Cream cheese sugar cookies are soft and tender sugar cookies with a slight tang from the addition of cream cheese. They're rolled in sugar before baking to create a crunchy crust.
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Soft and sweet sugar cookies have a slight tang from the addition of cream cheese and are rolled in sugar to create a crunchy sugar crust.
Yield: 36 cookies
Similar to: Soft Sugar Cookies and Cut Out Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter - The listed unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter.
- Cream cheese - Full-fat block-style cream cheese is necessary for this recipe.
- Vanilla extract - Can be substituted with other extracts like lemon, maple, or peppermint for a different cookie flavor. I recommend cutting other extract flavors in half for best results.
How to make cream cheese sugar cookies
- Use a hand mixer to cream the wet ingredients together. Whisk together the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Use a medium 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion dough into balls, then roll in granulated sugar.
- Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake until the tops begin to crack and cookies look set.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Tips and tricks
Room temperature ingredients - It's very important to use room temperature ingredients for a few reasons. Room temperature ingredients incorporate together seamlessly to create a smooth, even dough. An even dough (without flecks of butter or egg) helps create perfect cookies. Creaming together the butter and sugar helps create lift in your cookies when they bake.
To bring butter and cream cheese to room temperature quickly - Unwrap both ingredients and slice into thin pieces. Leave them out at room temperature for up to 30 minutes, or until soft but not greasy.
To bring eggs to room temperature quickly - Place whole eggs in a bowl and cover with very warm tap water. Eggs come to room temperature in about 10 minutes using this method.
Frequently asked questions
Store your cookies at room temperature, not the refrigerator. Add a slice of bread to the container. The bread adds moisture to the container, drying out the bread instead of the cookies. Serve homemade cookies within a day for best moisture and texture.
Yes. Omit the sugar for rolling and bake the cookies as directed below. Allow them to cool completely, then spread frosting on top. Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting would be a great choice!
No, these cookies are safe to keep at room temperature. The baking process makes these cookies shelf stable. Refrigeration is only necessary if a topping is added with perishable dairy and/or fresh fruit.
The dough may be too cold or too much flour was added to the dough. If you've refrigerated the dough, bring it to room temperature before baking. Alternatively, use the bottom of a flour-dusted glass to gently press dough balls flat before baking to help them spread.
Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing to hydrate your dough. Cookie dough should look thick and barely sticky when room temperature, not dry or crumbly.
This can happen if you've greased your cookie sheet instead of using parchment or substituted ingredients that affect the spread of your cookies when baking. Try refrigerating your dough for 30 minutes. This firms up the dough and helps it spread less.
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📖 Recipe
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 ounces (113 g) block-style cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour, *measured properly
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add room temperature butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until fully incorporated and fluffy, about a minute.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture (or use a mixer on low speed) until just combined.
- Scoop dough using a medium cookie scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 tablespoon balls. Gently roll dough balls in granulated sugar.
- Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet. As is, dough balls bake into thick, rounded top cookies (as shown in photos). Optionally, flatten balls slightly using your hands or the bottom of a glass dusted with flour. This creates a flatter top and helps cookies spread more.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until tops begin to crack and cookies feel set when gently pressed on top. Allow to cool until for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- * How to measure flour properly: For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
- Storing dough: Cookie dough will keep in refrigerator for 2-3 days or up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Storing cookies: Cookies will keep for up to 5 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature or in the freezer for 3 months. Add a slice of bread to the cookie container to help keep cookies moist. Replace as needed (bread will dry out).
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!