You put your heart and soul into baking a batch of delicious sugar cookies and served them during the holidays or at a birthday party. Mission accomplished!
But you’re left with some leftover cookies that didn’t make it to the final show. Maybe they weren’t perfectly shaped, or you just baked way too many.
Even the ones with the frosting are left staring at you, reminding you that you might have wasted some valuable ingredients.
Is there anything you can do about this? What can you do with those leftover sugar cookies?
I’m here to help you use every bit of cookies, with or without frosting, with ten clever and delicious ideas. Let’s dive in.
What to Do With Leftover Sugar Cookies
As I try to focus on scrap cooking, I’ve learned a lot of recipes using leftover food.
You can keep cookies in your freezer for up to one month, and you don’t want to throw them away.
They’d still be delicious when you munch them with a cold glass of milk or your coffee. But what if you want to serve another tasty dessert?
Incorporating leftover cookies in several desserts is one of the easiest ways to enjoy your delicious cookies in a not-so-traditional way. And the good news is that most of these creative ideas are quite easy and quick.
Here’s what you can do with leftover sugar cookies.
1 – Crumble Them Over Your Ice Cream
The combination of rich and creamy ice cream and the crunchiness of sugar cookies is a match made in heaven.
This is actually a fun project for the little ones, as they can create their favorite elevated ice cream using leftover sugar cookies.
I love using flavored sugar cookies or the ones with frosting to make ice cream desserts more colorful and fun.
All you have to do is break them into small pieces using your hand and sprinkle them on of top your favorite ice cream. You can also drizzle some chocolate or caramel sauce or use some colorful sprinkles or chocolate chips for more fun.
Want to make them taste more sophisticated? You can fry your cookie pieces to make cookie croutons to decorate ice cream and pudding bowls.
Try adding a layer of crushed cookies at the bottom of your ice cream bowl for a little crunchy surprise.
2 – Make a Parfait
Craving a sweet snack?
This cookie parfait will be a hit, whether your leftover cookies are flavored or not.
In a mason jar, layer crumbled cookies, yogurt, fresh fruits, and syrup to create the perfect parfait. Use jam, maple syrup, chocolate, syrup, or even peanut butter for a unique taste whenever you want to use your leftover sugar cookies.
I love adding strawberries and blueberries, but you can try avocados, bananas, or any other fruit.
Sugar cookies don’t easily become soggy, and their crunchiness will add the perfect balance to the other creamy ingredients.
3 – Prepare a Blended Milkshake
This idea is one of my favorites for decorated sugar cookies.
You’ll blend four or five cookies into your milkshake to add texture and more flavors, and your leftover cookies won’t be wasted. Sounds like a win-win situation!
I love combining similar flavors together, so I would use cookies with chocolate icing for a chocolate milkshake to make it richer.
But you can try different flavors and create endless milkshake recipes based on the ingredients you have. Chocolate mint cookies blend well with vanilla milkshake, and vanilla-flavored cookies will make any fruit milkshake taste more sophisticated.
Kids and grownups love seeing the specks of colorful cookies giving their favorite milkshakes a unique texture and look. You can add more cookies if you want your drink to feel denser and richer.
4 – Bake Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ice cream sandwiches are tasty handheld treats that take no time to prepare.
For this leftover idea, I usually use undecorated sugar cookies. Nevertheless, you can use the decorated ones if you want to.
If you have frozen leftover cookies, let them thaw until soft, then place a scoop of ice cream between every two cookies. Press them gently to stick, and wrap them in parchment paper.
Keep your ice cream sandwiches in the freezer until they harden, and serve them. You can also drizzle some sprinkles over the ice cream for a surprise crunch when you take a bite.
5 – Mix Into Your Nut Butter
Create your very own nut butter by mixing in crushed sugar cookies.
Break your cookies into pieces or crush them in the food processor, depending on your preferred texture. Then, mix with your favorite peanut or hazelnut butter for a unique and rich sweet spread.
You can also create a tasty cookie spread by mixing crushed cookies with coconut milk, honey, and chocolate sauce. This spread will be an excellent topping for several baked treats and can be enjoyed right out of the jar.
6 – Add Them to Frosting
Incorporate cookie leftovers into the frosting you’ll use for cakes and other baked goodies. It’s an excellent way to make buttercream frosting taste crunchy.
I know that many people mix crushed nuts into their cake frosting to give it a richer texture, but this won’t be an option if someone is allergic to nuts.
Leftover sugar cookies can be the next best thing.
Ensure they’re finely chopped in the food processor, and add them to any cake frosting.
Flavored sugar cookies specifically work for this recipe. The crunchy and creamy texture combo will be impressive.
7 – Make Cookie Pops
Cookie balls are the ultimate party favors and a great way to enjoy leftover sugar cookies.
Finely crush the cookies and mix them with buttercream icing, chocolate icing, or cheese cream, then shape them into balls. You can also dip them into chocolate or any other frosting of your choice.
Before they dry, roll your cookie pops into some sprinkles or crushed nuts, and let them chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.
I love making bite-size cookie pops to make them easier to grab and enjoy.
8 – Prepare a Cookie Trifle
This is one of the classic ways to use leftover cookies, and it’s quite close to the parfait, but you’ll prepare it on a larger scale.
In a glass tray, you’ll layer crushed cookies with whipped cream, jelly, pudding, jam, fresh fruits, and custard. You can add any ingredients you like to make a signature trifle using what is readily available in your kitchen.
Using colored and frosted cookies for this recipe is a big plus because you’ll have a brightly colored treat. Refrigerate the trifle overnight or at least eight hours so it doesn’t break when you scoop it up.
9 – Make a Pie Crust
I would definitely go for this recipe when I have a large batch of unused and undecorated cookies.
It saves a lot of time if you want to prepare pie or cheesecake, and the richness of the sugar cookies will elevate the taste.
You’ll need to crush your cookies in the food processor until they’re fine. Having some texture is OK, as long as you like your pie to feel a little bit crunchy.
Next, you’ll mix your crushed cookies with some butter until you have a sticky dough.
Spread this dough in a pan and press as firmly as you can to remove any air. This will allow the cookie pieces to stick together, creating the perfect base for your pie.
Now, it’s time to add any filling you prefer because this versatile base won’t limit you. Make sure to add enough butter, or the base will be too hard.
Plain sugar cookies mix well with lemon curd and fresh berries, but you can choose any other topping you like.
You can also garnish your pie or cheesecake with some crushed cookies.
10 – Create No-Bake Cookie Bars
Leftover cookie dough and baked cookies work for this recipe.
If the cookies are already baked, you’ll have to finely crush them into the food processor, then mix them with butter until you have a dough-like texture.
Press the dough or crushed cookies onto a parchment-lined baking tray and top it with sprinkles or chocolate chips.
You can also try another technique by melting chocolate in a double boiler while constantly stirring.
Spread your chocolate onto a parchment-lined tray and sprinkle crushed cookies on top of it.
For both recipes, keep your tray in the fridge until everything hardens. Then, use the knife to cut your treat into bars.
Final Thoughts
Having leftover sugar cookies should never make you feel bad because there are literally tens of delicious recipes you can incorporate them into.
Almost all of these recipes will work whether your cookies are dripped into frosting or not, so there’s no limit to what you can create.
Use these recipes as an inspiration and make your signature treat using cookies you’ve previously baked.
Cooking is about mixing and trying various ingredients, and the slightest change will lead to a new result every single time. Don’t let anything stop you, and try a leftover sugar cookie recipe today.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.