Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

How pretty are these little guys?  Of course these are dressed up for holiday cookie tins, but you can use any color sugar you like for your special occasion.  But more important than being pretty, these cookies are exactly what a Christmas sugar cookie should be--crisp and airy and perfectly sweet.  A mixture of cream cheese and butter gives these sugar cookies a consistency I haven't had from other drop sugar cookie recipes I've tried.  I'm thrilled with how these turned out and they were super easy.  Let's see: pretty, delicious and easy.  Yeah, that equals a win.

I'm always up for a variation on sugar cookies, so I had to try this recipe that claimed these cookies would melt in my mouth.  Anna from Le Petit Muse posted the recipe, so I wanted to give it a try.  I started by beating the heck out of the butter and cream cheese, used a cake and cookie emulsion in lieu of vanilla extract, and I finished them off with a roll in colored sugar for an extra crunch and sweetness.  These cookies will look slightly underdone when you take them out of the oven--don't be nervous!  You want to take them out before the edges brown so they maintain some softness inside.  Add these to your holiday cookie line up and you'll have one happy Santa.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon Princess Cake and Cookie Emulsion
colored sugar for rolling

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand held mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until combined and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. 

Add sugar and continue beating until fluffy, about 2-4 minutes.

Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine, then add emulsion and stir to combine.

Gradually stir in flour mixture until combined.

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough, then roll into a smooth ball before dropping into colored sugar and rolling to coat.  Arrange on parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets.  These cookies will spread a bit, so be sure to leave room between them.  I opted for limiting each sheet to 9 cookies rather than my usual 12.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 7-10 minutes of until edges are just set but not yet browned.  Turn baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through.  If using more than one sheet at a time, rotate positions in the oven for more even baking.

Remove from oven and let cool on pans for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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