Here's What Happens If You Make Cookies With Sweetened Condensed Milk

Sweetened condensed milk is a canned pantry staple that can add sweetness and moisture to many recipes. It's made by evaporating water from milk and adding sugar, resulting in a syrupy liquid that's much thicker and sweeter than regular milk. Typically used in desserts like pies, fudge, and caramel, it's also a favorite in Asian and Latin American cuisines (like in the Philippines' halo-halo, or Mexico's tres leches cake). 

But what happens when you use it in cookies? Sweetened condensed milk is a versatile ingredient that can replace other liquid or sugar components in recipes, but it is never an exact substitute. Mashed spoke with Hetal Vasavada, baking expert and author of "Milk & Cardamom" blog and the recently released "Desi Bakes" cookbook for insight.

"Sweetened condensed milk can be used to make cookies — you can substitute eggs with sweetened condensed milk," Vasavada began. "However, I'd only ever substitute 1 egg with ¼ cup of sweetened condensed milk in any drop cookie recipe." Any more and "it'll affect the texture negatively." The higher sugar content of the milk leads to more spreading in cookies — and thin cookies cook fast. Vasavada adds, "The condensed milk will also lead to your cookies browning quite a bit, so keep that in mind!" More spreading paired with the additional caramelization the extra-sugary cookies will undergo, the cookie may brown especially easily. If a cookie rich in flavor and texture is your baking goal, this substitution will be beneficial. Otherwise, proceed with caution and choose a different way to incorporate the condensed milk.

Condensed milk may have a similar viscosity but ultimately doesn't act the same way as eggs do in baking. Eggs have binding properties that adhere ingredients together and set baked goods as they cook. Drop cookies like our chocolate chip cookie recipe are more compatible with this substitution since, unlike rolled cookies, they don't need to hold their shape as they bake.

Sweetened condensed milk works best in decadent, chewy cookie recipes — especially cookie bars. If you're looking for inspiration, these easy 7-layer cookie bars require a healthy drizzle of the thick, syrupy ingredient over top of the layers to absorb while cooking. Additionally, sweetened condensed milk makes a one-ingredient caramel that's perfect for coating shortbread or chocolate chip cookies. Whatever way you incorporate condensed milk, consider adding a little extra purpose to your cookies through Challenge Butter's initiative "Challenge For A Cure," which invites people to host bake sales and make donations to Cookies for Kids' Cancer through December 31, 2024.