Skip The Supermarket — These Cookies Are As Easy As 1-2-3 (Ingredients You Already Have)

If baking great desserts was as easy as 1-2-3, there would be no need for grocery stores to stock so many cookies and cakes on their shelves. Unfortunately, nothing good in life comes without a bit of work, and that includes great-tasting cookies — most of the time. Luckily, there is one type of cookie that is as simple as it sounds, and the best news is it tastes delicious. It's the three-ingredient condensed milk cookie, and it's as simple as it sounds. You've probably already got all the ingredients on hand in your fridge or pantry. 

Since these cookies are made with sweetened condensed milk, you don't need to add any extra sugar — they'll have enough sweetness on their own (without being overly sugary). To make them you'll need 250 grams of softened butter (that's a little over two sticks, but use a good digital scale to get the amount accurate), 1 can of condensed milk, and 2 ½ cups of sifted flour. (If you don't have an actual sifter, there are some easy workarounds.)

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine the butter and condensed milk and mix until it's smooth and creamy. Then gradually add in the flour, mixing until you have a nice, soft dough to work with. From there you can either roll out the dough and cut out cookie shapes or you can make balls with your hands and flatten them with a fork on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes or until they are a nice golden brown, let them cool, and enjoy!

These cookies are so simple and delicious on their own that they don't need any dressing up, but that doesn't mean you can't have some fun with them. Unlike a gingerbread cookie shaped like a boy or a Norwegian krumkake formed into a cone, these cookies are just begging for you to experiment with different shapes. One Instagrammer who makes these cookies, dinewithdima, cuts them into flower shapes, adds some texture to the petals, and layers a small, round piece in the center for a 3-D cookie that is adorable and eye-catching.

You can also dress them up with some simple (or fancy) decorating tricks, which will make them customizable for different holidays or special occasions. It's also a great way to express yourself through food and give your creativity a fun outlet. These three-ingredient cookies and others like them (such as these delicious fall-themed cookies that only use canned pumpkin, boxed vanilla cake mix, and chocolate chips) are a great recipe to keep in your toolbox for when you need something sweet and tasty in a pinch. 

Once the cookies are baked and decorated, you can add them to a holiday table, wrap them in a beautiful gift box for a present to someone special, or enjoy them yourself. The delicate richness of these treats will go great with an ice-cold glass of milk, dipped in a piping hot cup of coffee, or served as the perfect pairing to a steaming hot cup of cocoa on a cold winter night.