These Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies are super soft and hold their shape when baked so well! Decorate them however you like - this will be your go-to sugar cookie recipe!
Sugar Cookies are a classic cookie all year round and are used for decorating in all shapes and sizes. When you cut out cookies with cookie cutters, you want them to hold their shape. You also want them to be delicious, no matter what shape they are.
Luckily, this recipe is the perfect one for you!
Why this Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie is the Best Cutout Sugar Cookie
Most sugar cookie recipes contain some type of rising agent, such as baking powder or baking soda. It is also a common practice to cream the butter and sugar together in the first step of most cookie recipes to whip air into the cookie dough. This creates lift while the cookies bake.
This recipe has skipped both of those steps. There are no rising agents, and the butter and cream cheese are mixed until smooth and then the sugar just until combined.
Because of this, the cutout cookies will stay the shape that you cut them into when they are baked.
And we have even gone a step further by chilling the dough after cutting. This allows the butter to firm up before it goes into the oven to prevent spreading.
Super soft and delicious sugar cookies!
The cream cheese in this recipe makes the cookies so soft and tender! Even after several days at room temperature, these cookies don't dry out and get crumbly!
Adding cream cheese to the cookie dough gives a delicious flavor to the cookies. You can also freely change out the vanilla extract and use lemon extract, almond extract, or any other flavor you like.
Adding some orange zest or lemon zest would also be a great addition!
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
The ingredients for this recipe are simple, and you probably already have them on hand.
To make Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies, you will need:
- Butter - Butter is the typical base for sugar cookie recipes. Butter adds amazing flavor but can be drying.
- Cream Cheese - Adding cream cheese lends amazing flavor and keeps the cookies super soft!
- Granulated Sugar - Sugar cookies need sugar obviously! You can use half brown sugar if you want a caramely flavor but you may need a few extra tablespoons of flour to compensate for the extra moisture.
- Egg Yolks - Using just the yolks adds richness without adding lift.
- Vanilla Extract - Vanilla is delicious but switch it out for almond, lemon, peppermint, or whatever suits your ocassion!
- All-purpose Flour - AP flour has just the right amount of protein in it for this recipe. Cake flour will not provide enough structure and bread flour will give you tough cookies.
- Salt - A little salt enhances the other flavors in the recipe!
I love to make a double batch, split it into four and then wrap it really well. Freeze until you need to make some cookies and your dough is already made! Just thaw in the refrigerator overnight!
Tips for Making this Recipe
- To get cutout cookies rolled to an even thickness, use a Joseph Rolling Pin which has several different sized guides on the sides.
- Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper. This eliminates most of the mess on your countertop and rolling pin!
- The first chilling period in this recipe gives the flour some time to hydrate and the dough builds some flavor. This chilling time also makes the dough easy to work with!
- The second chilling time, after cutting, firms the butter up after being rolled out and really sets the shape of the cookies! You can skip this step or you can speed it up by using the freezer!
- Bake cookies that are similar in size at the same time on the same sheet. If you bake very small cookies on the same sheet as very large cookies, they will not bake evenly!
Decorating Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
You can use a simple buttercream that you can spread with a palette knife or offset spatula on these cookies. Add a few sprinkles and your cookies will be cute and delicious while also being quick and easy!
If you want to get a little more detailed, you can decorate these cookies with Royal Icing. You can find my Royal Icing recipe IN THIS POST.
I also have several YouTube videos that can help you achieve the Perfect Royal Icing for Sugar Cookies!
The above videos were done for a Bake Along that I was a part of. There is A LOT of great info and techniques in these videos!
Here are some products that I recommend for making and decorating Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies!
Watch this video where I decorate my Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies for Halloween!
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Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 454 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 227 grams block cream cheese, at room temperature
- 400 grams granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 675 grams all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese until well blended and smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla extract, and egg yolks, and mix until combined.
- Add the flour and salt, and mix to form a soft dough. Shape the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking sheets. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters, and place one inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Chill for 15 minutes to firm up the butter.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until light golden brown around the edges. Bake time will vary with the size and thickness of the cookies. Allow to cool completely before frosting or decorating.
Margaret Mary Oursler-Rowe says
This looks delish, do you think they would work using a cookie stamp?
Tanya Ott says
Absolutely! I haven't done it myself but my friend Sally from http://www.for-the-love-of-cookies.com and http://www.thebewitchingkitchen.com has used this recipe with a patterned rolling pin and the results were beautiful!
Josette@thebrookcook says
Absolute perfection!! I may have to try these instead of my go-to sugar cookies this year.
Tanya Ott says
You'll love them!!