Grandma-Style Condensed Milk Cookies

This is the cookie recipe I grew up with – simple, sweet, and uses a whole can of condensed milk so there’s no waste. Perfect for when you want to make a decent batch but not feed an army.

June Arthurs
January 2, 2026
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Ingredients (~45 cookies)

  • 2 cups (1 lb) butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

 

Get Your Oven Ready and Cream the Butter

Preheat your oven to 330F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy; This takes ~2-3 minutes on medium speed.

Don’t rush this step – properly creamed butter makes a difference in texture.

Add Wet Ingredients and Flour

Pour in the condensed milk and mix until just combined.

Add the flour and baking powder all at once and mix briefly – you want to see a few flour streaks still visible.

Overmixing here makes the cookies tough, so stop as soon as it mostly comes together.

Fold in Chocolate Chips and Shape the Dough

Switch to a spatula and fold in the chocolate chips by hand.

Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, portion the dough into ~20g balls and place them on your prepared baking sheets.

Roll each portion between your hands to make them round – you can fit ~20 cookies per sheet with decent spacing.

Bake Until Set

Bake for ~14-15 minutes, until the edges just start to turn golden brown.

The centers should look set but not hard – they’ll continue cooking on the hot pan once you pull them out.

If you want perfectly round cookies, use a large cookie cutter to gently push the edges into shape while they’re still warm.

Cool and Store

Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for ~10-15 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.

They’ll be soft when hot but firm up as they cool.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week – though they rarely last that long.

Grandma-Style Condensed Milk Cookies

This is the cookie recipe I grew up with – simple, sweet, and uses a whole can of condensed milk so there’s no waste. Perfect for when you want to make a decent batch but not feed an army.
prep time15 minutes
cook time15 minutes
resting or cooling time15 minutes
total time45 minutes

Ingredients

Ingredients (~45 cookies)

  • 2 cups butter, 1 lb, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 14 oz
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 330F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla in mixer until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add condensed milk and mix briefly.
  • Add flour and baking powder, mixing just until combined with some flour streaks visible.
  • Fold in chocolate chips by hand.
  • Scoop dough into 20g balls, roll between hands, and place on baking sheets.
  • Bake 14-15 minutes until edges are lightly golden.
  • Let cookies rest on baking sheet 10-15 minutes before transferring to wire rack.

Notes

Store in airtight container up to 1 week.