Blizzard Cookies
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
Made with half a brick of cream cheese in addition to butter, these winter-sprinkle infused cookies studded with white chocolate chips are super soft cookies that belong in your yearly Christmas cookie rotation.
I’m not sure how the weather is where you are, but here on the Mason-Dixon line it’s unseasonably beautiful right now. The grass is still green, the sun is shining, there are birds singing outside of my window as I type this, and I spent this past Saturday hiking (coat-less) with my dog.
Temperatures are expected to surpass 70-degrees on Christmas Eve, and my siblings are in absolute uproar, particularly Andi (my 10-year-old sister).
She wants snow, no sun, and generally just weather that’s bitter and dismal enough to keep you indoors, at least for Christmas Day.
In my family’s house, Christmas has always been a cold, sometimes snowy, grey day that lends itself to hunkering down inside, eating cookies for breakfast and lunch, lounging in pajamas in wrapping-paper-scented air, and feeding our stock of AA and AAA batteries to new toys and gadgets.
But sunny, 70-degree days are excellent at inducing guilt if you choose to spend them inside rather than out, and Andi can’t quite handle the thought of breaking Christmas tradition and feeling like she should go outside.
So, while I can’t give Andi snow for Christmas, I decided her Christmas cookies should at least be snowy and winter-y, and these well-sprinkled “Blizzard Cookies” (a cousin to my cookies and cream cookies) were born.
If you’re a lover of the dark, the over-baked, the crisp-edged and crunchy cookies that break in half with a hard snap and a shower of dry crumbs, well, you’ll be disappointed with these.
But, if you’re like me, and you prefer the sort of cookie that melts beneath your teeth and hints at a near-underbaked, buttery center studded with molten white chocolate chips, then this is the recipe for you.
Cream cheese and cornstarch (my secret ingredients in many of my cookies and even my coffee cake) are added to a relatively basic cookie recipe for maximum softness, then white chocolate and as many sprinkles as your heart desires (which is a quarter cup, for my heart) are stirred through the batter. The cream cheese also does a good job of tempering the sweetness of the white chocolate, sprinkles, and ample sugar.
If you’re finding yourself faced with the unspeakable horror of an impending sunny Christmas (even you, Australian readers) then do yourself a favor and add these winter-y blizzard cookies to your dessert table this year.
More Recipes You Might Like:
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups (440 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups (255 g) premium white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup colored sprinkles
Instructions
- In KitchenAid, cream together butter and cream cheese until well-combined.1 cup (226 g) butter, 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese
- Add sugars and beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Pause mid-way through to scrape down the sides of the bowl.1 cup (200 g) sugar, ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar
- Add egg and beat until combined.1 large egg
- Stir in vanilla extract.1 tsp vanilla extract
- In separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.3 ½ cups (440 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt
- With KitchenAid on low speed, gradually add flour mixture until completely combined.
- Stir in white chocolate chips (low-speed), and pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl.1 ½ cups (255 g) premium white chocolate chips
- Add colored sprinkles and stir until just combined (by hand is preferable, but the dough is quite sticky and thick, so you may mix briefly on low-speed).¼ cup colored sprinkles
- Cover and transfer to refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Once cookie dough has chilled, remove from fridge and scoop/roll into 1 ½" balls. Place on parchment paper and slightly flatten with your hand or with the bottom of a clean glass. Add additional sprinkles if desired.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
If you don’t care for white chocolate chips can you substitute regular chocolate chips?
Hi Meg! That will work fine. 🙂
Hi Sam! My sister and I made these cookies last Saturday. They were the best holiday cookies we’ve ever made before in our life. Thank you so much for the recipe Sam! We are making them again on Christmas Eve.
Sam, I made the blizzard 🥶 cookies for my brothers employees at their collusion business and they were a big hit!! The worst chocolate chip cookies were a hit too!
You were right, my oven is out of wack. I fixed it making the coffee cake again and it was SO delicious!!
Thank you for all your great recipes with the videos.
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Joanne! 🙂
this looks wonderful! Can I make it without the white chocolate chips – and will it still be sweet enough? Also will this recipe work with any type of sprinkles? And can you roll the dough in sprinkles before baking to get more sprinkles on the top or will it mess it up if they are shaped sprinkles and such.
Hi Yamini! You can leave out the chocolate chips if you’d like. You can really use whatever kind of sprinkles you want, but if you are going to roll them you will need the outside of the dough ball to be warm enough that the sprinkles will stick. 🙂
Can I use this recipe with Macadamia nuts? I really love the way these came out and I think Macadamia nuts would benefit the truly rich buttery taste of these.
That would be fine, enjoy! 🙂
Because of the cream cheese in these cookies, should they be kept in the refrigerator? Thank you!
Nope, no need! Enjoy!
Can the Blizzard Cookies be made into bars? If so, what would I do differently in the recipe?
Hi Brenda! That should be fine. You shouldn’t have to make any alterations to the actual recipe, just the bake time. 🙂
I was wondering how these cookies freeze?
FYI… I have made your “worst chocolate chip cookies”. And they are the worst ever. 😉 😉
Hi Lisa! These should freeze just fine. You can either freeze the dough raw or cooked, although I prefer to freeze the raw dough to have fresh cookies. 🙂
I couldn’t find snowflake sprinkles so I used Valentine’s Day themed sprinkles that had x and o shapes with silver parcels. I then took a heart shape cookie cutter to shape them. They were yummy and my 9 year old loved them.
So festive and fun, Samantha! I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Delicious and easy! I made each cookie with 1/4 cup of dough and baked them for 17 minutes. I also sprinkled some sprinkles on top before I baked them so you could see the snowflakes better. They’re beautiful and taste amazing!
I am so glad that you enjoyed the blizzard cookies, Julie! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
My five kids have declared Blizzard cookies “epic”.
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them Jade! 🙂
WELL-I cannot run out and buy a Kitchen Aide mixer. if I make the cookies with my little hand mixer will they turn out=or is it Kitchen Aide or nothing at all.
Hand mixer will work 🙂 Enjoy!
Sam,
Well I finished baking your wonderful Blizzard cookies just in time for tomorrow’s expected snowstorm here in Maryland and then the Polar Vortex that is coming behind it. These cookies are a SMASH HIT with my family.
The cookies turned out EXACTLY like the pictures in your recipe and, most importantly, they taste awesome. I gave some to my mom and she said, “I think I’m hearing the angels singing!.”
My batch yielded an incredible 3-1/2 dozen cookies, a great value. Based on this recipe The Food Network should give you your own baking show! I can’t wait to explore some of your other recipes. Keep up the great work. You’re amazing.
–Dave B.
I am so glad everyone enjoys them! Thank you for the wonderful compliment. I hope you love everything you try. Stay safe in the snow. 🙂
I am going to make these cookies tomorrow (Jan. 28, 19) in advance of a snow event here in Northern Maryland. Question: How many cookies does this recipe yield?
Hi, Dave! It should make about 3 dozen cookies. Stay safe in the snow! 🙂
That’s the perfect amount! I’m starting on them momentarily. I’ll let you know how they turn out! Oh, and I remember that 70 degree Christmas in ’15. It was TERRIBLE!
It definitely was not Christmas weather at all!
These are so good! Nice & soft, great flavor. I’m glad we made these – they are going to be a part of our regular Christmas cookie baking from now on 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Jenni! 🙂
These cookies are soft and decedent! I will definitely be including them in my christmas cookie tins. However, the bottoms were browning much faster than the center was baking. I solved the issue by putting an empty pan on the rack below the cookies, but any ideas why this happened?
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Bethany! If you were baking them on the center rack and they were still cooking unevenly your oven temperature may a little higher than it says it is.