to 5 layers. 4. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. 5. Turn out, drizzle with warm spread, top with crumbs and slice.
