Cream cheese cookies are the soft, puffy cousin of a sugar cookie: a tender middle with a faint tang, pale tops that crack a little in the oven, and a sparkly coat of sugar that crunches in the first bite. They stay soft for days without frosting, which makes them an easy cookie for trays and lunch boxes.
Four ounces (113 g) of full-fat block cream cheese replaces half the butter you would use in a plain sugar cookie. It adds moisture and a little protein, so the cookies set puffy instead of spreading thin, as long as the dough chills for 1 hour first. Bake them at 350°F (175°C) for 10 to 12 minutes and pull them while the centers still look underdone. One bowl, about 20 minutes of hands-on work, 24 cookies.
At a Glance
- Yield: 24 cookies from 2 tablespoon (35 g) scoops
- Pan: rimmed half sheet pans lined with parchment, 12 per sheet
- Time: 20 minutes prep, 1 hour chill, 10 to 12 minutes per sheet
- Difficulty: easy; one bowl and a hand mixer
- Key technique: chill the soft dough 1 hour, then pull the cookies before the centers look done
What Cream Cheese Does in a Cookie
Cream cheese makes the cookies softer and thicker. It is about half water and a third fat, so it carries moisture into the dough that butter alone cannot, and its milk proteins set in the oven and help the cookies hold their height. The result is closer to a soft bakery sugar cookie than a crisp one.
That extra water is also why the dough is too soft to scoop straight from the bowl. An hour in the fridge firms the butter and lets the flour absorb some of the moisture, which keeps each cookie about 3 inches (7.5 cm) wide instead of spreading into a thin disk.
The Short Ingredient List
You need 9 ingredients, most already in the pantry; the recipe card has the amounts. These make the difference:
- Cream cheese: half of an 8 ounce block, 4 ounces (113 g), full fat and soft. Spreadable tub cream cheese adds more water and gives flatter, gummier cookies.
- Butter: 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted, softened to about 65°F (18°C), cool but easy to press.
- Sugar: 1 cup (200 g) granulated in the dough plus 1/4 cup (50 g) for rolling. The sugar coat gives the crackly, sparkly top; coarse sanding sugar makes it crunchier.
- Flour: 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all-purpose, spooned into the cup and leveled. Scooping straight from the bag packs in up to 20 percent more and makes the cookies dry.
- Leavening: 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder for lift and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for light browning on the bottoms.
Mixing the Dough in One Bowl
Beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium for 1 minute, until no white flecks of cheese remain. Add 1 cup of sugar and beat for 2 minutes more, until pale and fluffy, then beat in the egg and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a small bowl, add them all at once and mix on low just until the flour disappears. The dough will be soft and sticky, close to thick frosting. That is right; do not add more flour.
Chill, Then Roll in Sugar
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour, or up to 3 days. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) about 15 minutes before it comes out. Scoop 2 tablespoon (35 g) portions, roll each into a ball between your palms and roll it through the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until coated.
Set 12 balls on each parchment-lined sheet, about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, and leave them round. They flatten on their own. Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack.
Pull Them Before They Look Done
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops have gone from shiny to matte, a few small cracks have opened around the edges and the bottoms are pale golden. The centers should still look slightly puffy and underbaked. If the tops start to color, they have gone too long and will be firm once cool.
Leave them on the sheet for 5 minutes; they finish setting there. Then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Flip one over: a light golden bottom is what you want.
Cream Cheese Cookie Troubleshooting
| What happened | Why | Next time |
|---|---|---|
| Cookies spread flat | Dough not chilled, or warm butter | Chill the full hour and use a cool sheet |
| Dry and crumbly | Too much flour | Spoon and level it, or weigh 280 g |
| White specks inside | Cream cheese was cold | Soften it 1 hour and beat it with the butter first |
| Brown, crisp edges | Baked too long or on a dark pan | Pull at 10 minutes; use a light metal pan |
| Sugar coat disappeared | Balls rolled while dough was warm | Roll straight from the fridge |
Flavor Ideas
- Lemon: add 1 tablespoon of finely grated lemon zest with the sugar.
- Almond: add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract with the vanilla for a bakery flavor.
- Holiday: roll the balls in red and green sanding sugar for a Christmas cookie tray.
- Cinnamon sugar: mix 1 teaspoon of cinnamon into the rolling sugar, close to a snickerdoodle.
- Sprinkles: fold 1/3 cup of rainbow sprinkles into the dough before chilling.
For a filled version, the red velvet cheesecake cookies and eggnog cheesecake cookies tuck the cream cheese inside instead. For a fall tray, add pumpkin sugar cookies, and for cookies you can decorate, the Christmas tree sugar cookies use royal icing.
Storing and Freezing
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They stay soft because the cream cheese holds on to moisture; a slice of bread in the container keeps them softer still.
Freeze rolled, sugar-coated dough balls on a sheet, then bag them for up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes. Baked cookies freeze for 2 months and thaw at room temperature in about 30 minutes.
They round out a cookie box next to eggnog snickerdoodles, dark chocolate crinkle cookies and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.
Questions About Cream Cheese Cookies
Can I skip chilling the dough?
Not really. Warm dough spreads into thin cookies; give it at least 1 hour, or 30 minutes in the freezer.
Do cream cheese cookies need to be refrigerated?
No. The small amount of cream cheese is baked into the dough, so they keep at room temperature for 4 days.
Can I use reduced-fat cream cheese?
You can, but the cookies spread more and taste less rich. Full-fat block cream cheese gives the best shape.
Can I make them as cutout cookies?
This dough is too soft to roll and cut. For cutouts, use a firmer sugar cookie dough.
Pin These Cookies
Save these cream cheese cookies to your cookie board, so the 1-hour chill and the 10-minute pull are there when you bake them again.
Cream Cheese Cookies
Soft cream cheese cookies with a tender, slightly tangy middle, pale cracked tops and a sparkly coat of sugar. Four ounces of full-fat block cream cheese replaces half the butter, so the cookies bake thick and stay soft for 4 days without frosting. Chill the dough for 1 hour so it holds its shape, roll the balls in sugar, and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, pulling them while the centers still look underdone. One bowl, 20 minutes of prep, 24 cookies.
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces (113 g) full-fat block cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
For rolling
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- CREAM: Beat the softened butter and cream cheese on medium for 1 minute until smooth. Add 1 cup sugar and beat 2 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- EGG: Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- DRY INGREDIENTS: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the bowl and mix on low just until no flour shows.
- CHILL: Cover and refrigerate the dough at least 1 hour. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- ROLL: Scoop 2 tablespoon (35 g) portions, roll into balls and roll each in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
- BAKE: Place 12 per parchment-lined sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops are matte with small cracks and the bottoms pale golden.
- COOL: Leave on the sheet 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack.
Notes
- Use soft, full-fat block cream cheese; tub cream cheese makes flat cookies.
- Spoon and level the flour (280 g); packed flour makes them dry.
- Chill the dough at least 1 hour (up to 3 days) so the cookies stay thick.
- Done: tops matte with small cracks, bottoms pale golden, centers still puffy. Cool 5 minutes on the sheet.
- Storage: airtight at room temperature 4 days; freeze dough balls 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 136Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 90mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 0gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g
