Store-bought cookies are a solid option when you’re craving a sweet treat but just don’t have the time or energy (or, let’s be honest, skill) to make your own cookies at home. But if you’re assuming the only way to consume them is just by eating them straight up, you’re wrong. There’s actually a lot more you can do with store-bought cookies than you may assume. From creating your own cookie ice cream sandwiches to combining them with other snacks, the possibilities for your store-bought cookies are almost endless.
We’ve collected a list of some unconventional, albeit genius, ways to use store-bought cookies in your kitchen. Whether you have leftover cookies that you simply need to use up, or you’re simply looking for creative sweet treats you can make at home with minimal baking required, these ideas are sure to sate your sweet tooth every time. It’s a great way to prevent food waste in your kitchen and switch up your dessert routine so you always have something fun and exciting to snack on. So, grab a package of chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, or any other cookies of your choice, and learn how to incorporate them into these sweet snack ideas.
Crush them up in a bowl with milk and eat them like cereal
Who said that cookies can’t be breakfast? Certainly not us. But you don’t have to wait until the morning rolls around to crush up any store-bought cookies you have on hand, place them in a bowl, and pour milk over them. Grab a spoon, and eat those crumbled cookies like you’re digging into a bowl of cereal for a DIY treat that takes basically no time to prepare. For a more cereal-like experience, opt for a crunchier, crumblier cookie. On the other hand, you can also choose a softer, chewier version if you like your cereal to soften in milk. Choose any cookie you like, and the type of milk you want, from non-dairy to cow’s milk.
If you’ve never eaten cookies this way before, it may sound strange, but think about it: You dunk cookies in milk anyway, so why not just make things a little less messy and use a spoon instead? You can, of course, combine them with actual cereal, but you can also enjoy them all on their own. And yes, we promise that it’s going to taste better than the cookie cereal you’ve tried in the past.
Make cookie pancakes by incorporating them into pancake batter
There’s nothing like whipping up a batch of freshly made pancakes on a weekend morning, dousing them in butter and syrup, and essentially just enjoying a huge plate of dessert for breakfast on a day when you don’t have anywhere to be. And although we love plain, standard pancakes, you can do so much better than a plain old, boring pancake mix. Chocolate chips and blueberries may be standard add-ins, but why not make your very own cookie-flavored pancakes? Just crush up the cookies of your choice, stir them into the prepared pancake batter, and make the pancakes as you normally would.
There are a variety of different store-bought cookies with which you can do this. Oreos are a great option if you want that iconic cookies and cream flavor, while Biscoff cookies can offer a signature cinnamon-spiced flavor profile. Even sugar cookies can work here if you don’t want the cookie flavor to be too pronounced. Just keep in mind that you may need to add some extra liquid to the batter so it doesn’t get too dry once you add in the crushed cookies.
Whip up some cookie bark
You may have tried (or even made) peppermint bark during the holiday season. If you have, you know how much fun it can be to eat. You get to break off pieces of chocolate and candy that feature several different flavors all in one bite. But candy bark isn’t limited to the holidays — nor to peppermint. If you’re looking for a sweeter, more chocolatey version of this iconic, homemade treat, you may want to try making your own cookie bark.
You’ll start by melting chocolate and pouring it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. While the chocolate is still melted, add your toppings. The most important topping, of course, is the cookies. We like using mini store-bought cookies, but you can also break regular cookies into smaller pieces to make them bite-sized. Then, consider adding other ingredients, like crunchy nuts, chocolate candies, or even colorful sprinkles to make the cookie bark even more flavorful. All you have to do after that is place the baking sheet into the fridge, allowing the chocolate to set before you break it into pieces and store it for whenever you want to treat yourself to something sweet.
Make a homemade cookie-flavored pie crust
When you’re making a pie at home, it can be tempting to pick up a store-bought pie crust. After all, making your own pie crust can be time-consuming, and when you’re also going through the hassle of making a filling, you may want to cut some corners by using the store-bought variety. But if you want to keep your recipe more cost-effective (and more delicious), it makes more sense to make your own pie crust at home. The good news is that you don’t have to do that from scratch. By using crushed cookies, you can make a super sweet pie crust in no time at all.
For the best results, you’ll want to use a blender or a food processor to crush the cookies into dust. Then, combine the cookies with melted butter to bind them and press them into the bottom of a pie pan. Bake the crust for a few minutes before taking it out of the oven and adding the fillings of your choice. Not only does this help you get rid of any leftover store-bought cookies you have on hand, but it also gives you the opportunity to turn them into a completely different dessert in the process.
Try some cookies and cream popcorn
Many of us tend to think of popcorn as primarily a salty, savory snack, but it doesn’t have to be. Because popcorn is relatively neutral in flavor, when combined with sweet ingredients — like cookies, for example — they can be transformed into a sweet snack that can be eaten by the handful. That’s exactly what you’ll get when you combine crushed store-bought cookies and popcorn into a perfect snack: the cookies and cream popcorn.
This idea works best with Oreo cookies, which you can blitz into dust with a food processor or blender. Just pop your popcorn (or use the bagged, pre-popped variety if you want to make things even easier and simpler), coat it in butter or oil and melted white chocolate, then toss it with that crushed Oreo dust. Once it cools and solidifies, you’ll have a sweet popcorn treat that tastes just like cookies and cream. Although it requires a bit more work to make than standard popcorn, it still comes together quickly, and you can have the popcorn ready in just a matter of minutes.
Incorporate them into other baked goods
Store-bought cookies are fine on their own, but if you’re not bad at baking, you may be able to make them even tastier by combining them with homemade baked goods. How? Simply incorporate them into other recipes. For example, you can actually bake Oreo cookies inside of chocolate chip cookies by forming the dough around the Oreo. To do this, you can use either store-bought dough or make your own from scratch. You’ll be left with a hybrid cookie that features the best parts of both Oreos and chocolate chips all in one package.
It’s also possible to make a similar hybridized dessert with brownies. It calls for a similar process: just coat the Oreos with the brownie batter, making sure you have enough batter both under and on top of the Oreo so they don’t stick out of the brownie. Of course, these hacks aren’t limited to Oreos. You can do the same thing with most cookies, including your favorite store-bought chocolate chip or any other variety you prefer.
Make unconventional ice cream sandwiches
Chances are, you’ve had an ice cream sandwich made with chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream, and if you ever had leftover store-bought chocolate chip cookies, you probably know you can easily recreate this treat at home. However, there are so many types of cookies that don’t typically get used for ice cream sandwiches but have a huge potential to become the unconventional ice cream sandwich of your dreams. For example, sugar cookies. With their soft texture and relatively neutral flavor profile, they can make an excellent ice cream sandwich when you use a bold ice cream flavor. Chocolate works, but so does Moose Tracks, raspberry chip, and even mint chocolate chip. Oatmeal cookies could taste amazing in sandwich form if you fill them with coffee-flavored ice cream, and peanut butter cookies would work especially well with a rich dark chocolate.
Take whichever store-bought cookies you have on hand, and get creative. Until you try an ice cream sandwich combo, you’ll never know what you’re missing out on. Sure, they’ll always be a place in our hearts for chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream, but your dessert can be so, so much more interesting than that.
Make your own cookie butter
If you’ve ever had cookie butter before, you know how much it can elevate a dessert. Whether you just spread it on a piece of toast and enjoy it as a pre-bedtime snack, or you actually incorporate it into a whole recipe that you plan to share with family and friends, it’s an ingredient that’s always good to have on hand for those moments when the sweet cravings kick in. However, as a luxury food item, cookie butter can be expensive. If you want to save money — or you just have some leftover store-bought cookies on hand — you can easily make your own cookie butter at home as long as you have a food processor.
You’ll start with the cookies of your choice. For a more traditional cookie butter, you could use Biscoff cookies, but you can even get creative with Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, or peanut butter cookies if you’re trying to capture a slightly different flavor profile. Combine those cookies with butter, brown sugar, and sea salt, and you have a condiment that can (and should) be used on everything sweet.
Whip up some cookie truffles
You buy a pack of store-bought cookies, eat half of them, and then realize that you’re not going to be able to finish the rest before they go stale or turn into a soft and mushy treat that’s nothing like the crunchy and crisp original. The most common reason the packs of store-bought cookies lounge around the kitchen for too long is because we get tired of eating the same old sweet treat night after night. Well, if you’re looking to switch up the flavor, texture, and overall essence of your cookie-based dessert, you may want to turn your store-bought cookies into cookie truffles.
The process is easy. First, you’ll pulse the cookies in a food processor. If you want them to be a bit chunky with a more interesting texture, you can leave some bigger pieces in the mix. Otherwise, keep pulsing until they turn into a powdery mix. Then, combine them with cream cheese (or cake frosting), making sure the two ingredients are completely incorporated. Form that cookie mixture into balls, dip it in melted chocolate, and let it cool in the fridge. You’ve just made cookie truffles that you can snack on, but these would also be a great addition to any party or a gathering.
Create cookie popsicles for hot days
You know those days when it’s so hot that the idea of eating anything sweet immediately makes your stomach churn? When baked goods sound a lot less appealing than a simple, juicy popsicle? You may think that the melted cookies in the back of your pantry wouldn’t be a good snack option for those days, but you’re wrong — you just have to find out how to enjoy them in a different form. Enter the cookie popsicle. It’s just what it sounds like: a popsicle that contains pieces of cookies. The idea works whether you want to go the chocolate chip route or choose something more esoteric, like snickerdoodles.
By mixing cookie pieces with some heavy cream, milk, and sugar, you can create a popsicle mixture that’ll solidify in only a few hours. As long as you have your own reusable popsicle molds, you can make these treats all summer long. They’re light, they’re refreshing, and they’re a great way to use up leftover store-bought cookies.
Make a stunning cookie trifle
A trifle is a layered dessert that makes for the perfect party centerpiece. Not only can trifles be delicious depending on which ingredients you choose to use, but they’re also stunning, particularly when you choose to incorporate colorful ingredients into the mix. A lot of trifle recipes out there call for berries and various other fruits, but if you want a heartier, richer trifle, try making one with store-bought cookies. By crumbling them up into smaller pieces, you can easily layer them with other ingredients, like whipped cream, pudding, and yes, even fruit to make the flavorful, multifaceted dessert of your dreams.
Before choosing the store-bought cookies you want to incorporate into your trifle, think about the texture you’re trying to achieve. Do you want a crunchier dessert or one that has a soft chewy bite? Select your cookies accordingly. You can even use two or three varieties if you really want to go all out. Who knew that store-bought cookies could be used to make such a stunning dessert?
Make chocolate chip cookie tiramisu
Tiramisu is one of the iconic Italian desserts, and traditionally, it’s made with ladyfingers soaked in coffee that provide a soft texture and well-balanced flavor with a touch of sweetness and bitterness. But if you don’t have any ladyfingers on hand (or you’re just trying to think of a way to use up those store-bought chocolate chip cookies you have in the pantry), you can always try making chocolate chip cookie tiramisu for a richer, slightly sweeter version of the classic.
Chocolate chip cookie dippers work especially well here, since they’re roughly the same shape as ladyfingers. However, you can use other types of store-bought chocolate chip cookies as well. Construct your tiramisu as you normally would with layers of mascarpone. Feel free to mix some extra chocolate chips into the dessert if you really want to play up that chocolatey factor. If you can’t choose between eating tiramisu or a chocolate-based dessert, this idea may just be the treat you’ve been looking for.
Whip up some cake pops using store-bought cookies
It wasn’t that long ago that cake pops were all the rage. These round pieces of cake are typically covered in a coating of chocolate or frosting and each piece is placed on a stick to resemble a lollipop. Of course, you can make these tiny treats at home with actual cake, but did you know that you can also use store-bought cookies to create unconventional cake pops with a totally different flavor profile? This idea works best with soft sugar cookies if you want to achieve that same cake-like texture you know and love.
By combining the sugar cookies with cream cheese, you can create the bulk of the cake pops. Then, cover those pops with a layer of melted chocolate — milk, dark, or white, anything works here — to finish off the pops. You can add decorative toppings, like sprinkles, if you want them to look as good as they taste. This is a great way to repurpose leftover (or even stale) store-bought cookies.
