Soft Cream Cheese Cookies with Nutella Glaze

Today’s big. Huge. Mega. EXTRAORDINARY.

Not only am I sharing a *new* sugar cookie recipe that blows my regular sugar cookies outta the water (ok, not really… but close), I’m also joining a few other friends to throw Lindsay a virtual baby shower. You know Lindsay from her stunning blog packed with beautiful layer cakes and other sweet treats. Remember when I shared a recipe from her cookbook? And remember when she surprised me with a virtual baby shower back in August? She’s the best. And she’s expecting twin boys in a couple weeks. More on that in a second! 🙂

I’ve been inspired to try a new sugar cookie recipe recently. Maybe it’s because of the 44938 batches of traditional sugar cookies I made last year or because I love my cream cheese sugar cookies so much. And I needed an excuse for Nutella glaze because, well, who doesn’t?

Today’s cut-out sugar cookies are the softest, thickest, and creamiest sugar cookies to ever come out of my oven. This is a bold statement, but they set a new standard for sugar cookies. Here’s why I’m calling them my new favorite:

• The dough is so easy to work with


• Cookies hold their shape beautifully


• Literally the softest sugar cookies


• A little tang, a little sweet


• Almond extract because it’s miraculous in sugar cookies


• Each bite is smooth and creamy


• Nice flat surface for decorating

I took my regular cream cheese sugar cookies, added more cream cheese and a little extra flour, rolled the dough out, crossed my fingers this would actually work, and the rest is sweeeeeet cookie history. Let’s make them!

My #1 Cream Cheese Rule

Use the right cream cheese! Don’t reach for cream cheese spread sold in a tub. You know the stuff you schmear on your bagels? Not that. You want the actual blocks/bricks of cream cheese. Cream cheese spread is much thinner and meant for spreading. The 8 ounce blocks of cream cheese are perfect for cooking and baking. I use cream cheese a lot in my kitchen. You’ll need 4 ounces, half of an 8-ounce block.

The sugar cookie dough, made from 8 staple ingredients like flour, sugar, butter, and egg is thick and creamy. You know you’re in for a treat when a cookie recipe starts with a super soft cookie dough like this!

Remember my trick when it comes to sugar cookie dough? We reviewed it over the holiday baking season because sugar cookies was the December Baking Challenge. And we’re applying the same trick to these cream cheese cookies too.

My Roll-Out Trick

After the cookie dough is made, divide the dough in half. Then roll each half out and chill them in the refrigerator. So we’re rolling the cookie dough out BEFORE chilling it, which isn’t typical for most sugar cookie recipes. But that’s my trick! The dough is so much easier to roll out before it’s chilled.

Why are we chilling it though? So the cookies keep their shape when baked.

And why divide in 2? Because it’s difficult to roll out a huge mass of dough. Dividing into smaller sections makes rolling out more manageable. Got it?

Since this is a very soft cookie dough, make sure you flour your hands, rolling pin, and work surface. Here’s half of the dough rolled out:

You’ll roll out the doughs to 1/4-inch thickness. I like to roll it out directly on a silicone baking mat. Why? Because you have to chill the rolled out dough in the fridge. And you can’t really pick up dough that you rolled out on the counter, right? Nor can you cut into shapes when the dough is this warm. So roll out on a nonstick surface that you can literally pick up, put on a baking sheet, and place in the fridge. So… make dough, divide in 2, roll out, chill. Got it?

After the dough has chilled, let’s cut into shapes. Hearts, preferably. Because heart sugar cookies are so darn cute!! (Here is the heart cookie cutter set I have.) But you can use any shape. How about footballs for the Super Bowl? Go Eagles!

The cookies don’t spread much when they’re baking, so they should stay around 1/4 inch thick. That’s a thick sugar cookie! Be sure not to overbake these cream cheese cookies as they’ll lose their softness. Shoot for 11-12 minutes or just until the edges are very very very slightly browned.

So we’ve got a big batch of plain sugar cookies on our hands. Royal icing, you’re great and all… but let’s bring out the big guns. Nutella!

This Nutella Glaze is Very Awesome

My friends and I had a cookie exchange party last month. One of my friends brought almond shortbread cookies adorned with Nutella glaze. Hands down one of the best cookies I’ve ever tasted. Mostly in part to the almond extract/Nutella glaze combination. But the Nutella glaze was crazy. It “set” on top of the cookies, so she could easily stack and transport them. It was sweet, chocolatey, and nutty– and I had to make it myself.

Made from 5 ingredients: Nutella, heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and a little salt. Very very simple. Nutella is super sticky and thick so it’s easiest to use a mixer to beat all of these ingredients together.

And in case you missed it… this Nutella glaze will set on top of the cookies. It won’t become hard or anything, but it will set making the cookies convenient to stack, store, transport, give to your Nutella-loving Valentine, etc. Spread this icing on cupcakes and breads and muffins and donuts and your spoon. There’s no limits when it comes to Nutella glaze. ♥

I LOVE THESE!!!!

Ok, back to Lindsay. I met Lindsay last year at a blogging conference and she’s just as sweet as her recipes. Lindsay and her husband have been very open about their long and emotional journey towards pregnancy, a story that may hit home with readers out there. They were blessed with the news of twin boys and Lindsay has shared updates of her high risk pregnancy on her blog. Friends and I are so excited to celebrate Lindsay and her expanding family today. We’re all posting recipes dedicated to her. See what everyone’s bringing to the party!

(Some links won’t work until later this morning.)

• Banana Pudding Cupcakes


• Lemon Coconut Cupcakes


• Chicken Salad Cups


• Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies


• Star and Moon Decorated Cookies


• Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes


• Salted Caramel Popcorn Brownies


• Sugar Cookie Bars


• Funfetti Cheesecake Pie


• Banana Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes


• Sweet and Sour Slow Cooker Smokies


• Red Velvet Bars


• Veggie Egg Muffins


• 2 Layer Espresso Chocolate Cake

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Soft Cream Cheese Cookies with Nutella Glaze

★★★★★
5 from 2 reviews

• 
  Author: Sally


• 
  Prep Time: 2 hours


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  Cook Time: 12 minutes


• 
  Total Time: 4 hours


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  Yield: 36 3-inch cookies


• 
  Category: Cookies


• 
  Method: Baking


• 
  Cuisine: American

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Description

Extremely soft and thick sugar cookies made with cream cheese and almond extract and topped with creamy Nutella glaze.

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Ingredients

• 3 cups + 2 Tablespoons (390g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)


• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature


• 4 ounces (112g) block cream cheese, softened to room temperature


• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar


• 1 large egg, at room temperature


• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Nutella Glaze

• 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar


• 1/3 cup (100g) Nutella


• 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream or milk


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• pinch salt


• optional: 1/2 cup (60g) chopped hazelnuts for garnish

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Instructions

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together until combined. Set aside.


2. In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extracts and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.


3. On low speed, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be very soft and creamy. Make sure you flour your hands, work surface, and rolling pin.


4. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out onto a piece of parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat (I prefer the nonstick silicone mat) to about 1/4-inch thickness. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.


5. Stack the pieces, with parchment paper between the two, onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. If chilling for more than a couple hours, cover the top dough piece with a single piece of parchment paper.


6. Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Remove one of the dough pieces from the refrigerator and using heart cookie cutter, cut into shapes. I used heart cookie cutters. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd dough piece.


7. Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes until VERY lightly browned around the edges. Make sure you rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. I like to decorate cookies directly on baking sheets so I can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help set the Nutella glaze. So place the cooled cookies back on baking sheets.


8. Make the glaze: In a medium bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat all of the ingredients together on medium-high speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Taste. Add another pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Spread on each cooled cookie then decorate with hazelnuts, if desired. Nutella glaze will set at room temperature after 3-4 hours and even quicker in the refrigerator, about 1 hour.


9. Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

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Notes

1. Make Ahead Instructions: Plain cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. I do not recommend freezing with glaze on top. You can chill the rolled-out cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days (step 5). You can also freeze the cookie dough (before rolling out in step 4) for up to 3 months. Then allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before rolling out. Chill for only 30 minutes in step 5 as opposed to 2 hours.


2. Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | KitchenAid Hand Mixer | Glass Mixing Bowls | 5-qt Tilt-Head Glass Measuring Bowl | Spatula | Rolling Pin | Silpat Baking Mat | Cookie Sheet | Heart Cookie Cutters | Frosting Knife


3. Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.

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