These vanilla malted cookies are flavored with cream cheese and malted milk powder. The cookies have crispy edges and chewy centers.
What is malted milk?
Malted milk is a powdered product made from malted barley, dry milk powder, and flour.
It is mixed into milkshakes, smoothies, and a variety of baked goods. It can also simply be mixed into a glass of milk to make malted milk.
Malt powder gives baked goods a certain zing. I call it the dessert equivalent of umami in savory foods. You can’t put your finger on the exact flavor, but it leaves you craving more.
Malted Milk Cookies
These are very simple, no fuss cookies. While they may look plain on the outside, they’re one tasty and addicting little treat.
They remain fresh in an airtight container for up to 5 days. This makes them perfect for holiday cookie gift boxes!
All the recipe ingredients are beat together in a stand mixer. You may also use an electric hand mixer.
I don’t suggest mixing this dough together by hand. The dough is a bit stiff.
How to Fill Pastry Bag with Batter
To make filling piping bags (or pastry bags) easier, gather the following items:
- pastry bag
- piping tip
- scissors
- tall deli container, drinking glass, or something similar
- Start by inserting piping tip down into pastry bag. Use the scissors to snip off the bottom of the pastry bag, exposing half of the piping tip.
- Fold the top of piping bag down over a tall deli container (as shown in the photo above). Alternatively, use a tall drinking glass or cup the piping bag in your hand.
- Transfer cookie batter into the piping bag using a sturdy spatula. Use sides of the deli container to help scrape the cookie batter off the spatula.
- Fill the piping bag only half to two-thirds full of batter. Overfilling will make the piping bag difficult to manage.
Once the piping bag is filled with cookie dough, you’re ready to start piping!
Recommended piping tip and piping bag:
I use this large open star piping tip (ateco #826). It has a 1/2-inch opening. This piping tip is paired with an 18-inch piping bag. I recommend these disposable bags or this reusable decorating bag.
Note: The star piping is great size tip to have on hand. It can be used for making churros or cruller donuts.
How to pipe cookie rosettes
- Keep the piping bag in a vertical position. Hover piping tip a few centimeters off the parchment paper. Squeeze out a little batter until a star forms onto the parchment paper.
- Using constant, continuous pressure, drag the piping tip in a circular motion, going around the initial star.
- Let pressure go once you return to the original starting point of your rosette. Pull piping bag in the same direction of circle to quickly release dough and close off the rosette.
Other Piped Cookie Shape Options
Not a fan of rosettes? Pipe the cookie dough into easier shapes like strips and circles.
If you don’t have a piping bag and piping tip, you may also use a cookie press to portion out the dough.
More recipes with malted milk powder
- Ideal for parties and celebrations, this chocolate malt sheet cake is easy to make. The flavorful chocolate cake is topped with chocolate malt buttercream.
- These birthday madeleines have a touch of malted milk which provide a nice, creamy flavor!
- Three layers of vanilla malt cake studded with fresh berries and frosted with chocolate malt buttercream. This chocolate malt berry cake is rich yet balanced cake
Vanilla Malted Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup malted milk powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, milk powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add in sugar. Mix until combined. Add vanilla paste and egg. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add flour mixture ½ cup at a time on low speed.
- Transfer batter to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe rosettes (or strips, circles) onto parchment lined baking sheets. Space cookies at least 1-inch apart. Bake for 14 minutes, rotating sheet midway through baking. Bake until edges are lightly golden brown. Let cool in tray for a couple of minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Wonderful looking cookies: so airy and light! Love the swirls. Pinned!
Thanks, Julia!
Where I live, two local dairies make home deliveries. In glass bottles.
Oh, and I love the swirl on the cookies!
That is so awesome! I may have to move there one day.
Love the cookies, but as a historian, I must point out that the 1950’s idyllic lifestyle was existent for a minute portion of the population. The rest were too busy fighting for their lives in Korea, fighting for their homes and rights in the United States, hiding from abusive spouses and gender opression and building bomb shelters and practising bomb drills in case of nuclear war.
The cookies are grand. The 1950’s was not.
I agree. Every moment in history has its good and bad.
Your recipe is perfect. I always scan the recipes that interest me and find ways to modify them for the better but…no. Yours truly hits it home. The only thing I would do, more an addition than a modification, is fill two cookies with whipped dark chocolate ganache. Ohhh yeah. Bookmarked! <3
Thanks, Anjo! I think adding the chocolate would make these cookies heavenly.
They look beautiful! If only I weren’t in the middle of my finals I would make them right now!
Thanks, Annie! Good luck with finals!
These cookies are absolutely beautiful! You have great piping skills – I can’t pipe to save my life. :)
Thank you so much, Patricia! Piping just comes with a lot of practice :)
These look so good! I’m with you on the simplicity of the 50s – how is there no time machine yet??
Thanks, Hannah! I have no idea?! Let’s make one!
I can’t wait to try making these! I’m partial to strawberry malts though…maybe I’ll sandwich them with strawberry cream.
That’s a great idea, Sarah!
Your cookies look so delicious, I love the shape of them! Gorgeous pictures with the milk and cookies too! I would love to go back in time and visit the 1950s as well :)
Thanks, Rosie! The book I am currently reading deals with time travel and I’m totally obsessed right now.
Wow. I love the picture with the milk; I also love malted milk! Definitely trying these out. Thanks for the post!
Thanks! Please let me know how they turn out!