I came up with these on the spur of the moment. I was baking cookies for an event and ran out of ingredients and didn’t have time to go to the store. I remembered that I had cream cheese icing in the freezer and thought to myself “hmmm, that’s fat and sugar, just need to add a few other things, wonder if I can make these into cookies?” Fortunately it worked out, and a new cookie was born!
INGREDIENTS
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temp
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
2 tbsp sour cream
2 pounds confectioner’s sugar, sifted + extra for coating finished cookies
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
9 cup all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
1 – Make cream cheese icing: blend together butter, cream cheese, and sour cream until fully incorporated, then mix in confectioner’s sugar, 1 cup at a time, mix until smooth.
2 – Add eggs, 1 at a time.
3 – Add vanilla, lemon, and almond extracts (may substitute 1 tbsp + 2 tsp of creme bouquet flavoring, wedding bouquet flavoring, or princess emulsion)
4 – Sift together dry ingredients and slowly add to icing mixture and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
5 – Chill for at least one hour.
6 – Scoop using small cookie scoop (1 tbsp) onto parchment lined baking sheets (12 per half-sheet sized baking sheet), then moisten fingers and flatten cookies lightly.
7 – Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-14 minutes.
8 – Move cookies immediately from baking sheets to cooling racks and cool completely.
9 – Coat cookies in powdered sugar.
Makes 7 doz.
I baked these again today, but changed things up a bit.
Instead of the combination of extracts listed above, I used 1 tablespoon each vanilla extract, lemon extract, and orange extract plus 1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract. The finished cookies have a much stronger citrus flavor that compliments the cream cheese without over-powering it, the subtle vanilla and almond adding to the sweetness of the cookie without making it cloying.
Also, instead of smooshing the cookies out, I rolled them into balls and then baked them. They did not stay in perfect balls as Wedding cookies do, because of the egg and baking powder in the dough. Instead they puff up and out just enough to cause the tops to crack slightly, the baked cookie thus has an appearance almost like a puff-ball mushroom that I find very appealing. This also changed the texture some, making it a little more cakey than if the dough had been flattened and the inner part of the cookie stays soft and moist--almost doughy, but not quite, definitely fully-baked.
All-in-all, I have to say I really like these changes, although the cookies are delicious when cooked according to the original instructions as well.
I also wanted to let everyone know that if you like, this dough would lend itself to being rolled into "ropes" and then braided or twisted and then formed to make wreathes or hearts or candy canes.
Some of y'all have inquired about using these for rolled cut-out cookies. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm fairly certain that it will work. If you are using the dough for rolled cut-out cookies, make sure you use 32 oz of powdered sugar by weight, not volume and leave out the baking powder. If the dough seems too sticky, add a little flour (1/4 cup) at a time until it is the right consistency for rolling, but be careful as you don't want it too dry and crumbly. The baking temp/time may also need to be adjusted. I will try to make rolled cut-out cookies with this dough sometime before the Christmas baking season gets under way.