Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies are a perfectly soft, melt-in-your-mouth cutout cookie! Cut them into any shape you please but make sure to top them off with a generous topping of cream cheese frosting! Be sure to check out the simple how-to video at the bottom of the post!!
Today’s recipe is a thicker, softer, and cream-cheese infused version of my favorite sugar cookies. You might also recognize the icing, it’s a firmer, smaller batch of my popular cream cheese frosting!
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Recipe
I’ve shared quite a few soft sugar cookies on the blog.
From soft frosted sugar cookies, chocolate sugar cookies, and sugar cookie bars, to notes on how to make my classic sugar cookies thick and soft, we’ve covered a lot of ground. However, these cream cheese sugar cookies are in a league of their own.
Not only are they melt-in-your-mouth soft and topped with the best frosting in existence (hint, also try them with chocolate cream cheese frosting!), but there’s also no chilling required! They’re one of the easiest cut out cookies I’ve shared yet.
No Chilling Necessary
One of my favorite things about this cream cheese sugar cookie recipe is that there is no chilling! Despite the 6 oz of cream cheese we’ve worked into the dough, it’s thick and not very sticky (in fact, if you’re not using a stand mixer it can take some time to work all the ingredients together into a smooth dough).
You’ll transfer your dough onto a clean floured surface and use your hands to work the dough together until it is smooth and cohesive. If it does seem too sticky and is sticking to the counter or to your hands, just add additional flour beneath and on top of the dough. A few dustings of extra flour should help you get to a point where the dough is easily manageable.
Keep the Dough Thick
If you don’t care for thick cookies, you can of course make these any thickness you’d like, but I think cream cheese sugar cookies taste best when they are thick. I roll my dough out until it is just shy of ½″.
This makes for a soft, thick, cookie base that you can really sink your teeth into. It’s also nice to have a cookie that is thick enough to be accented by the cream cheese frosting, rather than overwhelmed by it.
Enjoy!
Treat yourself to a FREE E-BOOK!
Other Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies
- Carrot Cake Cookies (uses the same frosting!)
- Coconut Cream Bars
- Valentine Cookies
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (113g)
- 6 oz cream cheese softened (170g)
- 1 cup sugar 200g
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 375g
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter softened 85g
- 6 oz cream cheese softened 170g
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar 280g
- 2 tsp cornstarch**
- Sprinkles for decorating optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
- Combine butter and cream cheese and use an electric mixer (or stand mixer) to stir until creamy and well-combined.
- Add sugar and stir again until thoroughly combined.
- Stir in egg and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet until completely combined.
- Transfer dough to a clean surface that’s been generously dusted with flour. Working with just half of the dough at a time, transfer dough to surface and use your hands to form into a ball (add additional flour to the surface if it’s sticky).
- Use a rolling pin to roll dough to just under ½” thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into shapes and transfer to prepared baking sheets.
- Bake in 350F (175C) oven for 8-10 minutes* Allow to cool completely on baking sheet before covering with frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Once your cookies have cooled, prepare your frosting by combining butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract. Use an electric mixer (or a stand mixer) to cream ingredients together until well-combined.
- Gradually (with mixer on low-speed) add powdered sugar until completely combined. Stir in cornstarch (make sure it's well incorporated into the frosting).
- Spread or pipe frosting over completely cooled cookies.
Jenna Lynn
Excellent cookies! Great recipe. Easy dough to work with cookie cutters.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jenna! 🙂
Kris Marie
Made these today for my Valentine’s gifts for my adult children. I tinted the icing a pretty shade of pink! Decided to pipe an icing heart on to the heart shaped cookie and popped them into the refrigerator to set up as I want to put them into treat bags tomorrow! They were a very chewy cookie! Delicious!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Kris! Hopefully the children love them just as much. 🙂
Tara
Hi! Does the frosting have to be refrigerated? If I make the cookies. And then the frosting but don’t frost right away does the frosting stay at room temp or have to stay in the fridge? Thank you!!
Sam
Hi Tara! The frosting will crust and firm up if left out. I would probably put it in an air tight container and then press some plastic wrap down onto the surface of the frosting to keep it from drying out. 🙂
Dede
I just made these lovely cookies! I thought I read that you can freeze them. Is that true?
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. My family is still drooling over the boston pie
cupcakes. haha
Sam
Hi Dede! You shouldn’t have any issues freezing these cookies. I’m glad everyone enjoyed the cupcakes so much! 🙂
Denise Clarkson
I Sam, just putting my cookies in the oven but there’s no way I got 30 cookies.if at less then 1/2″ thick. How many did you actually get from your batch? The batter is delicious, so looking forward to having a baked one 😉
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Denise! I typically roll my dough to just under ½” thick and use a 3″ cookie cutter. I typically can get 28-30 cookies out of one batch. It really depends on how big your cutter is. I hope that you enjoy the cookies. 🙂
Denise Clarkson
Hi Sam and thanks for responding, I was only able to get 20 and I measured my cookies and they were roughly 3″ round. I used a metal can, the old faithfuls 🙂 I have a convection oven but also can change to bake, which I do, I don ‘t bake enough to get use to convection baking. I find I had to bake longer then 10 min, I gave them 15 and still wasn’t sure if they were baked though. The end result was deicious, thanks for all your wonderful recipes, I do enjoy them. Keep them coming.
Sugar Spun Run
A metal can works perfectly! I am sorry that you were only able to get 20 out of one batch and that they took longer to bake in the convection oven. I appreciate your feedback and am really happy to hear that you enjoyed them. Thanks, Denise! 🙂
Carrie Russell
I made these. And instead of using 6oz of cream cheese, i used 8 on both the cookie n icing. I also melted the butter (accident) in the cookie recipe. It took a lil more time incorporating the ingredients but I have to say this was hands down the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever made! And then too add the frosting..Yum! A bit sweet but delicious!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Carrie! 🙂
Annie
I tried it and it worked great! This is a great sugar cookie recipe!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Annie! 🙂
lisa
SO GOOD. I ate half the batch in one day. I love cream cheese and loft house cookies so this is a win for me 😋
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Lisa! 🙂
Gina Brown
How far in advance have you made these cookies and then served them and thought they still tasted delicious 😀😀
If I make the dough a day or two in advance, can it be refrigerated and then baked the day you’re serving them?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Gina! If stored in an airtight container these cookies will stay fresh for up to 1 week. You will be fine to make the dough a few days in advance and bake it the day you are serving. Enjoy! 🙂
Sarah
If I don’t want to bake the whole batch at once and refrigerate part of it, does the dough need to sit out a while bf it will roll out? Can’t wait to try these!
Sam
Hi Sarah! It will probably get pretty firm and will need to sit for a few minutes (like 15) at room temperature so you can roll the dough without cracking. I hope that helps!
Abby
These are the best cookies ever! The frosting goes with the cookies so well. I have made them 2 times now and they get better every time.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Abby! 🙂
Lorraine Curtis
Delicious. Taste best after 2 days. Sandwiched 2 with seedless raspberry jam for a few. I added 2 tsp. pure almond, too. So good thanks
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Lorraine! 🙂
Steph
These were amazing. I doubled the vanilla in the Frosting, and I loved it. Definitely my go-to Frosting recipe from here on out! The cookie recipe is great too, no spreading at all. My oven needed a few extra minutes for the cookies.
Sam
I’m so glad to hear you loved them, Steph!! Thank you so much for commenting <3
Leah
Does the icing crust on these? Just wondering if they’re stackable so they can be transported easily.
Sam
It crusts a bit if you let them sit at room temperature for several hours, but not enough that I really recommend stacking them.
Denise Deaver
Do you need to refrigerate these cookies after frosted?
Sam
I don’t unless I plan to keep them longer than 2 days. The sugar does a good job of preserving the cream cheese (so long as you aren’t in a particularly humid environment)
Annie
Would Neufchâtel Cheese work in this recipe?
Sam
Hi Annie! I honestly haven’t tried it so I am not sure. If you do try it let me know how it goes. 🙂