Delicious Cookie Tubes Stuffed With Sweet Fillings For Any Occasion

Delicious Cookie Tubes For Any Occasion

Cookie tubes provide a fun, unique way to serve cookies for any gathering or celebration. These cylindrical cookies stuffed with sweet fillings make an interactive dessert that brings smiles to both kids and adults. With some creativity, cookie tubes can be customized for various holidays, parties, or just an everyday treat.

What Are Cookie Tubes?

Cookie tubes, sometimes called cookie straws or cookie sticks, refer to cookies that have been shaped into hollow tubes. A filling, often made with sweet ingredients like jam, chocolate, or cream cheese frosting, is piped into the center of the tube.

When you bite into a cookie tube, you get an explosion of two textures and flavors - the crispy cookie exterior and the smooth, creamy interior. Part of the appeal of these cookies is getting to the hidden surprise filling inside.

Making Your Own Cookie Tubes

The process of making cookie tubes is relatively simple:

1. Make or purchase cookie dough. Sugar cookie and shortbread doughs work well.
2. On a floured surface, roll out the dough about 1⁄4 inch thick.
3. Cut the dough into strips approximately 3 inches long by 1 inch wide. Round the short edges to create a cylinder shape.
4. Arrange the shaped dough pieces on a baking sheet and bake until lightly golden.
5. Once cooled, use a piping bag to fill the hollow cookie tubes with your desired filling.

There are also special cookie tube pans available to streamline shaping. Simply press small balls of dough into the fluted cavities before baking.

Creative Fillings for Cookie Tubes

The filling is what makes cookie tubes so interesting to eat. Almost any thick, pipeable ingredient can be used as a decadent filling.

Here are some delicious ideas for cookie tube fillings:

• Cream cheese frosting - Sweetened cream cheese whipped with butter makes a tasty filling.
• Chocolate hazelnut spread - Nutella or similar chocolate-hazelnut spreads are always a crowd pleaser.
• Lemon curd - For a tangy, citrusy twist, use tart lemon curd as the filling.
• Jam or fruit preserves - Sweet jams, especially berry flavors, pair nicely with sugar cookies.
• Chocolate ganache - Rich chocolate ganache piped into cookies melts in your mouth.
• Caramel or dulce de leche - Buttery, syrupy caramel fillings take these cookies over the top.
• Peanut butter - For a nostalgic flavor, fill cookie tubes with creamy peanut butter.

Feel free to mix and match cookie doughs and fillings until you find your perfect cookie tube combo!

Using Cookie Tubes for Special Occasions

Beyond just a handy snack, cookie tubes have visual appeal that makes them ideal for celebrations and holidays. Their unique shape allows for creative decorating. Fill them with themed ingredients or topping to delight guests.

Flag Fruit Pizza for Independence Day

A patriotic flag fruit pizza is a fun spin on cookie tubes for the 4th of July. Start by baking tubes using red, white and blue cookie dough. Once cool, pipe them full with sweet cream cheese filling. Arrange the red, white and blue cookie tubes side by side on a platter like stripes. Top with fresh berries and fruit arranged into a circular American flag pattern. Your guests will love this tasty edible flag!

Spider Cookie Tubes for Halloween

around Halloween, have some spooky fun with spider web cookie tubes. Bake plain cookie tubes and fill them with chocolate frosting. Then use black decorating gel to pipe spider web designs onto the tubes. Add a gummy spider or two crawling on top to complete the creepy effect. Arrange the spider cookies standing upright in a mound of vanilla frosting “spider webs” for a scream-worthy display.

Mitten Cookie Tubes for Christmas

Mitten-shaped cookie tubes stuffed with peppermint filling get everyone in the holiday spirit. Cut and bake cookies into rounded mitten shapes with a curved indent on one side. Once cooled, pipe them full of peppermint frosting. Use red and green sprinkles or decorative icing to add Christmas accents and textures to the mittens. Stack them in a snowy pile for a delightful holiday cookie platter.

Tips for Making Cookie Tubes

While the process of making filled cookie tubes is fairly straightforward, here are some helpful tips:

Prevent Cracking

As the cookie tubes bake, the dough can crack or split. To prevent this:

• Work quickly while shaping the dough so it doesn’t warm and soften too much.
• Thoroughly chill the shaped unbaked cookie tubes before putting them in the oven.
• Bake at a slightly lower temp (around 325° F) to allow the dough to set up without cracking.

Seal in the Filling

To help the filling stay neatly inside, pipe a layer of frosting, caramel or chocolate to “glue” the ends of the cookie tubes closed after filling them.

Make-Ahead and Freezing

For convenience, shaped cookie dough logs or tubes can be frozen raw for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking as usual. You can also freeze baked cookie tubes filled with frosting or cream cheese mixtures for 4-6 weeks.

Creative Uses for Cookie Tubes

Beyond using cookie tubes for holiday-themed entertaining, there are lots of everyday ways to serve up these delicious treats:

• Include as an interactive dessert at dinner parties. Let guests squeeze their own filling into the cookie tubes.
• Bring stuffed cookie tubes to potlucks, school events or office parties.
• Use as edible straws for milk, ice cream floats or shakes.
• Skewer stacked cookie tubes on sticks for hand-held snacks.
• Add to DIY dessert candy or ice cream sundae bars.

With so many tasty filling options, the flavor possibilities are endless with cookie tubes. Bake up a batch for your next celebration or gathering!

FAQs

What is the best cookie dough to use for cookie tubes?

The best cookie doughs for tubes are ones that hold their shape during baking. Sugar cookie and shortbread doughs are ideal. Avoid very soft doughs that may collapse when baked.

How do you fill cookie tubes?

Using a piping bag, fill cooled baked cookie tubes through the open ends. Pipe the filling down into the hollow centers. Tip: Pipe a bit of frosting inside the ends afterwards to seal in the filling.

How long do baked cookie tubes last?

Baked plain cookie tubes can be stored airtight at room temperature up to 1 week. Filled cookie tubes last about 3-4 days refrigerated. For longer storage, freeze unfilled cookie tubes up to 3 months.

What desserts can you make with cookie tubes?

In addition to serving cookie tubes as a fun snack, use them to make desserts like cookie tube ice cream cones,stacked cookie tube cakes, or standing cookie tube pops arranged on fruit pizza or in frosting.