13 Fabulous Filled Cookies That Are a Snap to Make
I love these next-level cookies because they only require a few extra steps. You get a moist, flavorful, homestyle cookie base with a decadent complimentary filling that tastes way better than storebought. Whether you’re a traditional vanilla and wafer kind of person or you want to take a tastebud trip to Istanbul with Turkish date-filled semolina cookies, there’s something on this delicious list for you.
1. Oatmeal Cream Pie Cookies
Oatmeal cookies are already a nostalgic treat on their own, with warm flavors like cinnamon and brown sugar in every bite, but when you pair them with buttercream filling with just the right splash of vanilla, they’re heavenly. Plus, there’s plenty of textural interest in every bite, with the oat base of the cookies playing perfectly with the satiny filling.
2. Carrot Cake Mix Sandwich Cookies
In less than half an hour, you can have freshly baked carrot cake sandwich cookies that rival anything you would find at a high-end bakery. These beauties use an inspired shortcut ingredient: boxed carrot cake mix, and give it a serious glow-up with additional grated carrots, walnuts, oats, warm nutmeg, and cinnamon. Each cookie is filled with a nod to traditional carrot cake frosting, with a rich cream cheese and butter frosting perfectly sweetened with a dollop of vanilla extract and powdered sugar.
3. Lemon Curd Cookies
These lemon curd cookies are like bright bites of sunshine, loaded with lemony, tart flavor on a pillowy base. Cream cheese is the MVP with these cheery cookies, making the cookie dough ultra-soft and rich. Plus, the base of each cookie gets infused with some real lemon juice before getting a delicious dollop of homemade curd. Since lemons are the central ingredient, you’ll want to use fresh lemon juice in the cookie and curd to get a fresh and delightful result.
4. Chocolate Filled Cookies
Sometimes, just one dose of chocolate isn’t enough, so for those times when you feel like doubling up, chocolate-filled cookies will hit the spot. The exterior cookie has all the familiar flavors of a tremendous chocolatey treat. Still, there are some tasty hidden surprises in there, too, like brown sugar to add some depth and a bit of high-quality sea salt to offset the sweeter elements and make this cookie a sophisticated treat. Paired with a heaping spoonful of Nutella, they’re a celebration of flavor and are bound to satisfy any serious chocolate urge.
5. Turkish Date-Filled Semolina Cookies
These elegant cookies are a yummy riff on kömbe, date-filled Turkish semolina-based pastries, and are an excellent choice if you want an elevated dessert that’s bound to impress. I make them for special occasions. The combination of cinnamon-scented, buttery dough with a velvety Greek yogurt base and dense dates spiked with bright orange zest is familiar enough to appeal to any palate but still wholly unique. Plus, you can use your discretion on the ratio of dates to oranges in the filling- I like to err on the side of more zest for a bright and lovely cookie.
6. Apricot Sugar Cookie Pies
These cookies are just plain adorable, which is a considerable part of their appeal, but they also come together in just over half an hour, making them great summertime sweets if you’re in a rush. The base is your tried-and-true sugar cookie recipe with plenty of butter and vanilla to give it a decadent flavor. Fill each sugar cookie base with apricot preserves, top with an additional cookie, and press down the edges to fully seal it. You can create whatever kind of cute design that you want on top. I like to do a few diagonal slits so a bit of the apricot peeks through.
7. Valentine’s Whoopie Pie Cookies
Whether it’s Valentine’s Day or not, these cookies are my secret weapon if I want to do something special for my honey. They are so tasty and adorable with red, purple, or pink cookie layers and a swirl of homemade buttercream dipped in sprinkles. You can skip the food coloring and make these with sugar cookies, but the extra step makes them all the more delightful.
8. Vanilla Sandwich Cookies
If you’re looking for an understated, sophisticated cookie that allows high-quality ingredients to shine, these vanilla sandwich cookies fit the bill perfectly. Both the cookie base and the creamy filling are the perfect showcase for the premium vanilla flavor scraped right out of the bean. You can let the vanilla do its thing as the star of the show or give it some supporting flavor in the form of a touch of bitter almond extract and a bit of orange zest. I’ve made both ways, and you can’t go wrong.
9. Gingerbread Crinkle Cookie Sandwiches with Vanilla Bean Frosting
I love the look of a crinkle cookie, and these ones are especially beautiful, with the rich, warm gingerbread dough contrasting beautifully with snowy powdered sugar. I know many people think that gingerbread is just for the holidays, but really, why deprive yourself when you can whip up a batch of yummy, brown-sugar-based crinkle cookies with smooth cream cheese vanilla frosting and enjoy them any season of the year?
10. Apple Pie Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodle cookies and apple pie filling play so well together because of the complementary bits of cinnamon and sugar in the cookie and the sweet cinnamon and tart flavors of the apple pie filling. It’s so inspiring that you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it sooner. A generous spoonful of apple pie filling is nestled between two soft and sugary snickerdoodle cookies so that each bite is equal parts warm cookie and gooey apple pie filling.
11. Espresso Chai Sandwich Cookies
These sandwich cookies are bursting with truly grown-up flavors, like an espresso shortbread base and creamy chai filling. They’re a fun and ultra-elegant variation of a filled cookie that would be right at home in virtually any high-end brunch. Plus, they come together quickly. The trick is to use fresh, high-quality espresso in the base and not skimp on the spices in the filling. Mimic the flavor of a classic chai with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
12. Cream-Filled Peach Cookies
These beautiful cookies might be peach in name only, as they use apricot jam and dulce de leche as their filling, but they resemble beautiful July-fresh peaches when they’re all finished, and you’ll love the combination of slightly tart dough and creamy filling. Mayonnaise gives these cookies a velvety mouthfeel, and Cool Whip lightens up the jam and dulce de leche for a feathery filling that’s the perfect counterpart to the doughy exterior.
13. Reese’s Crinkle Cookies
These cookies are some of my kids’ favorites, and I always make them for birthdays or special days. Start with a rich cocoa base flecked with a touch of salt to add depth, some peanut butter, and brown and light sugar for layered sweetness. Then, pop half of a miniature peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie ball and roll in powdered sugar.
These fabulous filled cookies come together in a snap and are far tastier than anything you can find at the store. Whether you’re looking for an interplay of elegant flavors or want a kid-approved option for your next BBQ, we’ve got you covered.
