Custard Cookies
These easy custard cookies are buttery, crisp, and melt-in-your-mouth tender with a delicate vanilla custard flavor. Made with custard powder and simple pantry staples, these shortbread-style cookies come together in just 15 minutes — no eggs or chilling required.
I’ve been making these custard cookies for years, and they’re one of those simple recipes I come back to when I want something quick with tea or coffee. The custard powder gives an ordinary butter cookie a lovely vanilla flavor and that delicate, crumbly texture that almost melts in your mouth.
What is custard powder?
Custard powder is a flavored starch mixture, usually made with cornstarch, vanilla flavoring, and yellow coloring. When mixed with milk and heated, it thickens into a vanilla custard. In these cookies, it adds vanilla flavor, color, and contributes to their tender, crumbly texture.
Why you’ll love this custard biscuit recipe?
- Quick and easy – Ready in about 15 minutes with no chilling required.
- Simple ingredients – Made with basic pantry staples and custard powder.
- Great texture – Crisp and crumbly with a delicate melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Eggless – No eggs are needed for this simple cookie dough.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Custard powder – Gives these cookies their vanilla custard flavor, pale yellow color, and tender texture. Bird’s custard powder works well, but any vanilla custard powder can be used.
If you don’t have custard powder, you can use cornstarch in place of the custard powder for texture, but the cookies will no longer have the same custard flavor or yellow color. Add a little extra vanilla if using cornstarch. - All-purpose flour – Regular all-purpose or plain flour works best for these shortbread-style cookies.
- Butter – Use softened unsalted butter for the best flavor and texture.
- Powdered sugar – Keeps the cookies delicate and tender. Granulated sugar can be used, but the texture will be slightly different.
- Vanilla – A little vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste enhances the custard flavor.
Step-by-step: How to Make Custard biscuits
Prepare the dry ingredients
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, custard powder, and salt.
Cream butter and sugar
Cream the softened butter and powdered sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until light and creamy. Add the vanilla and mix well.
Make the dough
Add the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough comes together. If the dough feels very dry or cracks when pressed together, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time only as needed.
Shape the cookies
Divide the dough into 18 portions and roll each into a ball. Place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Press gently with a fork to flatten and create the pattern on top.
Bake
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly golden. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Custard Cookies Recipe (4 Ingredients)
These easy custard cookies are buttery, crisp, and melt-in-your-mouth tender with a delicate vanilla custard flavor. Made with custard powder and simple pantry staples, they come together quickly with no eggs or chilling required.
Ingredients
- 227 g (1 cup) Unsalted butter softened
- 60 g (½ cup) Powdered sugar or granulated sugar
- 250 g (2 cups) All-purpose flour
- 60 g (½ cup) Custard powder
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Additional granulated sugar for dusting optional
Method
- Prepare the dry ingredients – Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, custard powder, and salt.250 g All-purpose flour, 60 g Custard powder, ¼ tsp Salt
- Cream butter and sugar – Cream the softened butter and powdered sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until light and creamy. Add the vanilla and mix well.227 g Unsalted butter, 60 g Powdered sugar, 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Make the dough – Add the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough comes together. If the dough feels very dry or cracks when pressed together, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time, only as needed.
- Shape the cookies – Divide the dough into 18 portions and roll each into a ball. Place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Press gently with a fork to flatten and create the pattern on top.
- Bake & Cool – Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly golden. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.Additional granulated sugar for dusting
Notes
- Custard powder: Use vanilla custard powder, such as Bird’s, for the characteristic flavor and color.
- Dough consistency: The dough should be soft and hold together when pressed. If it is too dry or crumbly to shape, add water 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Sugar: Powdered sugar gives the cookies a finer, more tender texture. Granulated sugar will make them slightly crisper.
- Baking: The cookies should remain fairly pale with just a little color around the edges. Overbaking will make them dry.
- Storage: Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Mention @veenaazmanov_kitchen or tag #veenaazmanovkitchen!Tips for success
- Use softened butter – It should be soft enough to cream easily but not melted or greasy.
- Don’t overmix – Once you add the flour and custard powder, mix only until the dough comes together.
- Adjust only if needed – If the dough is too dry to hold together, add water 1 teaspoon at a time. You may not need any.
- Don’t overbake – Bake just until the edges are lightly golden. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
- Cool before moving – Let them sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes; warm shortbread-style cookies can be fragile.
more shortbread style cookies
Frequently asked questions
Custard powder is a flavored powder used to make custard sauce or pudding. It’s typically made from ingredients like cornstarch, sugar, salt, and flavoring. You can find custard powder in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or online.
These eggless custard cookies will be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. You can freeze the dough for up to a month or freeze the cookies for up to three months. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. If you want to keep them soft, add a piece of bread to the container to help retain moisture.
Yes, you can freeze Custard Cookies. Place them in an airtight container or a freezer bag, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. They can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw them at room temperature before serving.
To prevent excessive spreading, make sure your dough is well-chilled before baking. You can refrigerate it for 30 minutes before shaping and baking the cookies.
These cookies have a good shelf life as dough as well as cookies.
The dough, if wrapped well, can usually stay in the fridge for 5 to 6 days before coating and baking.
You can also place the unbaked cookies on a parchment-lined tray, wrapped well with cling wrap, for about 3 to 4 days.
In addition, this snickerdoodle dough can be frozen for a month or more if covered well.
Yes, you can replace some of the all-purpose flour with almond flour. Or you can try my soft almond sugar cookies; however, they are not eggless
While vanilla extract can add a pleasant flavor to your cookies, it won’t replicate the custard flavor. If you want to make Custard Cookies, it’s best to use custard powder for that unique taste.
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great recipe. I whipped it up late one night as I was hankering for a bickies, and here is Australia my gran used to make these, sandwiched together with a vanilla icing, called Custard creams. my 16yo daughter just said… mum make some more, need to take them to school! Partner has taken wee baggies,to her employees for morning tea. Sent the recipe to uni daughter in text ‘ These bickies. you love. Easy. get ingredients. get trays . turn on oven first. follow instructions…. Do it before drinking. Thank me later’ . I’m about to do a super double batch. One with finely chopped, slithered dark choc, the other with cranberries, macadamia and orange zest. I use a small cookie scoop which produces 2 bite bickies. really glad this recipe is the same as I grew up with, and I found it to keep sharing down the line.
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback Meg, So happy you enjoy these so much. I have fond memories of these too.
Can you please clarify the measurement for the custard powder? One half cup of Bird’s Custard Powder weighs more like 70 grams than 10 grams; should I follow the volume or the weight? 10 grams is closed to one-and-a-half tablespoons.
Its about 8 tbsp Mel. Thanks
Didn’t work for me, followed to a T and were super dry and tasted like flour 🙁
Sorry to hear that, KP. Shortbread cookies can be tricky. As the recipe states you can add a tablespoon of water if the dough is too dry.
Veena made these today. OMG they’re delicious. Just like Mom used to make!
The dough was perfect for rolling into balls, didn’t need to add any liquid.
Instead of using Fork Tines to flatten the cookies, I used the embossing portion of one of my Snowflake Cookie embosser/cutters. Beautiful!!
Cookies I will have no qualms about giving to family and friends.
Thank you for the recipe.
Merry Christmas / Season Greetings to You and Yours!
Thank you for the lovely feedback, Barb. Happy you enjoyed these cookies. Happy holidays to you.
This sounds like a cookie my late Mom used to make that I can’t find a recipe for. Will be trying it as soon as I get more Custard Powder!
Thanks Barb.
Hi Veena! I just happen to have a can of Birds in my cupboard, and I’m excited to try this recipe.
BUT – had I not read the comments, & if I was a novice baker, I’d have been waiting. And waiting. And waiting for the cookies to bake @ 150°F..
You acknowledged in one of the comments that the correct temperature is 350°F, so WHY hasn’t the recipe been corrected – to ensure that even novice bakers can make them successfully?
Thanks for what I’m sure is going to be a very tasty treat!
From Alberta, Canada ??
Hey Terry, Sorry but doesn’t the recipe say – Preheat the oven at 350°F/ 177°C/ Gas Mark 4
That’s what I see here too. THanks
I only baked them for 11 minutes. Am I correct in saying these are small cookies? I think people have problems with the edges slitting because they flatten them too much. Anyway I like the cookies. I’ll add some icing and see what the grandkids think. Thanks for a different recipe to add to my selection.
Barbara, the dough is like shortbread not too dry but not so wet either. It does hold shape and does not spread too flat. The balls are small as you can see so yes the cookies are not too big.
Hello Veena, when Christmas looms closer, it’s Shortbread time in my Family, and have been searching for something other than my Traditional Shortbread.
I have been following you for years & your Devils Food Chocolate Cake recipe is my all time favorite.
I made these last night & could barely wait for them to cool down. Such an easy recipe and sooo delicious – your description of the Pastry Cream was spot on – Thank you so much.
Thank you for the lovely feedback, Charleen. I am so happy you are enjoying my recipes.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I am so excited to try this out I already ordered the custard powder off of Amazon. I will be making these sugar free for my uncle who has diabetes but misses custard pie.
Super easy receipe mine came out great thanks for the receipe.
Happy you enjoyed these cookies, Vijaya. Thank you for the lovely feedback.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, it looks very interesting ! Will try this out with my kid.
If you have any more such recipes with custard powder, especially no bake recipes, I would love to hear from you !
You’re missing a liquid do I add water?
No, these are shortbread-type cookies, and the dough is fairly dry but not crumbly. At most you can add 1 to 2 tbsp of water but too much water can cause them to spread.
These turned out perfectly. Thank you for including grams as well (I’ve always preferred to weigh out butter than try smosh it into a cup!)
These reminded me of the cookies I used to make as a child growing up in South Africa. A nice reminder on Heritage (SA) day as I now live in Canada that I can bake these with my friends and be reminded of home.
Wonderful recipe!
Thanks you for the lovely feedback, Ella. Happy you enjoyed these cookies.
I only needed two tablespoons of water and probably could have made due with one. But Andre is correct that it’s surely supposed to be cooked at 350F, not 150F. My oven doesn’t even go that low! Should be easy to fix. Otherwise, cookies were excellent.
Thank you for the feedback, Greg. Yes, the baking temperature is 350F/177C. All flour gets absorbed differently so you may or may not need 2 tbsp of water.