Recipe Database
Cream Cheese Cookies
Rachael's sister Maria – the baker in the family! – has shared this cookie recipe with us. "This is one of my six or seven standard Christmas season batters that I keep in my refrigerator for the month of December," says Maria. "You can make this dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to three weeks. Then you just take out what you need from the different batters and you've got a freshly baked cookie assortment each week!"
Note: You will need a cookie gun/press; these are pressed cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 pound salted butter, softened
- 1 package cream cheese (6 ounces), softened, not whipped
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven to 400°F and place the oven racks in their lowest positions.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer on low speed, combine the butter and cream cheese. Add the sugar until combined, then add the vanilla until combined, then add the flour, 1 cup at a time until combined, always on low speed; scrape the bowl often.
Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Fill a cookie gun/press tube with the dough and press the dough into cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet. After you press out the cookies, you can add decorations, such as sugar crystal sprinkles, to the cookies before baking.
Bake for 5-7 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cookies. The shape used in the cookie press will determine the thickness of the cookies. Watch the cookies carefully, as they burn fast – the cookies will be done when they are just beginning to lightly brown at the edges, but will look white (almost undercooked) on top. They are done at this point; if you bake them any longer they will dry out.
Once the cookies are done, remove them immediately to a cooling rack. Clean the baking sheet before using for a second batch.
