Cream Cheese Cookies With Perfect Frosting For Christmas Or Any Day Recipes

CREAM CHEESE CHRISTMAS (HOLIDAY) COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix sugar, salt, butter, cream cheese, almond and vanilla extract, and egg yolk together well.
• Stir in flour until well blended.
• Chill dough for at least 30 minutes (I've chilled mine a little less than 24 hours but I wouldn't suggest going over that.).
• After You've taken the dough out of the chilled area (sometimes I use the garage) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out 1/3-1/2 of the dough.
• Cut the dough to holiday shapes and place on an ungreased pan. (The cookies do not expand very much while cooking, so you can place them close together.).
• Here's where you can use the egg white! Spread the egg white over the top of the cookie and add sprinkle if you would like, or leave them plain and add frosting later!
• Bake the cookies 10 minutes (or until they're a light brown).
• Let cookies cool completely before adding any frosting.

CREAM CHEESE COOKIES WITH PERFECT FROSTING {FOR CHRISTMAS OR ANY DAY}

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, then add the egg and beat until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the cream cheese and beat for 1 minute, scrape down the bowl once more, then beat in the vanilla extract, almond extract, and lemon zest until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, mixing just until fully incorporated and a soft dough is formed.
• Divide the dough into quarters. If using the dough within 24 hours, roll each quarter to a 1/4-inch thickness in between two sheets of parchment paper (alternatively, you can store the dough in a ball or disk and roll out when ready to cut and bake). Be careful not to roll the dough any thinner or the cookies will not be as soft. Keeping the dough flat, transfer it to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Repeat with the remaining dough (it is fine to stack the dough "flats" on top of each other to save space). If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, divide the dough in half, pat each into a disk, then wrap each disk tightly in plastic and freeze in a ziptop bag for up to 1 month. Let thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then proceed with the recipe as directed.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Remove one of dough flats from the refrigerator. (If you stored the dough in a ball or disk, roll it to a 1/4-inch thickness now, between two layers of parchment paper.) Remove the top layer of parchment paper, then with cookie cutters, slice the cookies into desired shapes. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, until barely lightly golden brown and the edges are dry. The cookies will look slightly underbaked. Let cool completely.
• To make the frosting: In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons milk as best as you can (the frosting will be very solid at this point). Beat in the corn syrup and almond extract until the frosting is smooth and glossy. If the frosting seems too thick, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. If making colored frosting, add a few drops of food coloring until you reach your desired color intensity. Frost and decorate the cookies as desired. Let the frosting set for a few minutes, then enjoy!

CREAM CHEESE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy.
• Combine the flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chopped pecans. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• On four sheets of aluminum foil, shape dough into four 6 inch rolls, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each roll tightly in foil and refrigerate over night.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with foil. Remove rolls of dough from refrigerator one at a time. Coat each roll with red or green sugar crystals; cut dough into 1/4 inch slices.
• Place on prepared cookie sheets; top each cookie with a pecan half. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until bottom of cookie is lightly browned when lifted.