Soft Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

I have something to admit, last winter I tried making sugar cookies and failed miserably. I’m not talking “just didn’t turn out”, I’m talking “wouldn’t hold a shape, crumbled everywhere and generally tasted like crap”. After that little experience, sugar cookies have made me a bit nervous. Almost egg white nervous….yes, it really was that bad. But what better way to get over your fears then to jump right back in the saddle! I found this recipe online, added my own twists to it then took it for a test drive, and am I ever happy I did! This is now my staple sugar cookie recipe – the cookies are light, soft, fluffy, easy to roll & cut with cookie cutters and have great flavour. I’ve already made them a few times (in the shapes of little walleye fish, semi-trucks, ghosts and even some glittery pumpkins) and they are a hit with the crowds too! In true BS fashion, let’s get to the recipe.

Soft Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup softened butter
• 8 oz softened cream cheese
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 vanilla bean (scrapped and just use the beans)
• 5 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat your oven to 350°F (I used my new convection oven for this recipe :))

Start out by creaming together your butter and cream cheese until both are light and fluffy. Add in your sugar and continue to beat into an extra fluffy mixture. Then add your eggs one at a time, followed by your vanilla and vanilla beans, whip until well combined.

Mix in your dry ingredients until a good “dough” has formed. Kneed into three balls, wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a minimum of one hour to  a max of 3 days.  By placing it back in the fridge, it allows the flavours to mingle and for the butter and cream cheese to harden up a bit (otherwise you’d get really  flat cookies if you popped them into the oven without chilling the dough).

Take one ball of dough out at a time and roll into 1/4 inch thick sheets, use a cookie cutter and place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes (rotating the sheet at the half way mark). If you are baking in a convection oven, bake at 10 minutes and you don’t have to worry about rotating the cookie sheet.

Take out of the oven, let cool, add any desired topping or enjoy as is! Hope you all enjoy my new staple sugar cookie recipe!

Carlene

(P.S. Something to note, I noticed if I left the cookie dough sit for the full three days in the fridge, the vanilla beans were able to mingle and create a fabulous marriage of flavours. So if you have the time, let the dough rest, if not, don’t fret, the cookies are still equally as delicious!)