Cream Cheese Cookies (Pillow Soft Cookies)
Cream cheese cookies are the most heavenly little bites of sweetness! They’re addicting; you’ve been warned! If you love cream cheese recipes, you will love this cream cheese dessert!
If you’re looking for cream cheese recipes and especially desserts with cream cheese, you’ve come to the right place.
Cream Cheese Cookies
If you have never tried cream cheese cookies, you’re in for a TREAT! Something magical happens when you add cream cheese to a cookie!
You get this soft, moist, chewy cookie that feels like you’re eating a cloud. They puff right up, and they’re addicting!
I “fussed” quite a bit with this cream cheese cookies recipe to make it absolutely perfect. First, it was too dry and we can’t have that. Second, it wasn’t fluffy enough.
Finally, I found the perfect combination of all of the ingredients! Let me let you in on a little secret, there are THREE secrets in these cookies. Three. Pay close attention.
The 3 Secrets to Cream Cheese Cookies
- The cream cheese. Naturally. It’s the “key” ingredient that makes these cookies so good! Don’t leave it out! Well, except out on your counter to come to room temperature before baking, of course. ;) I used Philadelphia brand, but any regular cream cheese should do just fine.
- Cake Flour. You can find in the regular flour section. I tend to buy Swans Down brand (red box). This is the key to making a soft cookie that feels like a cloud!
- Baking time! This will vary by a lot of factors for your oven from altitude to what type of pan you use but this trick will help you! Watch for the very edges of these cookies to begin turning a golden brown, then pull them!
Now that we have the two secrets out of the way, let’s get on with more tips and reasons why I love these cream cheese cookies.
Recipe Notes for Cream Cheese Cookies
These cream cheese cookies are not an overly sweet cookie so they do lend themselves to being glazed or iced.
You can also keep it simple and just dust with powdered sugar. You don’t even have to do that, but if you want an extra touch of sweetness, go for it. You only live once.
You’ll notice I used vanilla and almond extracts in these cream cheese cookies. This vanilla and almond flavor combination is my personal preference, but play around with your favorite extracts. Stick to all vanilla, all almond, add in a little lemon or even cinnamon. You can’t go wrong.
Keep in mind that the dough DOES need to be refrigerated for at least an hour, so plan ahead! It’s worth the wait!
My daughter helped me with this shoot, my little apprentice is home all summer. Not only did she help me bake these cream cheese cookies, but she stood over my shoulder to watch behind the camera so I could teach her about lighting and photography. She is also 4, so she was really doing all of this so she could get in on the “eating” action.
After we wrapped up the shoot, I let her frost some with buttercream frosting (and of course, her weight in sprinkles). I noticed that the flavor reminded me of the grocery store “Lofthouse Cookies”, do you know the ones I’m talking about?
Heavenly. These cream cheese cookies take just fine on their own, but we enjoyed the frosting! They are truly the best ever cream cheese cookies. We make these every Christmas too!
What readers are saying:
Since I first published this recipe (3 years ago!) – Pizzazzerie readers have absolutely loved it!
This cream cheese cookies recipe is one of the BEST cream cheese recipes I’ve made.
How to Store Cream Cheese Cookies:
The dough stores very well in the refrigerator so you can prep it a couple of days in advance if needed. For the baked cookies, I keep them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days! I hope you enjoy these as much as my family does.
I am already looking forward to the Christmas baking season so we can add these cream cheese cookies to the rotation this year!
Cream Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened - (1 stick)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 3/4 cup cake flour
Instructions
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Cream together butter and cream cheese with electric mixer.
- Add sugar and beat for 1 minute. Add egg and beat to combine. Add extracts and beat until combined. Add in baking powder and cake flour (in three sections), mixing to combine.
- Once incorporated, refrigerate dough for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dough is sticky so use flour on your hands to roll out 1-2 inch balls. You can use the bottom of a cup/glass dipped in flour to gently flatten the balls. Don't flatten too much or the cookies won't puff up.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. Important: Pull them out when you see the underside edges turning golden! This might vary for your oven and altitude. Watch these cookies carefully.
Notes
Nutrition
Find this cream cheese cookie recipe and more in my latest book, The Southern Entertainer’s Cookbook!
If you’re looking for even more dessert ideas, check out these other faves:
Post originally published June 5, 2018. Post updated, but same fabulous recipe!
How many eggs? They’re not in the list
Look again. 1 egg
about haw many cookies will this make
It made 34 cookies for me
My recipe made 19 medium cookies.
I just made this recipe and made 42 cookies, but on the smaller size, like a two bite.
Do you use salted or unsalted butter??
Either can be used, but I used unsalted-personal preference.
Made them today,,very very good!thank you,❤️
As a general rule, if a recipe just says “butter” it means salted. If unsalted is called for it will be specified. Salted buter is PERFECT in these. Also, most times if a recipe calls for unsalted butter, there will be a small amount of salt called for in it. Hope this helps!
Hello and thnks for your recipe , I made this cookies tonite and I made 24 delicious cookies.
Can food coloring be added to dough and you said the cookies last 3 days in an airtight container, wl it mold if a week goes by?
You could add food coloring, yes! As for mold, that’ll depend on the freshness of ingredients used, temperature of the room, etc. But it shouldn’t mold. I recommend enjoying them within a few days, however, for best taste.
I added a tablespoon of peanut butter.to my batter
Wow I’m an old guy ,new to baking
Is that a good idea?
Thanks Sal
I think these are my new favorite cookies! So light with the perfect soft and creamy inside and crisp bottom. I made it just as the recipe said and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Delicious! Thank you for sharing!!!
Alexandria…it’s gonna depend on your amount of dough. 1 batch will need 1 egg..2batches need 2 eggs…ect😘
For clarification, do we roll out the dough to 1-2 inches thickness or do we make balls out of the dough
Of course it is, is only one egg,dear.
It seems delicious! I pin it for later. Thanks for the recipe. :-)
Salted or unsalted butter??
I used unsalted butter
I used salted and they were great.
Can u use flour instead of cake flour?
I wouldn’t. It’s easy enough to make cake flour if you don’t have any. Take a cup of flour, minus 2 Tbsp. and in place of the 2 TBSP add 2 TBSP of cornstarch. Mix it well and you have cake flour.
Great tip! Thanks! Does it work well with hot cake flour like Aunt Jemima for example? Although your tip for cake flour is great! I really want to try them…. they look amazing
These cookies are amazing. Make a double batch if possible because they won’t last long! If there are other ingredients in the hot cake flour, it won’t work for these cookies, I don’t think. You need regular flour to make the cake flour with the cornstarch. I am making a double batch this morning and will hide half of them in the freezer to have some for Christmas. Everyone in my family loves these cookies.
I just made these and used regular flour. They were not sticky at all to roll and were still fluffy inside. Had a little fun and did some with coloured sprinkles, some with different coloured sugars. Looked colourful for an entertaining platter. Too bad you can’t post pictures here.
Does the recipe call for 3/4 cup flour only or 1cup AND 3/4 cup flour?
It’s 1 and 3/4 cup totally 1 3/4 cup flour. 1.75 cups flour.
I do & they come out just fine. :-)
I just shifted the regular flour. That’s what cake flour basically is
These sound delicious! Can you tell me about how many cookies this recipe makes?
Hi Patricia! I’ll have to remake to get an exact count, but I believe it was not quite 2 dozen. I love any excuse to make these, haha, so stay tuned!
Is it possible ro not use the egg?
Jazmyne, that would change the make-up of the batter and it might not create the same type of cookie. I haven’t tried it without the egg, so I can’t say for certain. But it’s worth a try!
What could you use in place of the egg?
I’m not positive how it would work in this, but I’ve used Greek yogurt or sour cream to substitute the eggs in other baking recipes with good results.
I added crushed pecans to my cookie dough (our family loves nuts in all cookies!) and sifted powdered sugar on them once they came out of the oven. So good!!
I used a tablespoon and it gets me a little over 30 cookies.
You forgot to account for the refrigeration time in your recipe card. My bad for not reading ahead, but it would have been nice to see that part at the beginning, and not get caught by surprise in the middle of everything…
Just a tip. All recipes should be read thoroughly before attempting. The instructions are part of the recipe and just as important;)
So do you bake it on the parchment paper?
Yes!
Absolutely true!
Really Caroline!
Tammy… 🤣🤣 my thoughts exactly!!! I guess someone had to be blamed because who ever heard of taking accountability for your own shortcomings.🤷🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️👩🏼🍳
I’ve been guilty of the same thing, Caroline (not reading thru a recipe). LOL!
can I freeze these cookies?
Hi Diana! I haven’t tried to freeze them yet but I don’t see a reason why they wouldn’t freeze well!
For anyone without cake flour, remove 2 TB of flour, replace with 2 TB of cornstarch. It works (;
Hi, I was wondering if I could use this recipe to make thumbprint cookies?
Hand mixer or stand mixer? Does it matter?
I used a stand mixer. I imagine that you could use a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer just the same though.
Do I have to wait to powder them with sugar once they come out of the oven or can I powder them right away?
I also dipped half in melted chocolate! So yummy I’ve waited till they cooled a little to put powdered sugar on them but someone else mentioned they powdered sugar that right out of the oven. Try both ways to see what you like!
I’ve waited till they cooled a little to put powdered sugar on them but someone else mentioned they powdered sugar that right out of the oven. Try both ways to see what you like!
Me and my family love them so much. There so fluffy and Sometimes I will even make them for events. Thank you so much for the recipe this is my fifth or sixth time making them I even won an baking contest with them. Once again thank you so much for the recipe
You misread the recipe there is one cup of sugar listed
I sincerely apologize. I totally missed the cup of sugar in the recipe. Please delete my comment as it was my error. Thank you!
Thanks Ginnee, I appreciate it.
These look heavenly!! Can’t wait to try them out!
I agree. And it could happen tomorrow as I watch Bianca beat Serena!
Do you use the spoon and level method when measuring the flour, am going to make these today, thanks, ruth
YES!
If not using the almond extract, should I increase the vanilla or leave it at one teaspoon?
Barb, you can go either way. I’d likely increase because I love the extra boost of flavor.
If you wanted to give this a lemon twist, would you leave out the almond flavoring and use lemon zest?
Hi Janet! Yes, I’d leave out the almond, add lemon zest and perhaps lemon extract, depending on how “Lemony” you wanted it.
Flavor is very good but they are not as fluffy as I expected. I made 17 cookies from one batch and I would love that we could upload images to see how they turned out. These are yummy! I used both extracts and they turned pretty good and also sprinkled powdered sugar on top of them. Not sure if I should increase a little bit the baking powder
Hi Vero! Did you push them down with glass quite a lot or just a little bit? It could be they were flattened out a bit. Is your baking powder new/fresh? There are so many factors that can affect things with baking. I’m glad you thought they were yummy though!
I didnt refrigerate dough and they still turned out. Very moist almond flavored cookie. Reminded me of the mexican wedding cookie….
Thanks Christine!!
These are delicious but mine came out skinny and flat. Not to mention the mess I had making them. They were delicious but the mess in my kitchen as incredible. I just found them impossible to roll in m hands. I had flour everywhere.
Mine also turned out flat. Yummy tho’. What can I do to make them puff and not flatten!
When i made these cookies Last weekend I increase the cream cheese to an 8oz block I added one and a half cups of sugar 2 eggs and 2 and 1/2 cups of flour. I also refrigerated it for a bit longer and had no problem rolling the dough into balls. I however did not flatten them out when I bake them and they turned out very nice thick soft pillowy delicious cookies
Do your changes double the recipe or just change the texture and flavor?
I flattened mine to about 3/8″. If you flatten too much they won’t be puffy.
Can this recipe be successfully doubled….does not look like one batch will suffice at our house!
Hi Nancy, I haven’t doubled it myself but I imagine it should work out just fine. :)
These cookies are addictive. I make a double batch of them twice a month. And they freeze well. Thank you for supplying me with my favorite cookie recipe!
Did you freeze the cookies after you baked them? …then just sit them out to thaw, or thaw in fridge?
May I know if my top and bottom heating element should be on? I have an electric oven without fan
Great cookies, thanks for the recipe. I will be making more pretty soon…
GREAT COOKIES! Easy to make. Froze well. A new favorite!
Thank you Bridget, so glad you loved them!
These cookies, with out a doubt, are the best I’ve ever made. My whole family absolutely raves over them.
So glad you loved it, Jan! Thank you!
Can we make them without eggs
Can’t wait to make them
Have you tried sprinkling cookies with colored sugar, red and green for Christmas, orange for Halloween, red, white, and blue…..?
Just wondering if I need to refrigerate. By the way, awesome. I undercooked 1 batch but good even though the center is like a filling lol..
I didn’t believe you when you said these cookies are addicting. I believe you now. I just made a batch and will need to double it next time or no one else will get any. I love soft cookies and these are the best.
So glad you loved them!
ran out of the cookies this morning and my granddaughter needed more of them to take to school in her lunch. Thanks again for a wonderful recipe.
So glad you love it! ;)
Thank you so much for the great recipe i have already made twice and it’s just wonderful it’s easy to make and yummy to eat ????????????????
Great recipe, I don’t care for almond flavor so I substituted the almond extract with lemon. They came out perfect. Just the right amount of lemon flavor. Just and fyi for those who have commented on flat cookies. I rolled mine into balls, used a small glass coated in flour to flatten just a little. I also make sure the edges are not flat I shape them with the glass they come out with the right amount of puffiness and shape.
Thanks, Desiree! Love the idea of the lemon swap in!
BUENOS DÍAS QUE GALLETAS TAN LINDA SE VE BIEN RICA. LA HARÉ PARA LA CASA GRACIAS
This cookies are simply perfect!! I made it just a moment ago! Doesnt need even powder sugar!!!
Thank you, Maria! :)
I had a heck of a time with the baking time and am not sure I got them 100% right, but it was a fun experiment and they’re tasty nonetheless! Thank you for the fun recipe!
How do you “ roll “ dough into a “ball”? ?
You put a little in your palm and put your other palm over that and roll it around into a ball. Remember every playing with play dough and making balls?
Hi– sounds like a really great recipe. I’ve saved it to try. I have 2 questions- I see there is no salt in this recipe. Unusual for a cookie. Any reason why?
Also- If I roll them in colored sugar do you feel they will not puff up as much??
Thanks!!!
Hi Mary! Cream cheese has sodium in it, so I didn’t find it necessary to add extra, but you certainly could test it out with 1/2 tsp or 1 tsp. I haven’t rolled mine in colored sugar before, but looks like Linda left a comment that she did that and they puffed up just fine! :)
i didn’t use salt and they taste great. Last batch I made it put colored sugar on top of them and they puffed up just fine.
So glad to hear it, Linda!
Do these need to be refrigerated after baking or can they be stored on the counter?
My cookies haven’t lasted more than 3 days, so they’ve been fine on the counter. I think I would refrigerate if they lasted longer than that. I just doubled the recipe and think I will freeze half so they will last longer.
Excellent cookie recipe! And very simple to make. I gotta admit, i got quite the chuckle out of some of the “different” questions you got asked tho. Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m not a fan of almond extract can I use any other kind?
I love almond extract so haven’t used any other, but I think you could use whatever kind you wanted.
Hi Linda! So glad you love these cookies too! Thanks for the review!
I agree, I made these with the almond extract and I feel like it overpowered the flavors of the cookie. I looked up other cream cheese cookie recipes and most only call for vanilla extract so I will try again without the almond. Other than that these cookies are fabulous!
Hi Deborah! I’m a big almond fan, but you can absolutely use any extract you prefer.
I’m not crazy about Almond extract, either…but I am a huge fan of vanilla, so I doubled it rather than using almond or a different flavor, and if these aren’t the best cookies in the world, I don’t know what is! I’m serious. I almost regret making them because now nothing else is good enough for me & I want to replace every meal with just these cookies. I have people coming over for my birthday today, so I made these cookies…then I immediately hid them because I don’t want to share them. Let those peasant’s eat Oreos!
Shay, thanks so much for review! It gave me a good laugh. Glad you love them!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆 SOOO HILARIOUS!!!!
I am on my second go-round of making these cookies. They were a huge hit to the point I quadrupled the recipe to make sure everyone gets some. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Has anyone tried these with a sugar substitute? My diabetic mother-in-law is coming to stay with us so I’m searching for dessert recipes.
Wondering if you had a reply for this?
Wow, these are good!
I made these cookies and I think Courtney described them perfectly! They’re truly that good.
I didn’t have cake flour so I made some by combining 1 & 3/4 cup flour with 1/4 cup cornstarch, saving the extra. That worked just fine.
I also used kerigold butter,
subbed the almond extract for Simply Organic lemon flavor (1:1),
chilled the dough overnight,
rolled the dough-balls in finely ground graham cracker (used my food processor for this) creating a crunchy crust,
and put a (store-bought, premade) lemon curd thumbprint in the middle.
Easy-peasy! Like a lil cheesecake bite with amazing texture and lemon flavor!
Kerrygold*
That sounds delicicous. Can’t wait to try it, thanks.
I made these cookies and they were divine. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Is it possible to make these with almond/coconut flour?
I haven’t tried that, Lori, but if I give it a shot, I will update with how it turned out.
I used a #40 scoop. Didn’t bother to flatten. Baked 10 minutes. Simple and delicious. Looking forward to trying with lemon extract in place of the vanilla (maybe a little zest in the dough).
how would these cookies do if i were to mail them. i’d pack them in an air tight container. just curious about how long before they might lose texture, flavor. thanks
Hi Sandra! I have never mailed them, and I prefer them eaten within 36 hours (usually they don’t even last that long, haha) so I’m not sure they would hold up, but you could always try!
i think it would all depend on how far you will mail them and how long it would take. I have frozen these cookies and they are delicious when they thaw. Maybe you could freeze them before you pack them and mail them off.
I forgot to add that if you wrap them in aluminum foil when you take them out of the freezer, it might help keep them fresh while in the mail
Hi! Can I add sprinkles and white choco chip to the recipe? Would it work?
Shiela – I haven’t tried either of those but I think it might make them less fluffy (especially) the chips but you could always give half a batch a try to see?
Thank you soooo much for this fabulous recipe. Everything that you said do I did it, and I added Lemon flavoring delicious!!! There cooling now!! The batter was scrumptious. Thanks again
I have a question. I don’t have cake flour. But I do have bread flour. Could I use that instead and it still be just as puffy?
If you have regular flour you can make cake flour. Put 2 TBSP in a 1 cup measuring cup and add enough regular flour to make 1 cup. Sift it together or mix it well with a whisk and you have cake flour. I don’t really know the difference between bread flour and cake flour, but you could google it and see if it will work.
I am so sorry, I forgot to say to use 2 TBSP of cornstarch in the measuring cup, then add the regular flour. It’s early yet and I’m not completely awake yet.
Joni – Bread flour is a different consistency. You’ll want to use cake flour.
Awesome. It’s easy to make and taste great. I invited my cousin, who doesn’t eat to sweet stuff. I found her eating more than two cookies. They are soft, tasty, fluffy, and delicious cookies. I will make more today to take to churcu tomorrow. Thank you for share the recipe.
So delicious!!! Thank you so much for the recipe.
I followed it exactly as written and it was perfect.
Light and fluffy! I love the almond.
It says to preheat the oven right away but then to refrigerate the dough for an hour. Just something annoying i noticed. I also did not have enough regular cream cheese so I used blueberry cream cheese for half of it and it turned out delicious. great recipe.
Using the blueberry cream cheese sounds like a great idea. Did you use the almond or vanilla flavoring or both for the cookies? I’ve found a few recipes that say to preheat the oven right away, but then to refrigerate the dough for an hour or longer. I never preheat until I start putting the dough on the cookie sheets. My oven takes 15 minutes to preheat some take longer.
Hi Ava! Thanks so much, I made that adjustment, definitely don’t want the oven sitting hot while dough is chilling. Blueberry cream cheese sounds like a delish twist!
Hello there, I’m just about to try this yummy-looking recipe. But my electric mixer is down, tho. Do you think it’ll work the same if I do it by hand or should I not bother?
Allie, I’ve never made it without a mixer so I can’t say for certain. I’d probably wait though unless you don’t mind trial and error if they don’t turn out exactly the same?
These cookies are right up there with my own Italian pizzelles, ricotta cookies and cannolis. Be.
Best easy delicious lite fluffy cookies I’ve found yet. Thank you. In fact made them this morning since I’m having company for a few days & these ALWAYS turn out beautifully
Hi Belinda! Thank you SO much!
I made these this evening. They are DELICIOUS! I followed the recipe exactly & they came out picture perfect. The dough is sticky, but I dipped a spoon in the flour to scoop out a portion & made sure I floured my hands each time I rolled a cookie. I made 2 inch balls & only flattened to about 3/4 inch, which made 20 cookies. I did have to bake longer, but followed the recipe suggestion of looking for the light brown edges. They came out puffy, soft & yummy. I had a cream cheese cookie from a local bakery that was very good & was wanting to make some since. This recipe made an even better cookie!
Great recipe!
I got 37 cookies out of this recipe. Next time I’ll double it. My grandchildren love them. Your instructions were perfect. Thank you so much.
Followed your recipe perfectly and these are about the best little cookies we’ve ever tasted! Thank you so much!!!
LOVE THEM VERY SOFT I DONT GET YOUR E-MAILS ANYMORE THIS IS A OLD ON E
Can u Ice these I want to try
First time baker and super disappointed, this is why I don’t bake ???? Not sure what I did wrong as I followed every step to a T, my dough is super super sticky, I couldn’t form balls with it. I took a picture, let me know if I could send it somewhere as I would like some feedback.
What’s cake flour? Thank you.
You can find it as your local supermarket as cake flour. The author posted a linked in the recipe.
Bonsoir,SVP est-ce qu’on peut remplacer le fromage par la crème fraîche le fromage je ne l’aime pas
merci pour la recette elle a l’ai bonne surtout après avoir lu les commentaires, je voudrais l’essayer mais j’attend votre réponse pour le fromage.
merci
I made these cookies taste testing for a charity bake sale next month. WOW…they were a hit and made the list for one of the twelve cookies I plan to bake. These will also be in my holiday gift boxes.
I doubled the recipe with no issues. I refrigerated the dough for the suggested time, but the dough was still a bit sticky/soft, so it spent another hour chillin’.
I decided to use a cookie scoop instead of rolling into balls, and not to flatten just to see the outcome. 90% of the cookies came out perfectly shaped.
I’ve made these cookies a few times and I always double the recipe so that my cookies are larger and so that I have plenty :-) The man, likes a “man sized” cookie LOL
I also do half plain, and put chocolate ganache on the other half once they cool. I haven’t actually tried the recipe with almond extract yet because I don’t have any but I’ve used vanilla each time I’ve made them and they are fantastic! Thanks for this killer recipe! :-)
Amie
In you recipe,#1, you say cream. Do you mean cream cheese?
How do you store these after they are baked?
I store mine in a covered container or in zip lock baggies. I do put some in a freezer bag and in the freezer so I don’t eat them all at once. They taste like fresh baked once they thaw.
I made these today, and we like them very much. They have just the right amount of sweetness, and the light texture is perfect. I wondered what they would be like if I didn’t flatten them, so on the first ones I left 2 of them in balls without flattening. When they came out of the oven, I couldn’t tell which ones had not been flattened with the glass! So I didn’t flatten any of the second batch. I used confectioners sugar on my hands instead of flour. And also I had to bake them much longer than 9 – 11 minutes. About 14 minutes I think but didn’t keep track, as I kept adding 1 minute at a time. I didn’t make them very large; I got about 34 cookies. Will double the recipe next time. Thanks for a great recipe!
Delicious cookies!!!! My husband calls them the deadly cookies. We can’t stop!
I made this today and they turned out wonderfully fluffy and light. I couldn’t see the sides turning golden, so when I took them out the first time, after 10 minutes, they were very dark on the bottom. I baked them for 9 minutes the next time. The bottoms were still darker than “golden” but they were light, fluffy and baked. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I love them!
Can these be “balled” and frozen to bake later?
Can dough be frozen and cooked later
I was really excited to try out this recipe. Sadly, like most recipes I see on Pinterest or Instagram, this is NOT a recipe that adapts well to high altitude baking :(
Rose, I live at 6580 feet and had no problem using this recipe. Cookies came out perfect for me. Are you up higher and what problem did you have?
Cookies came out perfect!! Thanks.
I have been looking for a vanilla cookie recipe & hadn’t really found any that looked like what I was after. A friend has a wonderful recipe for Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies so, when I came across these, I had to stop in for a look. I haven’t tried these yet but, they will be the first ones I do & judging by the reviews, it might be the only one I try.
I made these cookies for Christmas! It came out delicious! They were gone in no time. Will be one of our favorite and I made it about 4 times already. Thank you for this recipe!!
Can you please let me know in grams how much is one stick of butter or half cup? I live in Mexico and I think butter sticks are different then in the US. One stick of butter in Mexico is 90 grams (most of them) and there is one brand which is 100grs….. Just to be sure I’m using the right weight….. Thanks in advance!
I can’t tell you in grams, but one stick of butter in the USA is 1/4 of a pound, which would be 4 ounces
I enjoy this recipe as is but adding a little bit of lemon zest to this really brightens it up for spring time! Yummm!!
I’m a chocolate lover. Can i add choco powder in this recipe? How much?
Sounds like something I would try. I would just sprinkle some in until it looks like the right color. I would start by putting cocoa powder in 1/4 cup, then sprinkle maybe half of that in the dough and mix it. You can always add more, but can’t take it out. If you try it, let us know how it comes out.
Lovely texture but quite sweet
These are amazing!! Are they really supposed to have a cakey texture though? They look like cookies but are soft and fluffy like cakes!
I adapted these into chocolate cookies because I wanted to double the batch but make it easy for me to make my own cake flour.
3 cups AP flour – 6 tbsp + 6 tbsp corn flour = 3 cups cake flour
Divide into 1 3/4 cups homemade cake flour + 1 1/4 cups cake flour, then add 1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder to make up 1 3/4 cups total
The cocoa ones turned out fudgey, like little light brownie bites. Delicious! Made total 42 per batch of cookies. I prefer them small.
Just made these, followed the recipe to a T , and they came out SOOOO good. Best cookie I’ve had for so long! Nice and pillowy and soft.
What did I do wrong?????
It all melted!!! Its one big flat cookie
I left tge dough over night but it was still very hard to work with it.
I thought if I put on Ziploc bag and make the ball out of the bag like to decorate you know with a hole on the bottom.
It look good when it went in the oven, they were spaced out!!!! Its just one big flat I don’t know what?! What did I do wrong??
Could you have accidentally used either too much butter or too much cream cheese? You would need to use real butter, too.
I mixed in about 1&1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the zest from one lemon and they were absolutely wonderful! The lemon wasn’t too overpowering, and they turned out perfect!
These are so delicious, I had to give some to my neighbor so I wouldn’t eat the whole batch. I don’t bake much, so everytime I do it’s like learning all over again. Thanks for the advice on knowing when they have cooked long enough. With my oven, I went 9 minutes and they were perfect.I didn’t have cake flour so I did the “-2 Tbs flour, +2 Tbs cornstarch” trick and it worked great. Thank you for such a little taste of heaven!
These cookies are AMAZING! I did not have any lemon extract so I used almond extract, and I’m glad I did. I did add a bit more lemon juice and zest to the icing. I love Paula’s recipes and this is my “go to” site for recipes.
SO DELICIOUS. I love this recipe! It’s my third time making them and I swear they get better each time!
Hands down, my favorite recipe to bake. I’ve baked these so many times I have so many family friends requesting these. Thank you!!
Hubby approved!! He said it’s the best cookies we’ve ever made!
I followed the recipe exactly and these cookies are delicious!!! I like that they aren’t extremely sweet, kids loved them and I will definitely make them again!!
Is there an eggless version of this recipe? What can we replace for the one egg?
Can you add cocoa to these?
Do these freeze well? Will they stay soft?
Hi Susan, I have not tried to freeze these, so I’m not positive. They don’t last long around our house :) I’d have to try it to give you a full answer, will try to do this sometime soon!
I have frozen them many times and when they thaw at room temp, they are back to soft again and are great. I put them in a freezer bag to freeze them.
I love making cookies and these are delicious. I followed the recipe to the letter and worked just fine. Like the peanut blossom who takes a chocolate kiss on top of each cookie, I used the red and white peppermint kisses on top of each cookies. They taste great together. Thank you for the recipe.
I tried this recipe tonight and I didn’t have cake flour. I made my own and when it was time to bake them they spread out and didn’t get puffy for some reason. I don’t think I’ll make these again.
Let me start by saying, I never leave comments.
THIS IS THE BEST COOKIE EVER…LIKE IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!!!!
I was perusing Pintrest looking for a recipe for cookie exchange. I saw the picture of these babies and thought I’d take a look. When I saw they had ALMOND in them… DONE! I had a few left over and I ate all of them through the night! They really do melt in your mouth. I made exactly as written and they were perfection. I have been jonesing for them hard! I am currently making a batch for ME. My husband hates almond. YAAAAAY!! ALL FOR THIS GIRL!! Thank you so very much for posting.
The first time I made this recipe the cookies came out perfect fluffy delicious so the next day I double the batch and the cookies came out that same good taste just flat what did I do wrong or is it just better to make one batch at a time
You might have flattened the cookies too much before you baked them. I always double the batch of cookies and never had a problem. I usually freeze half for a few weeks so I don’t eat too many at once.
Did you use real butter, or margarine? It does make a difference in baking.
These are delicious! I didn’t have cake flour so I used your method for making cake flour from scratch. Ty! Seriously, these cookies are delightful!
Amazing cookies definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing
I am always looking for new recipes and I am so glad I tried this one! Thank you for this recipe!! We will be making again for sure.
So easy and quick. Love it! Thank you so much.
Thanks for a great recipe. I made these with a gluten free flour mix and they came out beautifully. I used vanilla extract only as some family members aren’t keen on almond, but other than that and the flour mix I followed the recipe. They were a “hit” with the family so I will definitely be making these again.
Best cookie ever! So soft. I didnt have the flour called for so I sifted regular flour and it still turned out great. I even tried this recipe with different extracts with great success. This will be my forever soft cookie recipe. Thanks.
This is an amazing recipe. I got 34 cookies out of the recipe and used vanilla extract only. Just a great little cookie to have around. I used the cake flour replacement off, less 1 TBS flour replaced with 1 TBS corn starch.( I adjusted accordingly for the 3/4 cup) It worked beautifully. Nice soft cookie. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Thank you so much for sharing these cookies, Courtney! I’m already addicted to them, and I haven’t even made them yet. Cream cheese makes everything better, and it’s so heavenly in desserts. I’m going to whip up a batch of these this weekend! :)
Delicious! Will want these on a Christmas list of cookies to make! I might cut back just a tad on the almond extract, that is it!
I’m glad to hear you love them, Sharon!
I can’t wait to make these. I made cream cheese cookies from another recipe that I can’t find. I am so glad to have seen your recipe. In the ones I made previously, I used orange zest as I am allergic to lemon and they were awesome. I am going to do the same with this recipe. Can’t wait to make these especially after seeing all the great reviews! Thanks!
Was looking for a cream cheese cookie recipe. Yours and preppy kitchen’s come up in the searches. It’s as is he made a poor copy of yours. Exact ratio of ingredients but just the addition of salt and using AP flour. To add to insult, the bottom of his cookies are slightly burnt, but then again, what can one expect from a baker than uses silicon mats for cookie baking. I looked at the dates published and yours was in 2018, his in 2020. The least he could do is to give some credit to your recipe. Not visiting his site again.
End of rant & BIG Thanks for this recipe!
Thank you Shu, I really appreciate the support!!! It means the world! For what it’s worth, we also noticed the same observations.
Very good recipe! Ran out of AP flour and selected this recipe specifically because it calls for cake four…so glad I stumbled upon it.
Hello
I wanted to tell you,
how amazing these cookies are.
I made them a few times since finding this wonderful recipe.
I gave a batch of them to a group of friends visiting upstate,
they could not say enough about
how delicious they were.
Thank you for this beautiful
Cookie recipe.
Hi! I’m so glad you love them, thank you so much!
Followed recipe exactly. They rolled fine, baked fine and looked like picture, but had no flavor. Disappointing.
Hello,
Can I use splenda instead of sugar?
Michelle, I have never made these with splenda instead of sugar, but I just caution you to be certain to read the instructions carefully on the splenda to be sure you use an equivalent amount. Sometimes it’s a 1:1 ratio, but just double check!
Hello! What kind of frosting what you recommend? I’ll try buttercream but keen for some other suggestions :)
Hi Laura! If you did want to put a frosting on them, I’d probably do a glaze type icing (powdered sugar, a little cream, a splash of vanilla extract). You could also do a buttercream frosting though!
If you don’t have cake flour can you use SelfRising flour instead
So happy they came out so delicious! However, I misread the flour measurements and used 5 cups which I thought called for 3-5 cups…lol! My family still went insane eating them! Thanks for posting! 😊
I loved every bite of these! So yum!!!!
This cookies were so soft and delightful! Like perfectly sized pieces of cake, almost. Love the flavor. Definitely went for the dusting rather than glazing. Worked out perfect!
My family loves cream cheese cookies!! They are so light & airy!
That’s are my absolute favorite cookie! The texture is amazing and I love how they are not overly sweet. These are my go to cookie from now on!
Any recommendations of how to make pink and blue coloured ones? I would love to make them for the gender reveal party. Thank you for the recipe, I made it for last Christmas and was a big hit. I had 3 flavours: almond, vanilla and lemon.
Hi Nora! I’d use gel colors (Michaels crafts has these in their baking aisle, or check amazon). Use a toothpick to drop just a touch of color and see if you like that coloring. I will say the cookies have a bit of natural tan color so it might make the cookies more “pinkish-orange” and green-ish (blue + yellow). But just use gel coloring because it’s a richer color!
It was great recipe. My cookies just came out of the oven just like in the pictures shown. Pillowy, buttery soft cookies with a hint of almond taste.
Love them!!
I’m so glad to hear that, June!!! :)
They came out very good. I sprinkled with colored sugar for the holiday
So my dough looks like frosting is it because I haven’t refrigerated it yet?
It’s a softer dough, but perhaps it could be because it hasn’t been chilled yet. You could add a couple of tablespoons of additional flour if it’s too sticky.
I doubled and made 38 cookies. I’ve been trying to make these for at least 15 years…finally found a recipe that works. I think it’s the cake flour!!! I thought I had almond flavoring but I was wrong so I used lemon….yummy!!! Thank you so much! 12..7.2021
Appreciate if you can please provide your ingredients in metrics (grams). Thank you.
Second time I made these❤️ So delicious 😋 Thanks
I’ve made these for the second year in a row (Christmas). I’ve read all your instructions carefully, I’ve read all the comments and followed all the tips, but mine still don’t look like little, puffy pillows, as in your pictures. I’ve tried adding just a bit extra flour, because the dough was very wet. Maybe just a T. and a half. I was very careful measuring my flour, as I thought maybe I had under measured the first time I made them. I have my dough sitting outside on the porch, as it is colder there than in my fridge, so it is very hard, without being frozen. I have tried rolling them in flour, powdered sugar and a combination of the two. I’m not really having trouble rolling them, as much as they are just spreading too much. Oh, I also refrigerated my cookie sheets before rolling the cookies and refrigerated after the balls were made. The first tray I flattened just a tiny bit, per your instructions, and they spread out, so the next tray I left them round, and they still spread about the same. They are very good. After they cool, they have a lovely, sandy, melt-in-your-mouth texture, especially after adding a powdered sugar coating and letting them sit in a container for a few days. Yours appear to be puffier and more cake-like in texture, though. What am I doing wrong??
Jeannie, it could be a number of factors, it’s hard for me to know without being there myself. But here are my questions…
(1) You mentioned rolling them in flour? I don’t roll mine in flour, I might use a touch of flour on my hands (dough is sticky) but I haven’t rolled the cookies in flour before baking.
(2) I would probably refrigerate rather than sitting on the porch, again, temperatures are different and refrigerator is just my suggestion. That shouldn’t have made a huge difference, but if you wanted to follow the recipe exactly, I’d probably suggest putting in refrigerator.
(3) Is your oven temperature calibrated?
(4) Are you using non-expired cake flour as well as baking powder?
(5) Make sure you’re not over-mixing or over-beating your dough.
(6) Make sure your butter is softened, NOT melted. Same with cream cheese. Room temp is best. Not melted or TOO soft (do not warm either of these). For the butter, you should be able to make a small indentation with your finger, easily.
(7) Line your baking sheet with parchment paper as sometimes a greased cookie sheet can promote spreading.
I hope they’ll stay puffy for you on the next try, if you decide to make them again.
Courtney
Courtney, thank you for a prompt answer. I did most all of your suggestions, with the exception of calibrating the oven. The baking time seemed right though, and I don’t have a problem with things getting done too quickly or being underbaked in the prescribed time for most recipes. The cake flour was fresh, and the baking powder was not expired–I even tested it to make sure it had lots of fizz. It foamed great! When my daughter and I made them last year, everything was brand new, and we got the same results. The reason I put the dough outside this year, was because when we made them last year, her kitchen was very warm, and even though we refrigerated between batches, the dough was so soft and sticky, it was a bugger to roll. I wanted it good and hard. When I said I rolled them in flour, I guess I worded that poorly. I meant I floured my hands, just enough to keep the dough from sticking. Last year I started out flouring my hands, but had read in the comments, one of the women said they had used powdered sugar on their hands and that seemed to work better. So, between last year and this, I tried each of these methods for rolling the dough in balls, and most all of the cookies came out thinner and not puffed like in your picture. They are still very good. I just can’t figure why they aren’t puffing that well.
Jeannie, I’m not certain. I will say this is one of the recipes that has gone viral, so to speak, on my site with hundreds of people making it and tagging me in photos, they all look very similar to the ones I made. So I’m not sure why it didn’t work. If I think of anything, I’ll update here.
Wanted to add a suggestion for flavoring, too. Both times I have made these I used King Arthur Flour Co. Fiori Di Sicilia extract. Kind of pricy but well worth it. A lovely, flavor that has hints of orange, but maybe a hint of almond and vanilla. Gives the cookies a wonderful flavor a bit like citrus, only something extra. It would be good in most any butter cookie or cake. I doubled your recipe and added 1 1/2 t. For a single recipe, I might start with 3/4 t. Very potent extract–a little goes a long way. I keep it in the fridge between uses and it has lasted me a few years.
honestly, I was a bit disappointed. They took a long time to make, esp with the hour wait in the fridge, they left quite a mess i had to clean up & in the end they came out flat & bland.
I followed the recipe to the T but they did not look at all like the ones in the picture.
I guess I will try frosting them?
Super easy and super tasty. I will make these again for sure. Just personal preference – I’d use less sugar. Thank you!
These turned out great! Delicious, light and airy. And the best part not too sweet! I don’t like cookies that are too sweet
I took 2 cookies and spread Nutella in between. Sooo good!
I made these cookies and they were delicious!! The whole family absolutely loved them. The only problem was that my sugar had large grains and didn’t quite dissolve in the batter. As a result there were several grains even in the finished baked product.
Next time, I will powder the sugar somewhat before adding to the batter. Will definitely make them again
Thanks for a lovely recipe!!
So glad you loved them, shelly!
I just made these for a cookie exchange with my friend. Once baked, they look deceptively simple, but when you pop one in your mouth, you realize just how good a simple recipe can be. Thanks Courtney. Great recipe!
Turned out great! Love the moist soft dough. They weren’t as smooth on top as yours
I’m going to make this for my family tonight. Hope it turns out as delicious as it looks in the pictures.
Can I use regular flour?
Hi Laurie! You can, it might not be the same soft cake-like texture, but you can certainly use regular flour.
These are wonderful. I used a little powdered sugar on my hands to roll them. The sugar melted into the cookies causing a slight, sweet glaze.
Made two batches, one with lemon extract and a dash of yellow food coloring, and one with raspberry extract, pink food coloring and crushed dried raspberries on top. (Since my girl helped we also added some edible pink glitter to the raspberry ones.) Amazing, so easy and tasty.
Hi Lisa! LOVE the color and flavor additions! How fun!
Cookies were super nummy and easy to make! 🎉 I think the measurement for butter is off when it says how many sticks will be needed when doubling or tripling the recipie. Thankfully, it does say how many cups are needed 😁
I love cream cheese breads but never try a cream cheese cookies. Thanks for sharing, it looks yummy. I’ll try this recipe this weekend and update later!
I didn’t see an amount of butter. I think you forgot to put that there, no worries though. It all worked out in the end, I just put in 2 cups of butter and it worked out perfectly! Though it was a lil mushy. Any feedback????
The first ingredient in the recipe card in the post is butter. It’s 1/2 cup (1 stick).
How can anyone actually make cookies if they can’t read,all of the questions they were asking are in the written instructions and if you don’t follow them they will not turn out right. Did as the instructions said and mine were amazing.
Excelente! very easy to make…. loved
So glad you loved these cream cheese cookies, Cary! They’re a favorite!
I made these cookies and they were delicious!! The whole family absolutely loved them. The only problem was that my sugar had large grains and didn’t quite dissolve in the batter. As a result there were several grains even in the finished baked product.
Next time, I will powder the sugar somewhat before adding to the batter. Will definitely make them again
Thanks for a lovely recipe!!
Made these to take to church, and they were FABULOUS! The texture is so amazingly soft and fluffy that it really is difficult not to eat them one after another like potato chips!
I doubled the recipe and got 63 cookies. I will definitely make these again but will likely cut back a little on the almond extract and increase the vanilla. A light dusting of powdered sugar instead of frosting allows the cookies’ wonderful texture to be the star of the show. Thst’s the way to go!
I am so glad you posted this recipe. I was looking for something unique and special, and this filled the bill. It’s my new favorite cookie recipe!
Just made them . They are good
I made a double batch and rolled them in coconut. Everyone loves them. Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe! Don’t hate on me…I used 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1 egg, LOTS of vanilla extract, and a Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix. Followed your instructions and hints/tips..great cookies! I made 1/2 of the batter with orange extract and white chocolate chips, the other half was freeze dried strawberries, white chips and chocolate mini chips. They baked consistently and stored nicely. Love them!!!
That was meant to be 5 stars!
Extra delicious with cream cheese frosting!
Since most of my baking is for weekend breakfast/brunch treats, I changed the recipe slightly to suit that. I left out the almond extract and added 1 envelope dry apple cider spice and rolled the balls in a cinnamon/sugar mix. The consistency was excellent and just what I wanted and my husband commented “these are really tasty!” When I next need a cookie recipe, I’ll follow the original recipe as the almond appeals to me. This is a keeper!
Looks delicious!
They are very good Mine were a little dry, but will make them again
Great recipe. I am so glad that you mentioned that the dough would be sticky, otherwise I would have given up thinking I made a mistake. These have a really nice smooth texture and a dusting of powdered sugar was all they needed.
Absolutely delicious cookies💜
They taste amazing…and yes, addictive. Even after refrigerating several hours, the dough was incredibly sticky to roll into balls. Ended up dusting my hands with powdered sugar.
Omg so good
These look so yummy. Can’t wait to make them. Thanks for sharing.
AMAZING!!!! Absolutely delicious. I need to make a triple batch next time. The dough is SOOOOO sticky, even with flouring my hands each ball, but it was WORTH IT! ❤️
I loved it. Especially like the idea of the 1X, 2x idea. It is so helpful.
My batter/dough is the consistency of thick frosting. Did I do something wrong, or is it supposed to be like that?
I made these cookies to share with my friends for a cookie bake. My son loves them so much and I only got 4 out of the batch to share. Needless to say I have cream cheese on the counter so I can make more tomorrow!! They taste great and look beautiful.
I haven’t tried this recipe as of yet, but I wanted to know if you can freeze for longer than hour.
( can you freeze overnight)
These are wonderful – Soft, light, and not too sweet. I added a tsp of lemon concentrate to a double batch along with the 2 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp of almond extract. Very delicious!😋 Thank you!
Btw…I remember reading a review which stated the cookies were really dry both times she made them. I noticed that when you choose the 2x or 3x options for making double and triple batches, the butter shows only 1 stick of butter. The quantity is accurate in cup measurements, but I’m wondering if that reviewer didn’t notice and went by the “1 stick butter” which is inaccurate for double or triple batches.
I made these this year for the first time. I didn’t have time to frost, so I drizzled on some chocolate and some Christmas nonpareils and they were a huge hit! Notice I said “were”. Of the 8 different cookies I made… they are the only ones gone. My husband said “Make sure you hang onto this recipe”.
Do your changes double the recipe or just change the texture and flavor?
AMAZING! I made these for my mom and they were delicious! Thanks for the recipe! ☺️
I made these with my kids. We cut the recipe in half and made our own cake flour. They were craving something sweet and couldn’t wait to let them sit in the fridge but they still came out great although maybe not as puffy and rounded. They came out super soft, too.
I know the recipe calls for butter but my son lactose-intolerant. I would have to use margaring instead of butter, unfortunately. Should I use less margarine since it is more oily? Thanks.
I just made them and they are delicious!! However, the top of my cookies got very brown, I even tried baking them in lower temperature. What do you think about baking them on the bottom tray? I like how your cookies look so white!
Oh my goodness!!!! It’s like biting into a cloud! I didn’t change a thing except I skipped the chilling part. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work because the dough was like a really thick cake batter rather than traditional cookie dough. But I went for it anyway. I just scooped it onto the cookie sheet with a cookie scoop, no rolling or anything, just popped them in the oven and out came the fluffiest melt in your mouth cookies! They didn’t even need the powdered sugar on top.
Delicious cookies!! Thank you so much for sharing.
i love your blog
Je viens de réaliser ces merveilleux biscuits, que du bonheur en bouche. Merci, pour avoir partagé cette délicieuse recette. À refaire souvent, je la recommande vivement, vous ne serez pas déçu.
Amicalement du Canada, Cuisineflo.
Zdravo. Ovi kolacici izgledaju bozanstveno i bas zelim da ih napravim. Bilo bi divno da nam ostavis mere u gramima jer mi u Evropi ne koristimo solju i jako se tesko snalazimo sa njom. Molim te, samo nam pretvori recept u grame. Hvala ti. 🌷🌷🌷
I made these cream cheese cookies and they tasted like a piece of heaven. They were by far the best cookies the absolute best I ever made.
Hi!! I just tried this recipe and they are very yummy but my Doug was so sticky the flour did not help me to make good balls. Did I do something wrong
Just add a bit more flour, even a few tablespoons in to the dough if it’s too sticky to work with.
No wonder these cookies are called soft as pillows! The wonderful cream cheese cookies are exactly what I needed to lift my spirits during the holidays. Savory and rich, these were delightful in every bite and did not take me long to finish the entire jar.
They were light and delicious, I only put 1/2 cup sugar and it was still sweet and yummy.
Hi Courtney,
I’ve made these cookies a few times, they are absolutely delicious! I’m just wondering about how you get such a smooth cookie on the outside as mine tend to look more like crinkle cookies when they are done. Do you roll the dough in your hands until it is a smooth little ball? I’m always wary of overhandling dough so I may not be rolling them into a smooth enough ball to begin with, but any insight would be appreciated.
How do you make a red velvet version of this?
Love your orig. recipe, they were loved by everyone. I then swapped out the almond extract for orange and then lemon. They too were loved. This afternoon I swapped out the plain cream cheese for blueberry cream cheese. The dough tastes awesome, hope the finished cookie tastes as good.
Oops, meant to say that I swapped out the almond extract for orange and raspberry. Today I used blueberry cream cheese.
I’ve made one edit to kick this up a notch. I whipped my cream cheese up with processed pistachios… and they turned into pistachios cream cheese cookies to die for! Going to try it with a blueberry cream cheese that I whip up too.
My dough looked more like cake batter. What did I do wrong.
I’ve made these cookies in several different flavors. They are my favorite and my growing fans favorites as well. They freeze well for sharing later. Thank you.