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Perfect Sugar Cookies | Sugar Cookie Recipe | This is the only sugar cookie recipe you'll need! Perfectly soft-baked, thick, chewy, and so creamy thanks to the surprise ingredient - cream cheese! Topped with a sweet & simple powdered sugar frosting. Change up the sprinkles for all different Holidays! #sugarcookies #cookierecipes #dessertrecipes #recipeoftheday
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Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

The best Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies are perfectly soft-baked, thick, chewy, and so creamy thanks to the surprise ingredient - cream cheese! Topped with a sweet & simple powdered sugar frosting. Change up the sprinkles for all different Holidays!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword sugar cookie recipe, sugar cookies, sugar cookies with cream cheese
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 24 cookies
Calories 279kcal
Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies

  • 12 tablespoons salted butter softened
  • 1 bar (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Frosting

  • 5 tablespoons salted butter softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • sprinkles and food coloring

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 375°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or use the bowl of stand mixer, add butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, egg, and almond extract. Blend together until it's pale in color and fluffy. About 1-2 minutes. 
  • In a separate small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk to break up the clumps.
  • Add half the flour into the creamed mixture and blend on low speed. Add the other half and blend on low speed just until combined. The dough will be really soft, and sticky, but should form a ball of dough in the bowl.
    * Don't add more flour here if the dough seems sticky. When you roll out the dough in the next step you will add some additional flour.
  • Spray countertop with cooking spray and then sprinkle flour over it. This helps with clean-up and prevents the dough from sticking to the counter. Roll out dough and use whatever cookie cutter shape you want. 
    ** Take care to not roll the dough too thin. You want it thick but not too thick. Use additional flour as needed to make the dough roll out and the cookies come off the counter easily. I use about 1/3 cup additional flour when I am rolling and cutting the cookie dough. 
  • Place 12 cookies per cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.
    The cookies should still be very pale and should have no golden brown color on them. The middle of the cookies should look dry, not wet, and be puffy. 
  • Let cool on the cookie sheet for about 15 minutes. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Frost and decorate with sprinkles once completely cooled. 

Make the Frosting

  • Combine the butter, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, and extract in a mixing bowl. Beat together until it's combined. Add more milk if the mixture is too thick and/or add more powdered sugar if the frosting is too thin. 

Video

Notes

Cream Cheese : Make sure the cream is softened to avoid lumps in your cookie dough. Place the unwrapped cream cheese onto a microwave-safe plate and cook for about 30 seconds to soften it up nicely. Use the real, full fat cream cheese for best taste and texture.
Heavy Whipping Cream : DO NOT substitute this. I mean, of course you can, but the frosting will not be as rich and creamy without the heavy whipping cream. 
Butter : You can use unsalted butter if that's what you have or what you're used to baking with. I would maybe add some additional salt if using unsalted butter (like 1/4 teaspoon or so). 12 tablespoons butter is equal to 1 + 1/2 sticks of butter. 

Nutrition

Calories: 279kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 422IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg