These Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies maintain their form superbly for adorning, but style ok to serve plain. Cream cheese provides a slight tang and retains the facilities comfortable and tender with frivolously golden edges.
It’s a little bit of a departure for me to function un-iced or minimally adorned cut-out cookies right here on the weblog. As somebody who spends plenty of time working with royal icing, I can get utterly misplaced in an elaborate adorning scheme (right here’s proof). Nonetheless, there are some cutouts that actually ship within the taste division, like these Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies. They’re enriched with plenty of butter and cream cheese, which provides each taste and texture a lift. I truly desire to eat them like my favourite shortbread: plain with a cup of espresso.
Don’t get me fallacious – these cookies bake up clean with even surfaces, so that they’re excellent for adorning with flood royal icing. However if you happen to’re in a time crunch, stamp the dough with cute cookie cutter shapes, bake till golden on the edges, and name it a day.
The Cutest Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies
For me, Valentine’s Day has by no means been about celebrating simply romantic love. It’s for additionally letting your grandma, bestie, or neighbor know that you simply care about them. This impressed me to make what I name Sweetheart Silhouette Cookies (people-shaped), however I didn’t have the fitting cookie cutters.
So! I freehanded some determine templates on heavy card inventory (and you may too!). These figures could be paired or grouped in any mixture to characterize you because the giver with the recipient(s). I feel they’re fairly cute. And so they remind me the tiniest bit of Marc Chagall‘s flying figurative work. Right here’s a hyperlink to the template, and the directions for slicing them out are within the recipe notes.
Make the Cream Cheese Cutout Cookie Dough
First, cream the butter and cream cheese collectively till the combination seems mild and fluffy. Subsequent, add the granulated sugar and beat till clean and absolutely included.
Then, combine within the egg and vanilla extract. The dough ought to look creamy and cohesive at this stage.
In the meantime, whisk collectively the flour, baking powder, and positive sea salt in a separate bowl. Add the dry substances to the mixer and mix on low pace simply till mixed. Keep away from overmixing – you desire a comfortable dough that rolls superbly and bakes up tender (not powerful!).
Chill the Cream Cheese Dough earlier than Chopping
Lastly, collect the dough right into a ball and flatten it right into a disk. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to forestall drying. Now, refrigerate the cream cheese cookie dough for a minimum of 4 hours, however in a single day is even higher. Chilling relaxes the gluten, corporations the butter, and deepens the flavour. Because of this, your cutout cookies will maintain their form and bake with crisp, outlined edges.
As soon as completely chilled, frivolously flour your work floor and rolling pin. Unwrap the dough and lower it in half, returning one portion to the fridge to maintain it chilly.
Roll the dough to 1/2-inch thickness. This barely thicker roll offers these cream cheese sugar cookies their comfortable inside. I examined these at each 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch thickness, and the thicker roll persistently produced softer facilities with out sacrificing golden, crisp edges.
For those who’re utilizing my hand-drawn templates (hyperlink), place the cardstock template over the dough and punctiliously lower round it utilizing a pointy knife or kitchen-dedicated X-acto knife. Alternatively, use floured cookie cutters for traditional shapes. Switch the cutouts to parchment-lined baking sheets.
Chill the Cutouts then Bake
Earlier than baking, chill the formed cookies for 10 minutes within the fridge (or 5 minutes within the freezer). This fast second chill corporations the butter once more and ensures the cleanest edges. That is particularly necessary for detailed templates or extra intricate stamped designs.
Bake the cookies at 350°F for 12–quarter-hour, relying on measurement. Three-inch cookies bake in about 12 minutes. Search for frivolously golden edges and pale, matte facilities. That’s your cue they’re achieved.
String Cutouts Along with Fairly Ribbon
Whereas the cookies are nonetheless sizzling from the oven, use a plastic ingesting straw to poke holes within the tops (head space) of the cookies. After the cookies agency up, you’ll be able to string two or extra of them collectively for gifting. I had some coronary heart confetti sprinkles available, so I used them as a minimalist ornament. To do that, simply dab the backs of the hearts with mild corn syrup or honey and fasten to the cookies.
The cream cheese on this recipe makes these cookies so tender. The extra fats content material and slight acidity makes offers them distinctive taste. It additionally provides further moisture which retains the cookies comfortable. (Will I ever make common sugar cookies once more? Good query!)
There’s one thing significant about shaping dough into a well-recognized define – a determine that stands in for somebody you care about. These cream cheese cutout cookies aren’t elaborate or fussy. They’re easy and meant to be shared. Bake a pair to your associate. Tie two collectively to your grandmother. Depart one on a neighbor’s porch with a be aware. I feel cookies are one of the best ways to point out you care.
Associated recipe: Coronary heart Formed Lofthouse Fashion Sugar Cookies
Cream Cheese Cutout Cookies
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baking sheets (2 or extra)
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parchment paper
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Rolling Pin
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Cookie cutters (3-inch)
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X-acto knife (optionally available, for templates)
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature(1 bundle)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 massive egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon positive sea salt
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Within the bowl of an electrical mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese collectively till mild and fluffy.
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Add the granulated sugar and beat till properly mixed, about 2 minutes. Combine within the egg and vanilla extract till included.
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In a separate bowl, whisk collectively the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry substances to the creamed combination. Combine on low pace till the flour is absolutely included, about 1 minute 30 seconds.
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Collect the dough right into a ball and pat right into a flat disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally in a single day.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Roll half of the chilled dough on a frivolously floured floor to 1/2-inch thickness. Maintain the remaining dough refrigerated. Reduce into shapes utilizing floured cookie cutters or templates.
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Switch shapes to ready baking sheets and chill for 10 minutes (or 5 minutes within the freezer).
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Bake for 12–quarter-hour, relying on measurement. Three-inch cookies bake in about 12 minutes.
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Cookies are achieved when edges are frivolously golden and facilities seem pale and matte. Switch to a wire rack and funky utterly earlier than adorning, or serve plain.
