Milky Cream Cheese Cookies

Have you ever wonder if the use of heavenly creamy cream cheese can bake better cookies?

YES that I notice that cookies and pastry made with cream cheese has a nice milky taste but...

NO that the cookies or pastries made with cream cheese are not as crispy or short as the ones made with just butter or shortening.

I notice the obviously difference between these pineapple tarts baked with cream cheese (recipe from Wendy, Table for 2) and these pineapple tarts baked without cream cheese (recipe from The Little Teochew). The cream cheese ones are delicious with a hint of milky taste but I actually prefer the ones without cream cheese for its short and buttery texture.

Am I giving up the idea of using cream cheese for tarts or cookies baking? Not entirely!!!

If you try Googling for best cream cheese cookies, you will see this from The Heartland and this from Just a Taste. I like to trust Google and try both recipes...

According to Dawn, the author of The Heartland, mentioned that her cream cheese cookies recipe has been pinned in many Pinterest boards and she named this recipe the "Best-Ever Cream Cheese Cookies". With further Googling, I found that another cream cheese cookies recipe is very similar to Dawn's one too and uses egg yolk rather than using the whole eggs. For extra creaminess, I'm giving Dawn's recipe a go using with egg yolk.

Both Google and Dawn is right! These cookies is really simple, versatile and yet so delicious!

According to Dawn, these cookies are be made as dropped cookies, roll them into balls or even roll the dough for cut-out cookies. Like what Dawn did, I baked mine using the simple drop method with no extra sugar.

Interestingly, these cookies can taste differently baked with different baking time. These cookies taste like little cream cheese pound cake when the cookies are slightly under-baked for 12-15 minutes and warm. And, I LOVE LOVE LOVE them the most at this stage!!! They will eventually firm up and taste like cookies when they are baked for another 5 minutes and cooled completely. As expected, these cookies are not the short or crispy kind at all but sort of cake-y type with nice milky taste and fragrance.

Next, I will be trying this cream cheese chocolate chip cookies recipe from Just a Taste. So stay tune to explore the wonder of cream cheese in my cookies baking... - LOL!

Simple milky cream cheese cookies

Can the heavenly creamy cream cheese bake better cookies?

The cookie batter looks so creamy...

The batter doesn't look so creamy now :p

Easier to scoop and drop equal amount of dough with an ice cream scoop :)

If under-baked, the warm cookies tasted like little pound cake! Yum!

It is quite difficult for me to illustrate or describe the milky fragrance of these cookies...

... you have to smell and taste it to understand it!

Here's the Best-Ever Cream Cheese Cookies recipe from The Heartland
(with my modification in blue)

Makes about 2 dozen dropped or rolled cookies

1/2 cup (or 125g) unsalted butter at room temperature
3oz (or 90g) regular cream cheese at room temperature
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg at room temperature
(used 1 egg yolk with half amount of the recipe) 
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
(I replaced this vanilla paste)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Heat your oven to 375°F (or 160°C fan forced) and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Place butter and cream cheese in your mixer bowl and beat for 1 min. Beat in the sugar and baking powder (I added the baking powder later with the flour).

Add egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Beat in the flour (+ baking powder). Chill for 30 mins for drop/roll cookies, 1 hr for cut-out cookies.

Scoop by rounded teaspoon full and dredge drop cookies (roll balled cookies) in superfine sugar (I dropped my cookies dough directly onto my baking sheets without coating them with extra sugar). Bake for 7 mins (*See note). Cool for 1 min on cookie sheet then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

*Note: The baking time may vary depending on the size and the shapes of your cookies. Mine scooped using a small ice cream scoop took 12-15 mins to become cream-cheese-pound-cake-like and took a total of 20 mins to become firm cookies. 

Please do not over-bake as over-baking will dry out the cookies. 

Using half amount of the recipe with 1 egg yolk, I have baked 17 of these cookies at 160°C fan forced for 12-20 mins.

Happy Baking 
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