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These cream cheese cookies are the perfect tangy, sweet thumbprint cookie! Fill them with jam or even a peppermint candy! Cream cheese has the magical ability to turn anything it’s added to into creamy deliciousness. If you’re a fan of cookies, you absolutely need to try these old fashioned cream cheese cookies.
For some different cookie recipes, why not try some Thick & Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, or some Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Old Fashioned Cream Cheese Cookies
Cream cheese cookies are one of those things that are infinitely greater than the sum of its parts. Somehow, by combining butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and flour, you end up with a light, delicate, and yet somehow filling cookie that is entirely unique.
These cookies are best served completely cold and with a dollop of icing on each one. While it might be tempting to eat these straight out of the oven, they won’t taste anywhere near as good if they’re hot. Imagine the taste of a hot cheesecake, not something anyone wants!
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Cookies
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Icing sugar
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
How to Make Cream Cheese Cookies
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese
- Once completely mixed with no lumps, beat in the icing sugar one cup at a time until fluffy
- Beat in egg yolks and the extracts
- Whisk together your dry ingredients and add to the mixture, stirring until well blended
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes, then roll into 1-inch balls
- Make a thumb print in the cookie for the filling
- Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven
Filling Options
The best part of these cookies is the variety of fillings you can use. As you can see in the pictures in this post, we’ve done some with jam (always a good choice) and some with peppermint candies to add a bit more holiday look and feel to the cookie. Whatever you choose, as long as it can go with cream cheese (which a lot of stuff does) your limit is your imagination!
How to Know When They Are Done Baking?
Because of their pale color, they shouldn’t brown all over in the oven if you want them cooked perfectly. If you wait until they are dark and crispy, the insides will start to taste almost burnt. Instead, cook them until just the edges are slightly browned.
How to Frost Your Cream Cheese Cookies
While these cream cheese cookies are delicious on their own, they also go really well with any kind of icing.
A simple icing made from icing sugar and enough milk to reach a thin consistency is the easiest, but you can honestly make any kind of icing you want (my famous Buttercream Frosting works well). Add in different flavorings like vanilla or strawberry to make whatever flavors you prefer – the great thing about these cream cheese cookies is how well they hold up to extra flavors. See the recipes below!
Cookie Glaze Recipes
Any of these glazes will work! Mix and match your jam and your icing glaze to make the perfect combination!
I hope you like these as much as we did!
Happy Baking!
Karlynn
Old Fashioned Cream Cheese Cookies
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Courses
- Christmas Cookies, cookies, Dessert
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 24
- Calories
- 180
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese softened and room temp, even warm!
- 3 cups icing/powdered sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until the cream cheese has fully incorporated and there are no lumps. Making sure that your cream cheese is warm helps with this incorporation.
- Beat in the icing sugar, one cup at a time, until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg yolks, vanilla and almond extract.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir into the butter mixture until completely combined.
- Chill the dough in your refrigerator for 20-25 minutes.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on the cookie sheets.
- Make an indentation in the center of each cookie ball with your thumb, fill with jam or press a peppermint candy into the indentation.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes in your oven. The bottoms and sides should JUST be browned, no more.
- Remove the cookies and cool on the baking sheets, then remove to a wire baking rack to cool completely.
- Frost with your choice of icing if desired!
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Jeannine says
If I choose not to line my cookies sheets with parchment paper, do I need to grease them?