Easy cream cheese cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Super soft cookies that melt in your mouth. Slightly tangy with vanilla and almond flavor.
If you have never had these cookies, then it's time to get baking! You are really missing out! These are the perfect combination of sweet and tangy, and oh so soft. They are just as delicious as these Black and White Cookies (Half Moon Cookies) and these Snowball Cookies (Wedding Cookies).
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How To Make Cream Cheese Cookies Recipe From Scratch?
- Mix butter and cream cheese- Until smooth.
- Add sugar, egg, vanilla extract, almond extract- And mix until combined.
- In another mixing bowl- Whisk together flour and baking powder.
- Dump dry mixture into wet mixture- And mix until combined.
- Chill dough- In fridge.
- Roll balls- And place them on a cookie tray.
- Bake- Until edges are golden brown but centers are still slightly soft.
- Enjoy- Sprinkle powdered sugar on top when they cool down and dig in!
Variations For Cream Cheese Cookies
Cream cheese chocolate chip cookies- Mix in some mini chocolate chips.
Lemon cream cheese cookies- Add a little lemon zest or lemon juice or lemon extract or all three.
Red velvet cookies- Add some cocoa powder and red food coloring for a red velvet version.
Oreo cookies- Break Oreo cookies into small pieces and fold into the dough.
Snickerdoodle cookies- Roll the dough balls in a cinnamon sugar mixture, prior to baking.
Add crushed candy canes- Drizzle melted white chocolate on top of the cookies and sprinkle crushed candies.
Add cranberries- Mix in some chopped up dried cranberries to compliment the tangy cream cheese.
Key lime cookies- Add key lime zest and juice for a delicious flavor.
Add an icing- Such as Royal icing or Glace Icing once the cookies are cooled completely.
Add spices- Such as cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, clove powder or pumpkin pie spice. This would make them great for Thanksgiving and Fall.
Tips And Techniques
Don't press the cookies- Keep them ball shaped. They are supposed to be round and fluffy. They don't spread too much while baking.
Don't over-bake them- This dries them out and they lose their "melt in you mouth" texture.
Dough is sticky- Chill dough to make it easier to handle. If it's still too sticky to make ball shapes, dampen your hands to help or chill for a bit longer.
How do I know when cookies are done baking and ready? They are typically done when edges are golden brown but centers are still slightly soft.
How much is 4 oz of cream cheese? Cream cheese blocks are usually 8 0z. Therefore, you will only need half of the block for this recipe.
Do cookies made with cream cheese need to be refrigerated? No, since they only have a small amount of cream cheese and they are baked, they do not require refrigeration. You can refrigerate them if you like though.
Cream cheese substitute- For this recipe there is no good substitute. Thus, the name of the cookies.
How far ahead can I make the dough? You can make the dough up to 2 days prior to making the cookies. Make sure to keep it sealed and refrigerated.
Use unsalted butter- To prevent the cookies from becoming too salty.
How many cookies will this recipe make? This depends on how big you roll the balls of dough. My version made about 30 cookies, rolling small balls of dough.
Watch the quantity of almond extract- It's a very strong extract and a small amount goes a long way.
Use full fat cream cheese- Because it yields the richest cookies.
Storage
Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 5 days.
Room temperature- Store in a cookie jar for up to 3 days.
Freeze- Baked cookies can be stored in a sealed container or bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and then sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Don't freeze with powdered sugar topping.
More Cream Cheese Desserts
- Best Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
- Cheesecake Brownies {Cream Cheese Brownies}
- Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
- Best Cream Cheese Frosting (Use this as a topping on today's cookies to make them truly heavenly)
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Moist Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe
Cream Cheese Cookies
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Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
- 4 oz. Cream cheese Use only half the cheese from the 8 oz. package
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 Egg Lage
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon Almond extract Optional
- 1 ¾ cups All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 tablespoon Powdered sugar For sprinkling
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter, cream cheese and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Add sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add egg, vanilla extract, almond extract and mix until combined.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.
- Dump the dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
- Chill cookie dough in fridge for 1- 1.5 hours to make it easier to handle.
- Scoop out small portions of the dough and roll into balls. The dough is slightly sticky. If you dampen your hands, it makes it easier to roll balls.
- Place cookie balls on a baking tray, lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for about 10-11 minutes or until edges are golden brown but centers are still slightly soft.
- Remove from oven and let them cool in the baking tray.
- Once they cool completely, sprinkle powdered sugar on top and enjoy.
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for 3 days. They can also be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
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