This homemade Cream Wafer Cookie Recipe makes a delicate, flaky version of the classic favorite—with a sweet twist. Unlike the crunchy layered wafers you’ll find in stores, this version is light and buttery with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The dough started with just flour and butter—true to many vintage recipes—but I added a little sugar to balance the flavor. Sandwiched between the wafers is a rich, creamy buttercream filling that adds just the right touch of sweetness. They’re nostalgic, elegant, and honestly a little addictive.
You might be wondering about this wafer cookie recipe if you’re like me. So this little bit of a history lesson might interest you!
A Look Back at Old-Fashioned & European-Style Wafers
Before store-bought wafer cookies became popular, homemade versions were a staple in many European kitchens. These traditional wafers were made with just a few basic ingredients—usually flour, butter, and sometimes eggs or milk—and often had little or no sugar. The sweetness came from the fillings, like buttercream, jam, or caramel, which were layered between ultra-thin, crisp wafers.
These treats are still popular in Central and Eastern Europe. Desserts like Polish Mazurek or Hungarian nápolyi are made by stacking delicate wafers with rich, sweet fillings and slicing them into neat bars.
My wafer cookie recipe is inspired by these old-fashioned versions—light, flaky wafers filled with sweet buttercream. It’s simple, nostalgic, and a little nod to the traditional European sweets I’ve always loved.
Fun Fact:
Layered wafer cookies were often made using wafer irons or rolling pins with embossed designs. In some Eastern European and Latin American cultures, homemade versions of filled wafer cookies are still a big tradition, especially for holidays or special occasions.
You can make these dainty cookies for every day or the holidays. I saw an old-fashioned cookbook that suggests they are Christmas cookies, so I was inspired and dyed the cream filling pink and green.
Why You’ll Love These Wafer Cookies
Light and Flaky Texture
These cookies practically melt in your mouth thanks to their buttery, delicate layers. They’re crisp on the outside but soft enough to sandwich with creamy filling.
Rich Buttercream Filling
The sweet buttercream adds just the right amount of indulgence, perfectly balancing the lightness of the wafers with a smooth, creamy finish.
Nostalgic and Homemade
This recipe has an old-fashioned charm that brings back memories of simpler times and home baking. It’s the kind of treat that feels special and familiar all at once.
Simple Ingredients, Big Flavor
With just a handful of pantry staples—flour, butter, sugar, and a few extras—you get a cookie that tastes far more impressive than the ingredient list suggests.
Perfect for Gifting or Entertaining
These cookies look beautiful when stacked or boxed up, making them great for tea parties, cookie exchanges, or homemade gifts during the holidays.
Customizable and Versatile
You can easily switch up the filling with flavored buttercream, chocolate ganache, or jam to suit different occasions and tastes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
What makes these wafers so yummy!
Butter
Butter is the star here—it gives the wafers their rich flavor and contributes to that perfectly flaky texture when baked.
Heavy Cream
Heavy cream adds moisture and a bit of richness to the dough, helping it stay tender without becoming too soft or cakey.
Flour
Flour provides the structure for the wafers, giving them just enough strength to hold their shape while still staying light and crisp.
Powdered Sugar
Powdered sugar dissolves easily into the dough, giving the wafers a delicate sweetness and a smoother texture compared to granulated sugar.
Inside the Sweet French Buttercream Filling
Egg Yolks
Egg yolks give the filling a silky, custard-like base and add richness and depth of flavor that sets it apart from standard frosting.
Milk
Milk helps to cook and thin out the custard base, making it smooth and creamy once it’s whipped with the butter.
Sugar
Sugar sweetens the filling just enough without overpowering the delicate flavor of the wafers, and it also helps create structure when cooked with the yolks and milk.
Butter (cubed and room temperature)
Room temperature butter is key for whipping the filling until it’s fluffy and light. It adds that classic buttery taste and makes the texture smooth and spreadable.
Cream Wafer Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Wafers
- 1 cup butter
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups flour sift and then measure
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar Plus 2 tablespoons
- coarse sugar This is for covering the wafers and is optional.
French Cream Filling
- 3 egg yolks whisked lightly
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter Use room-temperature butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- food dye
Instructions
Wafers
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Sift flour and measure.
- Mix butter, cream, flour, and powdered sugar thoroughly.
- Roll out the dough to ⅛" thickness on a lightly covered, floured surface. Cut out 1½ scalloped round cookie shapes and place on a parchment-lined baking tray.
- Prick the cookies with fork tines or a toothpick and sprinkle the top of the cookies with coarse sugar.
- Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until slightly puffy.
- Make the cream filling.
- Take the cooled cookies and place the filling on one cookie and top with another to create a wafer sandwich. You can spread the filling on the cookie or pipe it with a pastry bag.
French Cream Filling
- Whisk the egg yolks in a medium-size saucepan.
- Add sugar and milk to the yolks.
- Place your saucepan over medium to low heat.
- Stir frequently with a rubber spatula. To test if the filling is done, there is a little trick. Take your finger and run it on the spatula, and the mixture should not run into the line.
- Take off the stove and let the filling cool. It should settle into two layers.
- Transfer the filling to a mixing bowl, and while it is cooling, mix the two layers. Then add small chunks of the room-temperature butter.
- The filling should thicken like buttercream pretty quickly if the butter is cool enough. If it is runny, keep mixing for 8-10 minutes. As the butter cools, it thickens.
- It is optional, but you can dye your filling. You also can place your filling in a pastry bag and pipe it onto the cookies or spread it on the cookies with a butter knife.
Nutrition
More Cookie Recipes to Try
Oreo Cookie Recipe
A fun twist on the store-bought classic, these homemade Oreos are crisp, chocolatey, and filled with a sweet vanilla cream that’s even better from scratch.
Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
These nostalgic cookies are soft in the center with those signature fork marks on top—perfectly peanutty and just like grandma used to make.
Triple Chunk Chocolate Cookies
Packed with three types of chocolate, these rich, gooey cookies are a dream come true for any chocolate lover.
This Old-Fashioned Cream Wafer Cookie Recipe gives flashbacks to special tea parties my mom would take me to as a child. Isn’t it funny how particular food triggers a memory? Love this cookie from generations ago.
Well, I hope you have a chance to make these unique and cute cookies!
Cheers,
Photo Credits: MyPhotography.com
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