The Best Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

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Toss out all your other sugar cookie recipes because I’m going to share my recipe for the BEST cream cheese sugar cookies! This is by far the best tasting sugar cookie I’ve ever had.

It has the perfect amount of tanginess and moist fluffiness thanks to the cream cheese. It’s simply divine! It especially makes for good gifts or to take on picnics.

Star-shaped cream cheese sugar cookies on white plates sitting on a table draped with a navy blue tablecloth overlaid with a red and white striped tablecloth.

If you’ve never had cream cheese sugar cookies before, I want to encourage you to try these! Most sugar cookies are somewhat crunchy and, in my opinion, a little bit flavorless…even with the added sugar sprinkles or icing.

I love the tanginess and moist fluffiness that the cream cheese adds to these cookies. It’s a really great secret ingredient to spice up traditional sugar cookies!

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Recipe

If you have extra cream cheese sitting in your freezer, this is a delicious way to use it up.

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Ingredients

Ingredients for making cream cheese sugar cookies sitting on a counter including flour, sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, one egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract.

Flour – I prefer to use organic all-purpose flour, but any all-purpose flour will do.

Sugar – Any sugar will work for this recipe, but I prefer to use organic cane sugar.

Butter – Use good quality room-temperature butter.

Cream cheese – Use room-temperature cream cheese. If you make your own cream cheese, you can develop the tanginess to more or less tangy to suit your family’s taste preferences.

Salt – A good quality fine sea salt is best, but coarse salt also works. I prefer to use Redmond Real Salt.

Egg – You’ll need one room-temperature egg yolk for this recipe.

Vanilla extract – Use a good quality vanilla extract. It’s cheaper if you make your own vanilla extract, and I can show you how!

Almond extract – Use a good quality almond extract.

Star-shaped cream cheese sugar cookies on white plates sitting on a table draped with a red and white striped tablecloth.

Tools you may need

Electric mixer (or you can mix the dough by hand)

Large bowl

Measuring cups and spoons

Bench scraper

French rolling pin

Embossing rolling pin (optional)

Cookie sheet

Parchment paper

Plastic wrap

Cutting board (optional)

Cookie cutters

How to Make Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

This recipe makes 16 good-size cream cheese sugar cookies but the recipe doubles easily if you want to make cookies for a crowd.

Make and refrigerate the cream cheese sugar cookie dough.

First, mix together the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, vanilla extract, almond extract, and egg yolk. Make sure your dough is blended well. Then add your flour and mix well.

Use your bowl scraper to scrape out your dough onto some plastic wrap.

Cream cheese sugar cookie dough on plastic wrap sitting on a counter.

Wrap up your dough tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours.

If your kids have a tradition of licking the beaters after making cookie dough, they probably won’t enjoy this batter very much. The cream cheese and almond extract are pretty powerful.

But don’t worry! After these cookies are baked, the flavors really blend and mellow out. It’s just really strong before they go into the oven.

Cream cheese sugar cookie dough wrapped in plastic wrap.

Roll out your cookie dough.

After at least two hours, lightly flour your kitchen counter or a wooden cutting board.

Take your dough out of the plastic wrap, cut it in half, and refrigerate half while you work with the other half. Then, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).

Cream cheese sugar cookie dough cut in half on a floured wooden cutting board.

Your cold dough will be hard at first. Using your floured rolling pin, push down on the dough until you can start rolling it out on your floured counter or cutting board.

Try to get the dough to be about 1/4 inch thick.

If you will also be adding a design to the cookies by using an embossing rolling pin, lightly flour the top of your rolled out dough, and roll the embossing rolling pin over the top of your dough while pressing slightly.

This is best done on very cold dough. Once the dough starts to warm up, it may start to get stuck inside the designs of the rolling pin. Having toothpicks nearby may come in handy…ahem.

Cream cheese sugar cookie dough rolled out onto a floured cutting board, and embossed with an embossing rolling pin.

Cut out your cookies using cookie cutters.

Dip your cookie cutter into some flour and start cutting out your shapes.

If your dough starts to stick to the counter or your cutting board, scrape your bench scraper under the cookie to lift it up.

Star-shaped cream cheese cookies on a lightly floured wood cutting board.

Bake your cookies.

Place your cookie shapes onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Sprinkle the cookies with sugar if you want to add some extra sweetness.

Woman sprinkling sugar on to star-shaped cream cheese sugar cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 7-10 minutes (depending on cookie size and thickness) until the edge of the cookies are only barely browned.

You want the center of these cookies to be soft and fluffy…not hard hockey pucks.

Let your cookies cool down on separate parchment paper, wax paper, or a cooling rack.

Repeat the process.

Then gather your dough scraps together, roll it out, and cut out more cookie shapes.

Your dough will start to get warm and sticky, so you’ll need to keep adding flour to your cutting board (or counter) and your rolling pin as you work through your dough.

Use your bench scraper as necessary to scrape up sticky dough.

Once your first half of the dough is used, you can start on the second half that’s been in your refrigerator.

You can also freeze your dough…especially if you started with a double portion of the recipe. Just make sure it’s sealed in an air-tight container in your freezer.

Lightly browned cream cheese sugar cookies in star shapes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Icing Options

These sugar cookies have a great taste even when they’re plain. They also taste delicious when they have sugar sprinkles on top, or when they’re iced with cream cheese icing or other icing.

Let your family decide and do what you enjoy. Part of the fun is decorating the cookies together!

Christmas Cookies

Christmas stocking cream cheese sugar cookies sprinkled with red and green sugar sprinkles. They are on a clear glass platter on a table draped with a snowflake tablecloth.

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. I love being with my family and making happy memories more than anything else.

And since we love to eat really good food, making cookies is a beloved tradition in our home. I especially love making these cream cheese sugar cookies with my girls and having them help me decorate them. It’s such a special time to make memories along with baking delicious cookies.

To make these cream cheese sugar cookies into Christmas cookies, use festive cookie cutters like these Christmas cookie cutters that are made in the USA from steel. Just be sure to dry them very well after washing them or else they might start to rust on you.

Patriotic Cookies

Embossed, star-shaped cream cheese sugar cookies on a table with a red, white, and blue tablecloth.

You can emboss and cut out your cream cheese sugar cookies using fun, patriotic cookie cutters.

These patriotic cookie cutters are perfect for Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Veterans Day.

How to Store Your Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Eat these cookies within three days if you keep them on your counter. I like to keep them in a sealed container after they have cooled down completely. The cookies won’t dry out if they’re stored this way. Alternatively, you can refrigerate or freeze your cookies for later.

We usually make a variety of cookies before Christmas and save the best ones we want Santa to have in freezer bags in the freezer. I’m sure Santa appreciates this.

Recipe Card for Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Throw out all your other sugar cookie recipes because these cream cheese sugar cookies will be your new favorite! The cream cheese adds tanginess and moist fluffiness to each cookie.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Refrigerate Dough2 hours
Total Time2 hours 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cream cheese sugar cookies
Servings: 16 cookies
Author: Rebekah

Equipment

  • electric mixer (You can also mix by hand.)
  • bowl
  • measuring cups and spoons
  • bench/bowl scraper
  • Rolling Pin
  • cookie sheet
  • plastic wrap
  • parchment paper
  • cookie cutter

Ingredients

  • 1 cup organic cane sugar
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, room-temperature
  • 3 ounces cream cheese, room-temperature
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 1 egg yolk, room-temperature
  • 2 cups flour
  • colored sugar sprinkles

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, vanilla extract, almond extract, and egg yolk until well blended. Then add in the flour.
  • Scrape out the dough onto plastic wrap, wrap it up tight, and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.
  • Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly flour your kitchen counter or a wood cutting board. Unwrap your cold dough, chop it in half with your bench scraper, and put half of the dough back in the plastic wrap to store in the refrigerator. Work with just one half of the dough at a time.
  • The dough will be firm at first but use your floured rolling pin to roll the dough out until it's about 1/4 inches thick.
  • Cut out shapes with your lightly floured cookie cutter. Place shapes on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and decorate with sprinkles.
  • Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 7-10 minutes (depending on cookie size and thickness) until the edge of the cookies are only barely browned.
  • Gather the leftover dough and repeat the process of rolling it out and cutting shapes to make cream cheese sugar cookies with the remaining dough. (Tip: Use your bench scraper to scrape up the shapes if they stick on your counter or cutting board.) After using the first half of the dough, get the rest of the dough out of the refrigerator and make more sugar cookies.

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French rolling pin

embossed rolling pin

bench/bowl scraper

11-piece steel Christmas cookie cutter set, made in USA

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Embossed, star shaped cream cheese sugar cookies on white plates sitting on a table with a red and white striped tablecloth. The title is "Recipe: Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies" by Rivers Family Farm.

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10 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I don’t think I’ve ever made cream cheese sugar cookies, but it sounds amazing. I will have to give it a try this year with my kids!

  2. 5 stars
    My wife’s relationship with Christmas has always been complicated. She isn’t in to the decorating as much but is starting to develop excitement over the skills and special types of food to make. I’ll show her this recipe and see if it peaks her interest