Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Recipe

image of cute cream cheese sugar cookies that have been decorated with royal icing

4.90 from 19 rating

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Recipe

This cream cheese sugar cookie recipe is one of my all-time favorites! The cookies bake up deliciously soft and chewy and are decorated with my signature almond royal icing. It's an incredibly versatile recipe that can be used to make just about any cookie! I've used it as the base recipe for everything from my mini conversation heart cookies to my turkey sugar cookies.

Prep Time30

Cook Time14

Additional Time2

Total Time2 44

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24 3-inch cookies

Calories: 260kcal

Author: Chelsey White

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 170g
1/2 cup or 4 oz. full fat cream cheese, room temp 113g
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 300g
1 large egg, room temperature 56g
2 tsp almond extract, optional 8g
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 8g
3 cups all-purpose flour 390g
1 Tbsp cornstarch 8g
1 tsp fine salt 6g
1/2 tsp baking powder 2g

Royal Icing (adapted from Wilton)

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 454g or a 1 lb. box
3 Tbsp meringue powder 28g
1/4 cup water, room temp 60g
2 Tbsp vanilla or almond extract 24g
Additional water to bring to a flooding consistency
Yellow, Orange, Pink, Purple, Blue, and Green gel food coloring

Additional Supplies

Hand mixer or stand mixer
Parchment paper or 2 silicone baking mats
2 large baking sheets
[2- or 3-inch cookie cutter]
Small piping bags for the royal icing

Instructions

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 3/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup cream cheese on medium speed with a hand mixer or whisk attachment until smooth.
Next, add 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and mix on a medium-high speed for a couple of minutes, until the mixture becomes lighter in color.
Add in 1 egg, 2 tsp almond extract (optional), and 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Mix on a medium speed until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour (use a scale or fluff the flour in the bag, then spoon it into the measuring cup and level it), 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp fine salt, and 1/2 tsp baking powder.
Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture on a low speed until it is JUST incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula between additions.
At this point, the dough should still be pretty thick and sticky. Divide the dough in half and wrap each portion of dough in a piece of plastic wrap. I like to flatten the dough out into a rectangle that's about 1/2 inch thick to make it easier to roll out once it's chilled.
Chill the dough in the fridge for about 2 hours or in the freezer for 30 minutes. It can also be chilled overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 175 C for about 30 minutes before you plan to roll out the dough, and line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
Take one piece of dough out of the fridge, leaving the other in there to continue to chill. If you put the cookie dough in the freezer, let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften up a bit before trying to roll it out. Unwrap the cookie dough and lay the plastic wrap out flat on your counter. We will be rolling out the cookie dough on the plastic wrap to make cleanup a breeze and make cutting out the cookies easier. Dust both sides of the cookie dough and your rolling pin with flour.
Roll the chilled dough to be 1/3 inch thick (these rolling pin rings help a ton with getting a consistent thickness) and use a 2- or 3-inch cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as you can. The cookies don't spread much as they bake, so you can place them about 1/2 inch apart.
Chill the cut-out cookies one more time in the fridge for 15 minutes or the freezer for 5 minutes to help them keep their shape as they bake.
Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for about 10 minutes on the middle rack of your oven (bake time can vary based on the cookies' size and the dough's thickness). Keep a close eye on the cookies and be sure to pull them out before the edges start to brown.
Let the baked cookies cool on the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
While the first batch bakes and cools, knead together the cookie dough scraps and rewrap them in plastic wrap. Pop them back in the fridge to chill.
Pull out the 2nd chilled portion of dough and repeat steps 9-11. Then repeat with the chilled dough scraps.

Royal Icing

While the cookies cool, make the royal icing. This can be made a few hours in advance or potentially the night before, but the icing can separate as it sits, so I don't recommend making it any further ahead of time.
Whisk together 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and 3 Tbsp of meringue powder in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbsp almond or vanilla extract (I prefer using almond extract). Mix on a low speed with a stand mixer and paddle attachment or hand mixer to incorporate the liquid, then increase to a medium speed and mix until stiff peaks form (see picture above). It's ok to stop the mixer and check the stiffness - I usually check a few times before it's ready. This usually takes me about 3 minutes with a hand mixer or 2 minutes with a stand mixer. Scrape around the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure everything is properly mixed together.
Next, mix in additional water 1 Tbsp at a time until a soft peak consistency is reached. I used about 2 Tbsp of water, but it can vary from batch to batch. To test the consistency, dip the spatula into the icing and focus on the way it curls at the end of the spatula. It should curl back onto itself but still be able to keep its shape (see picture in post above). This is the consistency I use to outline cookies and pipe on details like eyes.
Then, it's time to thin and color the icing. You should have roughly 18 ounces of icing. Figuring out how much of each color and which consistencies you need can take a bit of guesswork, but you should have some leftover icing, which gives you a bit of leeway. A starting point is to see how many colors you need, then divide 18 oz. by that number. Then you can factor in things like how much you'll need to flood the entire cookie (maybe you need more of your base color), if you need soft peak/outline consistency in every color, and if you need any other consistencies like thick flood. For example, you might only need 1 oz. of black icing in the soft peak consistency to pipe on eyes and/or a mouth.
For each color, I usually scoop the total amount of icing I need into a separate bowl, then color it with gel food coloring while it's in the soft peak stage. Then, scoop 1 oz. of the colored soft peak consistency icing into a small piping bag, seal the top, and set it aside. This will be used to outline the sections of the cookie that will be flooded.
Then, I thin the remaining icing in that color by adding water, 1/2 tsp at a time, until the icing reaches flood consistency. To test the consistency, the icing should be able to run off the spatula in a thick stream, and you should be able to draw a figure 8 with the run-off icing. It should settle back into the bowl of icing within 8 seconds. Once the icing is thinned to this consistency, pour it into a piping bag and seal the top. Set aside. Repeat with the remaining icing to make the colors needed for your cookie design.

Decorating These Sugar Cookies

When you're ready to decorate the cookies, cut the tips of the piping bags to create a very small opening (1-2 millimeters). You can always cut the opening wider, but you can't make it smaller once you cut it. I find it's a lot easier to control the icing as you decorate the cookies if you have a small opening.
Outline the cookies with the soft peak consistency icing and let them dry for 5-10 minutes before flooding the cookies with the flood consistency icing, as shown in the pictures above or in this tutorial video.
Let the initial layer of icing firm up before adding on the next layer of icing or the fine line details with the soft peak consistency icing (unless you are using a wet-on-wet technique).
Then, let the cookies dry for a few hours or overnight until the icing is firm to the touch. These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Notes

Substitutions and Swaps

Please refer to the substitutions and swaps section in the post above for all the ingredient variations that can be used in this recipe.

How Many Cookies Does This Recipe Make?

This recipe can be used to make about 24 3-inch cookies. The yield and bake time will vary based on the size of the cookie cutter(s) you use and the thickness of the dough.

This recipe can be halved to make fewer cookies (use half a scrambled egg in the dough), but I don't recommend doubling it unless you have a commercial (8 qt.) stand mixer.

Making These Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies in Advance and Storage Tips

You can store decorated cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature or for up to 3 months in the freezer.

If you want to stack the cookies on top of one another, I recommend adding a layer of parchment paper between them.

This cookie dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container. I like to move the cookie dough to the fridge the night before I plan to roll it out and bake the cookies.

Baked, un-iced cookies can also be frozen! These cookies last for up to a month if frozen in an airtight container. I recommend waiting to decorate them until they’ve thawed to room temperature.

Move them to the fridge the day before you plan to eat them, then let them sit out at room temperature for a few hours before icing them.

Tips for Making the Best Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Really cream together the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar in the first step of this recipe. It helps incorporate air into the dough, which makes fluffy and soft cookies.
Don’t overwork the cookie dough! It can overwork the gluten and result in tough, dense cookies.
Roll the cookie dough out to a consistent thickness of 1/3 inch. If some are thicker or thinner than others, they may over- or under-bake in the oven.
Take the time to chill the cookie dough. It helps prevent your cookies from spreading while they bake and helps them bake up with a soft texture.
Don’t overbake your cookies. Err on the side of underbaking your cookies, and remember that the cookies continue to bake for a few minutes once they’re out of the oven.

Avoid leaving the icing uncovered for long periods of time, or it will crust! Either immediately place it in piping bags or cover it with plastic wrap.
Make and color the icing right before you plan to decorate the cookies. Otherwise, the icing can separate.

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