We make a lot of cookies at my house! And try as I might, sometimes I just make too many.
But I hate to waste perfectly good cookies, so I’ve cultivated creative ways to use stale or leftover cookies to avoid throwing them away.
Read on if you have some extra cookies to use up, there are options no matter what type of dessert you prefer.
Fun Desserts You Can Make With Leftover Cookie
Homemade Cookie Sandwiches
One of my favorite ways to use leftover cookies is to turn them into cookie sandwiches. You can use many different fillings to make cookie sandwiches so it’s a great way to keep things tasty and interesting.
Simply put your preferred filling between two cookies and you have a fun and delicious dessert perfect for the family or guests.
Here are some of my favorite fillings for homemade sandwich cookies. You will also find some fun recipes at the bottom of this guide.
- Ice Cream
- Buttercream Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Ganache
- Lemon Frosting
- Peanut Butter
- Nutella
- Whipped Cream
Cookie Crumble Pie Crust
Is it hot outside and you don’t want to turn up the oven? How about using your cookies for a no bake pie crust.
Leftover cookies make an amazing tasting no bake pie crust, and it’s incredibly easy to prepare. Simply crush up your cookies and add them to a mixing bowl with a few tablespoons of melted butter.
Then just press your mixture into a pie pan. From there fill with any of your favorite no pie fillings. I’ll provide some of my favorite recipes further below.
This works with just about any type of cookie. I’ve made great pie crusts out of sugar cookies, chocolate chips, and even peanut butter cookies.
It’s a fantastic way to use up those leftover cookies and the flavor is unique and delicious.
Use Them as Toppings
One of the easiest ways to use leftover cookies is to crumble them up as a topping for other tasty treats. This works with any style of cookie and it’s a quick and easy way to use them up.
You can top just about any type of dessert and many breakfast sweets. It adds depth to the flavor as well as a nice texture.
You will find that crispier cookies tend to work better as a topping, but there’s no reason soft cookies can’t be crumbled up too.
Here are some ideas to get you started, but it’s by no means an exhaustive list.
- Ice Cream
- Pie
- Brownies
- Cake
- Cupcakes
- Waffles
- Pancakes
- Crepes
- Tarts
Adding crumbled cookies is a great way to add texture to soft desserts. Try it on ice cream, whipped cream based desserts, and waffles.
Tip
Add Them Into Other Baked Goods
Similar to crumbling cookies as a topping, you can also bake them directly into other desserts for added flavor and texture.
Crispy cookies are recommended, as soft ones tend to be less noticeable when baked.
Break up your cookies into small chunks and simply stir them into your dessert prior to baking. This works great for most baked desserts.
Here are some ideas to get your started.
- Cupcakes
- Muffins
- Cake
- Brownies
- Chocolate Bark Based Desserts
Grinding Them Into Cookie Butter
If you crush up your hard cookies into a fine powder, it will act much like a flour. This means it can be used in any sweet recipe that uses flour.
Think of it how nut based flour are made. For example, almond flour is finely ground almonds. So making a cookie flour is as simple as grinding your cookies until they resemble flour.
You can do this by hand or in a food processor. Again, hard cookies work best for this method. But once ground, they can be incorporated into all sorts of baked goods.
You can then use your cookie powder to create a paste. Simply stir in some heavy cream, melted butter, and brown sugar. This produces a wonderfully sweet paste that can be spread on baked goods or baked directly into them.
Here are some things you can spread your cookie butter on for a fun and delicious treat.
- Toast
- Bagels
- Muffins
- Waffles
- Pancakes
- Crepes
You can also opt to simply add your finely ground cookie powder into your baked goods. This works best as a partial replacement for nut or root flours.
It adds a bit of flavor and won’t impact the final texture of your baked goods.
Mixing Them Into Ice Cream
One of the best ways to get rid of leftover cookies is to mix them right into ice cream.
Not only does this make the ice cream taste better, but it also makes use of a lot more cookies than you normally would have.
That means it cuts down on the amount that you have to throw away or store for later. There are many types of ice cream that can be used for this, both in terms of flavors and textures.
The best kinds of ice cream for this use are ones that have a lot of mix-ins, the more pieces of cookies you can add in the better.
You can crumble them into small or large pieces. Try making a banana split with crumbled cookie instead of crushed nuts.
You still get that satisfying crunch, but with a new and interesting flavor.
Recipe Ideas for Leftover Cookies
So if you are looking for some specific recipes you can add your cookies to, I’ve got you covered.
The below recipes can be topped, filled, or even baked with cookies. Simply crumble them as a topping or make a cookie powder and use in place of flour.
Conclusion
When you have to clean up from an event that was centered around a lot of cookies, or if you just have too many left over from an afternoon snack session, these are just some of the ways that you can make use of them before they go bad and end up having to be thrown away. They all require the use of a food processor or another appliance that can grind down the cookies enough so that they can be used in place of flour when preparing things like pie crust or brownies.