These Cream Cheese Cut Out Sugar Cookies are my favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe. The cream cheese gives these classic cookies a great flavor and helps keep them soft!
Cut Out Sugar Cookies are my kid’s favorites, I am sure this isn’t exclusive to my house. Sure they like to eat them, but the decoration part is what they love the best…that is until they have iced and sprinkled 3 cookies each and then they’re over it, leaving me with a good 30 cookies to decorate on my own. Yeah, every year.
This year I’m switching up the usual cookie game we play. First I’m making this cream cheese cut out sugar cookies recipe. PLUS I’m making fluffy frosting to spread on the cookies. No piping bags this year, no little metal balls on the cookie that crack out fillings…nope, none of it. Plus, we all know fluffy frosting > royal icing. It’s a no brainer.
This is such a fantastic cut out sugar cookie recipe because it includes the addition of cream cheese. The cream cheese adds delicious flavor to the cookie, and also helps keep them soft. But they totally hold shape when cutting them out with cutters. It might be the perfect recipe!
Besides the cream cheese, another secret to this recipe is the use of just egg yolks…this adds to the richness of the batter!
Once you make the dough and chill it, you can go ahead and roll it out. I like thick cookies, so I roll it to about a 1/2 inch thick.
You can use simple circle cutters…
Or get fancy for the holidays!
Just bake them up until they are lightly golden at the edges and let them cool before icing.
Again, I topped mine with a fluffy and creamy Cream Cheese Frosting, but if you want to get detailed here is the recipe for my royal icing!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 36 large cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Cream Cheese Cut Out Sugar Cookies are my favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe. The cream cheese gives these classic cookies a great flavor and helps keep them soft!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 1/4 cups flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 ounces butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In bowl of stand mixer beat cream cheese and butter until creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping sides as necessary.
- Add sugar and beat for an additional 3 minutes. Mixture should be fluffy and pale in color. Turn mixer to medium-low and add in egg yolks, vanilla and salt and mix until combined.
- Finally turn mixer to low and slowly add in flour. Mix just until all flour is incorporated.
- Chill dough for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove dough from fridge and in portions, roll dough to 1/2 inch thick on a floured surface. Using cookie cutters cut dough and place onto prepared baking sheet. Cookies won’t spread too much.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on how large the cookies you are baking are.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
Frosting
- Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar and turn the mixer up to medium high and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Color with food coloring if desired.
Notes
Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to a week. Or freeze for up to a month.
Store frosting refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 293
- Sugar: 19.7 g
- Sodium: 68.4 mg
- Fat: 16.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.9 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
- Cholesterol: 53.8 mg
Love this recipe, thanks! gives the touch of softness I’ve always wanted in a sugar cookie. Rolls out perfect and doesn’t expand. How would I change the rerecipe to make chocolate cut outs? Cut out how much flour vs cocoa powder?? Any ideas??
I read this post last week and saved the recipe for trying it. I have a cutout recipe that I do love, but this just sounded like it was created to be delicious! I want to try some more intricate cookie cutters and see what it tastes like with my royal icing I make. just wanted to thank you for sharing the recipe! I’ll let ya know how it all goes! they certainly look YUMMY!
My friend and I did a marathon baking session this year and we made these sugar cookies and they were delicious!! I don’t usually like sugar cookies, but these are definitely an exception! I will be making these for Valentine’s day and St. Patrick’s day for my niece and grandson, and my co workers!!
Hi…I noticed this in a post earlier, but not a reply….can we use whole eggs instead of egg yolks?? Thanks – Can’t wait to try!! 🙂
I wouldn’t recommend that, no.
I made this today and they were delicious! I used a little hazelnut instead of almond. Yum!
Tina
Cheftini.com
Oh Em Gee!
These were amazing. We decided to bake some Christmas cookies today (lat,I know lol) and I am hooked. I made half and now I’m regretingnit because I know we will crave for more. Thi is the best recipe I have found for cookies on Pinterest. Thank you so much!!! I’ll be featuring you in my next post. Will post my cookies in the photos biit the link back to this page for the recipe 🙂
Hi Shelly – I made the dough last Saturday and tried to bake yesterday. The dough was extremely sticky. I finally got one onto the cookie sheet and into the oven. The cookie completely spread out and turned into a blob. I made a really large amount of dough. Is there anything that I can do to try to rescue the dough? I’ve tried freezing the dough before rolling, and also tried working a bit of flour into the small ball of dough that I’m working with. Neither of these techniques have worked. Would appreciate any suggestions. Do you think I need for flour or some baking powder? The dough tastes fabulous – just wish I could get some cookies out of it! Thank you & Merry Christmas!
You could add more flour, 1/4 cup at a time…so strange that you had that experience!
These were tasty and fun to make with the kids. The frosting definitely makes them just about perfect!
I made these and they are delicious! I frosted them and decorated with sprinkles, to store them I placed parchment between layers. The cream cheese frosting compliments these perfectly. Also, I did make my dough a day ahead and took out of the fridge two hours before rolling and cutting the cookies. I found the dough did get soft so work quickly. But overall I am very happy with my results, thanks for sharing!
I’ve never made sugar cookies before, except the refrigerated store bought “tootsie roll” dough as my 2 1/2 year old calls it… more time consuming than I’m used to, but absolutely 100% worth it! I made 5 dozen + 3 cookies, then gave up and made a 7″ cookie with my leftover dough! I might have made them 1/4″ but they are still perfectly lovely! Thank you! Merry Christmas!
I have been using your recipe for YEARS!! Absolutely love this recipe! It has totally made me like sugar cookies because well, they don’t taste like sugar cookies (you know, overly sweet, crumbly and hard). I use this recipe for Valentine’s, Spring, Halloween, Christmas and other special occasions. I’m like you, tired of the piping bags and sprinkles but I just can’t help myself! This recipe makes so much and my hands are numb by the end but so worth it when my family and friends rave about how great they are. Thank you so so much for an amazing recipe that I will use forever!
So glad you like the recipe!! I really think it’s the best!