Description
Deliciously soft and tender Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies made with a blend of cream cheese and butter for a rich, melt-in-your-mouth texture. These cookies are lightly sweetened, shaped into fun designs, and topped with whipped vanilla frosting, perfect for any festive occasion or everyday treat.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 12 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- 1 bar (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Whipped Vanilla Frosting
- 5 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- Sprinkles and gel food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare Oven and Cookie Sheets: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray them lightly with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Cream Butter, Cream Cheese, and Sugars: In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to beat together the softened butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, egg, and almond extract on medium speed until pale and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes and is crucial to incorporate air for the perfect cookie texture.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and kosher salt to break up any lumps.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Add half of the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture and blend on low speed. Then add the remaining flour mixture and blend again on low speed just until the dough forms a soft, sticky ball. Avoid overmixing and do not add extra flour at this stage.
- Roll Out Dough: Spray your countertop lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking. Roll out the dough to a thicker consistency so the cookies remain soft. Use additional flour (about 1/3 cup) as needed during rolling and cutting with cookie cutters.
- Bake Cookies: Place 12 cookies per cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should be pale, dry in the center, and puffy without any golden brown edges.
- Cool Cookies: Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the warm baking sheet for 20 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Make Whipped Vanilla Frosting: In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and almond extracts together until smooth and creamy. Adjust consistency by adding more cream if too thick or more powdered sugar if too thin. Add gel food coloring and sprinkles if desired for decoration.
- Frost and Decorate: Once cookies are completely cooled, spread or pipe the whipped vanilla frosting onto each cookie. Add sprinkles or any additional decorations as you like.
Notes
- Whip the butter and cream cheese mixture thoroughly to incorporate air; this gives cookies a light texture.
- Do not roll the dough too thin to keep cookies soft and tender.
- Use kosher salt as it provides the right balance of saltiness; you can substitute with regular salt but reduce the quantity slightly.
- Cookies will look pale and not browned when done; overbaking can make them hard.
- For easier rolling, spraying the countertop with cooking spray along with flour helps prevent sticking.
- Adjust frosting consistency with heavy cream or powdered sugar to achieve the desired spreadability.