Food and Recipes Desserts Cookies Chocolate Wafers 5.0 (2) 2 Reviews A homemade version of the discontinued cookie so you don't have to bid farewell to your favorite desserts. By Alesandra Dubin Published on July 20, 2023 Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Active Time: 45 mins Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Yield: 55 cookies Jump to recipe Chocolate wafers are the backbone of so many recipes central to the summer dessert season like icebox cakes, cheesecakes, and pies. But because Nabisco recently discontinued its own longtime favorite brand of chocolate wafers, you’ll want to learn how to make your own to keep your pantry stocked. While this recipe for chocolate wafers might not taste identical to the iconic version, it does come close. So close, in fact, the Southern Living Test Kitchen said they "cracked the code." Like the original Nabisco Famous Wafers, they’re lightly—rather than deeply—chocolaty, infused with vanilla, and just the right amount of sweet. Bold black cocoa gives the cookies their distinct taste and ebony hue. Overall, these cookies are thin, buttery, and wonderfully crisp. 8 Best Icebox Cake Recipes To Cool You Off What Is a Chocolate Wafer? Chocolate wafers are crispy, thin chocolate cookies that are popular in no-bake desserts like icebox cakes and ice cream cakes. They boast a warm chocolate flavor that contrasts nicely with the sweeter ingredients of dessert recipes. Chocolate wafers also make great snacks on their own, especially for people who prefer simple, unfussy desserts. A few chocolate wafers would be great with tea or coffee, too. Chocolate Wafers Ingredients To make chocolate wafers, you will need: coconut oil granulated sugar unsalted butter heavy whipping cream vanilla extract egg all-purpose flour black cocoa powder cornstarch baking powder sea salt fine instant espresso powder Note that you’ll want to use refined, not virgin, coconut oil. (Refined is neutral in flavor, whereas virgin retains its coconut taste.) Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Where can I find black cocoa powder? You're not likely to walk into your neighborhood grocery store and find this type of cocoa powder. You'll need to order it, but one container will last you several batches of cookies, so it's a worthy investment. We like King Arthur's Black Cocoa Powder. Did Nabisco Discontinue Chocolate Wafers? Yes, parent company Mondelez International recently discontinued Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Wafers from its product line. According to a Facebook group of more than 2,000 members who identify as the Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers Fan Club, Mondelez International discontinued the cookies quietly in 2023 without any big announcement. So if you’ve noticed these cookies have been hard to find on store shelves, the discontinuation explains why. (Sorry to have to break the news!) What Can I Substitute for Nabisco Chocolate Wafers? If you aren’t into making your own homemade chocolate wafers, Goya Maria cookies can serve as a suitable substitute. Other grocery store staples like chocolate sandwich cookies (with the filling scraped off) or chocolate graham crackers may also work as a viable sub for Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Wafers in some recipes. A pre-made chocolate pie crust could also do the trick in a pinch. 44 Delicious Cheesecake Recipes For Every Season And Occasion How Long Do Chocolate Wafers Last? Store homemade chocolate wafers in an airtight container at room temperature, and they should last for up to five days. How To Serve Chocolate Wafers Use homemade chocolate wafers for icebox cakes, use them to sandwich scoops of ice cream for easy ice cream sandwiches, or just savor them all by themselves. Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Chocolate Wafers Recipe Tips This dough’s ratios give the cookies their buttery, crisp texture, but also make for a softer dough when initially mixed. Keeping it chilled makes it easy to work with. If the dough gets too soft while you are working with it, just pop it back in the freezer for several minutes. (Any cookies you’ve already trayed up can just stand at room temp until they’re ready to go into the oven.) Recipes With Chocolate Wafers Once you have your chocolate wafers made, you're ready to build any of these favorite desserts: Strawberry Icebox Cake Rebecca's Black Bottom Icebox Pie No-Bake Dark Chocolate-Peppermint Sandwich Cookies Cappuccino Swirl Bars Georgia Pecan Double-Decker Brownies Peanut Butter Pie Triple Chocolate Sandwich Cookies Editor's Note: This recipe was developed by Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman; the recipe tips were written by Alesandra Dubin. Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1/4 cup refined coconut oil 2/3 cup granulated sugar 6 Tbsp. (3 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream 1 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract 1 large egg yolk 1 1/2 cups (about 6 3/8 oz.) all-purpose flour 3 Tbsp. (about 3/4 oz.) black cocoa powder 2 Tbsp. cornstarch 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt 1/4 tsp. fine instant espresso powder (such as Delallo) Directions Beat coconut oil: Preheat oven to 325°F. Place coconut oil in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; stir by hand using a spatula until smooth. Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Cream butter and sugar with oil: Add sugar and butter to coconut oil in bowl; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Add egg yolk, vanilla, and cream: Add cream, vanilla, and egg yolk to coconut oil mixture; beat on medium speed just until combined, about 15 seconds. Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Mix dry ingredients: Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder in a medium bowl until well combined. Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Combine coconut oil mixture and flour mixture: With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to coconut oil mixture, beating until combined and a dough forms, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Roll out dough: Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness between 2 pieces of parchment paper; place dough and parchment on a baking sheet, and freeze until firm, 10 to 15 minutes (see Note). Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Cut cookies: Uncover dough. Cut dough using a 2-inch round cutter. Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Place circles 1-inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet using an offset spatula to help transfer dough rounds, if needed. (If dough gets too soft while working, loosely cover with parchment, and freeze until firm, 5 to 10 minutes.) Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Bake wafers: Bake in preheated oven until fragrant, edges are set, and centers mostly spring back when gently pressed, about 12 minutes, rotating baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through baking time. Let cool completely on baking sheet on a wire rack, 30 minutes to 1 hour. (Cookies will become crisp as they cool.) Reroll and repeat chilling, cutting, and baking process with remaining dough as needed. Store in a airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Test Kitchen Note Freezing is the ideal and most efficient way to chill this dough. If you must refrigerate it instead, you’ll need to let it chill for a longer period until firm. Rate It Print