Cream cheese cookies are the most heavenly little bites of sweetness! They’re addicting; you’ve been warned!
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 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.
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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. ;)
- 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 reasons why I love these cream cheese cookies.
These 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.
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!
You’ll notice I used vanilla and almond extracts. This combination is my personal preference, but play around with your favorite extracts. Stick to all vanilla, all almond, add in a little lemon. 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!
Cream Cheese Cookies
Pillowy soft cookies that melt in your mouth!
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
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Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Cream together butter and cream with electric mixer.
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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.
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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.
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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.
There you have it! Cream cheese cookies! The dough stores very well in the refrigerator so you can prep it a couple of days in advance if needed. 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!
If you’re looking for more dessert ideas, check out these other faves:
Alexandra says
June 6, 2018 at 8:32 amHow many eggs? They’re not in the list
Sibi says
June 10, 2018 at 8:54 pmLook again. 1 egg
Melba Neeley says
November 6, 2018 at 3:27 pmabout haw many cookies will this make
Linda says
November 6, 2018 at 3:39 pmIt made 34 cookies for me
Mister Lapin says
June 7, 2018 at 4:07 amIt seems delicious! I pin it for later. Thanks for the recipe. :-)
Angel says
June 23, 2018 at 12:37 pmSalted or unsalted butter??
Linda says
November 6, 2018 at 3:40 pmI used unsalted butter
Patricia says
June 28, 2018 at 10:07 amThese sound delicious! Can you tell me about how many cookies this recipe makes?
Courtney says
June 28, 2018 at 1:11 pmHi 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!
Jazmyne says
March 29, 2019 at 12:32 pmIs it possible ro not use the egg?
Courtney says
March 29, 2019 at 1:16 pmJazmyne, 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!
Carolina says
July 2, 2018 at 5:22 pmYou 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…
Anne says
December 22, 2018 at 8:33 pmJust a tip. All recipes should be read thoroughly before attempting. The instructions are part of the recipe and just as important;)
Diana says
July 7, 2018 at 12:13 pmcan I freeze these cookies?
Courtney says
July 8, 2018 at 3:16 pmHi Diana! I haven’t tried to freeze them yet but I don’t see a reason why they wouldn’t freeze well!
Jenkins says
July 10, 2018 at 2:52 amFor anyone without cake flour, remove 2 TB of flour, replace with 2 TB of cornstarch. It works (;
Connie McNabb says
July 10, 2018 at 8:00 amHand mixer or stand mixer? Does it matter?
Courtney says
July 10, 2018 at 9:59 amI used a stand mixer. I imagine that you could use a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer just the same though.
Mimi says
August 6, 2018 at 8:45 amYou misread the recipe there is one cup of sugar listed
Ginnee Berg says
August 6, 2018 at 11:06 amI sincerely apologize. I totally missed the cup of sugar in the recipe. Please delete my comment as it was my error. Thank you!
Courtney says
August 6, 2018 at 11:34 amThanks Ginnee, I appreciate it.
Jessica says
August 9, 2018 at 8:43 amThese look heavenly!! Can’t wait to try them out!
Barb says
August 14, 2018 at 11:40 amIf not using the almond extract, should I increase the vanilla or leave it at one teaspoon?
Courtney says
August 16, 2018 at 5:01 pmBarb, you can go either way. I’d likely increase because I love the extra boost of flavor.
Janet says
August 27, 2018 at 3:23 pmIf you wanted to give this a lemon twist, would you leave out the almond flavoring and use lemon zest?
Courtney says
August 30, 2018 at 3:31 pmHi Janet! Yes, I’d leave out the almond, add lemon zest and perhaps lemon extract, depending on how “Lemony” you wanted it.
Christine says
August 14, 2018 at 5:11 pmI didnt refrigerate dough and they still turned out. Very moist almond flavored cookie. Reminded me of the mexican wedding cookie….
Courtney says
August 16, 2018 at 5:01 pmThanks Christine!!
JoAnn mccaffrey says
August 22, 2018 at 3:29 pmThese 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.
Sandy says
August 23, 2018 at 12:01 amMine also turned out flat. Yummy tho’. What can I do to make them puff and not flatten!
Angie says
August 25, 2018 at 5:12 pmWhen 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
Linda says
October 28, 2018 at 12:20 pmI flattened mine to about 3/8″. If you flatten too much they won’t be puffy.
Nancy A Hahn says
August 25, 2018 at 12:47 pmCan this recipe be successfully doubled….does not look like one batch will suffice at our house!
Courtney says
August 27, 2018 at 11:24 amHi Nancy, I haven’t doubled it myself but I imagine it should work out just fine. :)
Ena says
September 1, 2018 at 5:18 amMay I know if my top and bottom heating element should be on? I have an electric oven without fan
Marny says
September 12, 2018 at 4:33 pmGreat cookies, thanks for the recipe. I will be making more pretty soon…
Bridget says
October 1, 2018 at 7:08 amGREAT COOKIES! Easy to make. Froze well. A new favorite!
Courtney says
October 2, 2018 at 2:06 pmThank you Bridget, so glad you loved them!
Jan Heller says
October 12, 2018 at 9:53 pmThese cookies, with out a doubt, are the best I’ve ever made. My whole family absolutely raves over them.
Courtney says
October 14, 2018 at 7:52 pmSo glad you loved it, Jan! Thank you!
Jacquie says
October 20, 2018 at 1:13 pmCan’t wait to make them
Marie Proffitt says
October 23, 2018 at 12:03 pmHave you tried sprinkling cookies with colored sugar, red and green for Christmas, orange for Halloween, red, white, and blue…..?
Linda says
October 28, 2018 at 12:13 pmI 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.
Courtney says
October 30, 2018 at 12:33 pmSo glad you loved them!
Linda says
October 30, 2018 at 12:56 pmran 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.
Courtney says
October 30, 2018 at 4:30 pmSo glad you love it! ;)
Bahareh says
November 7, 2018 at 12:05 amThank 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 ????????????????
Desiree says
November 11, 2018 at 9:28 pmGreat 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.
Courtney says
November 13, 2018 at 9:10 amThanks, Desiree! Love the idea of the lemon swap in!
Yacqueline says
November 18, 2018 at 7:20 amBUENOS DÍAS QUE GALLETAS TAN LINDA SE VE BIEN RICA. LA HARÉ PARA LA CASA GRACIAS
Maria Soler says
November 18, 2018 at 3:00 pmThis cookies are simply perfect!! I made it just a moment ago! Doesnt need even powder sugar!!!
Courtney says
November 19, 2018 at 1:28 pmThank you, Maria! :)
Meg says
November 25, 2018 at 8:08 pmI 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!
Anne says
December 2, 2018 at 6:25 pmHow do you “ roll “ dough into a “ball”? ?
Linda says
December 2, 2018 at 7:08 pmYou 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?
Mary says
December 13, 2018 at 8:31 amHi– 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!!!
Courtney says
December 13, 2018 at 5:10 pmHi 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! :)
Linda says
December 13, 2018 at 9:07 ami 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.
Courtney says
December 13, 2018 at 5:09 pmSo glad to hear it, Linda!
Jo says
December 16, 2018 at 9:11 amDo these need to be refrigerated after baking or can they be stored on the counter?
Linda says
December 16, 2018 at 9:34 amMy 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.
Jean F. says
December 17, 2018 at 3:36 pmI’m not a fan of almond extract can I use any other kind?
Linda says
December 18, 2018 at 8:28 amI love almond extract so haven’t used any other, but I think you could use whatever kind you wanted.
Courtney says
December 18, 2018 at 9:02 amHi Linda! So glad you love these cookies too! Thanks for the review!
Deborah Fresne says
January 27, 2019 at 1:58 pmI 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!
Courtney says
January 28, 2019 at 1:12 pmHi Deborah! I’m a big almond fan, but you can absolutely use any extract you prefer.
Shay says
February 17, 2019 at 4:10 pmI’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!
Courtney says
February 20, 2019 at 12:33 pmShay, thanks so much for review! It gave me a good laugh. Glad you love them!
Rose says
December 20, 2018 at 8:36 amI 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!
Lisa bogan says
December 21, 2018 at 9:01 pmWow, these are good!
Heather says
January 5, 2019 at 12:38 amI 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!
Heather says
January 5, 2019 at 12:39 amKerrygold*
Linda says
January 5, 2019 at 6:59 amThat sounds delicicous. Can’t wait to try it, thanks.
Vidya says
January 21, 2019 at 2:11 pmI made these cookies and they were divine. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Lori says
January 23, 2019 at 4:13 pmIs it possible to make these with almond/coconut flour?
Courtney says
January 28, 2019 at 1:13 pmI haven’t tried that, Lori, but if I give it a shot, I will update with how it turned out.
Karen says
January 25, 2019 at 8:36 pmI 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).
sandra mcfarland says
February 6, 2019 at 7:32 pmhow 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
Courtney says
February 7, 2019 at 9:54 amHi 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!
Linda says
February 7, 2019 at 9:59 ami 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.
Linda says
February 7, 2019 at 10:01 amI 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
Shiela says
February 11, 2019 at 7:24 pmHi! Can I add sprinkles and white choco chip to the recipe? Would it work?
Courtney says
February 12, 2019 at 2:02 pmShiela – 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?
Dotrye says
February 23, 2019 at 8:44 pmThank 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
Joni says
March 11, 2019 at 7:55 pmI 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?
Linda says
March 12, 2019 at 8:25 amIf 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.
Linda says
March 12, 2019 at 8:27 amI 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.
Courtney says
March 17, 2019 at 7:51 pmJoni – Bread flour is a different consistency. You’ll want to use cake flour.
Marilu says
March 30, 2019 at 4:47 pmAwesome. 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.
Katie says
May 8, 2019 at 6:15 pmSo 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.
Ava says
May 13, 2019 at 11:16 amIt 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.
Linda says
May 13, 2019 at 11:42 amUsing 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.
Courtney says
May 15, 2019 at 5:47 pmHi 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!