Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤

I made these delicious cookies for my daughter and some of her friends for their Valentine’s (Galentine’s!) Day celebration. Tanya Ott, the amazing baker of globalbakes.com, promised that they would hold their shape and she was right. I was so pleased! 🙂 Because the dough does not contain a rising agent, the cut out shapes stay completely intact while baking.

The cookie recipe was adapted from globalbakes.com. I made half the recipe, used fine sea salt, increased the chilling time, and baked the cookies in a convection oven. Tanya’s blog has many informative videos with amazing royal icing techniques and ideas. I highly recommend checking it out. 🙂

The royal icing recipe is from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.

Yield: about 48 3-inch cookies

For the Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Dough:

• 227 grams (1 cup; 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 114 grams (4 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 337 grams (2 1/4 cups plus 2 T) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese until well blended and smooth.
2. Add the sugar, vanilla extract, and egg yolks, and mix until just combined.
3. Add the flour and salt, and mix to form a soft dough.
4. Shape the dough into a ball, press into a 1/2-inch disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm.
5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters, and place them on a plastic wrap-lined cookie sheet. Place another layer of plastic wrap between each layer of cookies. (I stack similar shapes on top of one another.)
6. Chill for at least 15 minutes. (I chilled the cut shapes overnight.)
7. Preheat the oven to 350F, preferably on convection. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking sheets.
8. Place the chilled cookies one inch apart on prepared baking sheets. (Bake cookies of similar size at the same time.)
9. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until light golden brown around the edges. Bake time will vary with the size and thickness of the cookies. Allow to cool completely before frosting or decorating.

For the Royal Icing:

• 1/2 pound (8 oz) Confectioners’ sugar
• 2 1/2 T meringue powder
• liquid or gel-paste food coloring
• sanding sugar or sprinkles, as desired

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, meringue powder, and a scant 1/4 cup (4 T) water on low speed.  Beat until mixture is fluffy yet dense, 7 to 8 minutes.
2. To thin the icing for flooding (filling in areas with additional icing), stir in additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time.  Test the consistency by lifting a spoonful of icing and letting it drip back into the bowl; a ribbon should remain on the surface for 5 to 7 seconds.
3. To tint icing, dip a toothpick or wooden skewer into food coloring, and gradually mix it in until the desired shade is reached. (I used 3 shades of pink once the icing was “flood” consistency.)
4. Using a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip, pipe a border around each cookie. Then, thin the icing to a flood consistency and fill in the border. (I used a larger tip to fill in the cookies.)
5. Decorate with sanding sugar or sprinkles before the icing has set, if desired.

One-Bowl Crispies

These cookies were simple and sensational. The original recipe named them “Brown-Edge Cookies” which didn’t seem fabulous enough! They were named for a similar crispy cookie sold by Nabisco prior to 1996 called Brown-Edge Wafers.

The recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Mille Shea and Liz Laskey, adapted by Margaux Laskey. Millie Shea learned this all-butter recipe from her mother in the 1930’s.

The authors described them as “buttery like the Danish cookies in blue tins, tender in the middle like snickerdoodles and snappy like Scottish shortbread.” The article also stated that they would be placed in the intersection of a Christmas sugar cookie, vanilla wafer, and French tuile. Wow. That is a combination of quite a few favorites!

I made half of the recipe below, yielding about 32 cookies. The recipe (even half of the recipe!) definitely makes enough to share.

Yield: about 5 dozen

• 1 pound/453 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 pound/453 grams granulated sugar (2 1/4 cups)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups/384 grams all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

1. Arrange two racks around the middle of the oven and heat oven to 375 degrees, preferably on convection.
2. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add egg and vanilla. Beat on medium until incorporated, about 1 minute. 
4. Add 1 cup flour and the salt and beat on low to just combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Add the remaining 2 cups flour and beat on low until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl, then beat on medium for 30 seconds just until no flour streaks remain. 
6. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart as the cookies spread quite a bit while baking. (I used a 1 T cookie scoop, leveled, and placed 8 cookies per sheet.)
7. Bake 2 sheets at a time, rotating the pans halfway through, until the edges are lightly browned and the centers are slightly puffed, 8 to 9 minutes on convection or up to 10 to 12 minutes in a standard oven. Be careful not to overbake.
8. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 
9. Cool on the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then transfer cookies to the rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Parisian Corn Sablés

These simple shortbread-style cookies were minimally sweet with a perfectly crumbly texture. We enjoyed them plain and sandwiched with jam.

This recipe is from Apollonia Poilâne via The New York Times, contributed by Dorie Greenspan. They are included in the book “Poilâne, The Secrets of the World-Famous Bread Bakery,” by Apollonia Poilâne, who heads the legendary Parisian boulangerie. According to the article, the desserts made in the shop are bread-bakers pastries, described as as “less sweet, less fussy and less fussed over.” I chilled the dough in logs rather than rolling and cutting as a shortcut.

Yield: about 60 cookies

• 125 grams (1/2 cup plus 2 T) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 250 grams unsalted butter (2 1/4 sticks, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) cut into cubes, softened until creamy
• 240 grams (2 cups) corn flour
• 240 grams (1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
• jam, for sandwiching the cookies, optional (I used Bonne Maman Four Fruits Preserves)

1. In a large bowl, working with a mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar, egg and egg yolk until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the butter, and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the corn flour and all-purpose flour to a medium bowl, and whisk until combined.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
5. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Divide the dough in half, and using parchment paper, shape into 2 logs, about 1 1/4-inches in diameter.
6. Wrap the logs tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. I place the logs in wrapping paper cardboard to maintain the shape. (I refrigerated the dough overnight- and even longer for a second batch.)(The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.)
7. To bake, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees, preferably on convection.
8. Working with 1 log of dough at a time, slice the dough into 1/4-inch thick rounds, rotating the log between slices to make more even slices.
9. Place the rounds 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheets. (I placed 12 cookies per sheet.)
10. Bake the cookies until the centers are set and the edges are very lightly browned, 12 minutes on convection. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time.
11. Immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
12. Serve plain or sandwiched with jam. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

I shared these cookies with a friend and she shared this beautiful photo of them with me. ❤

Brown Sugar Cookies

One more recipe from Sarah Kieffer’s new cookie book!

These wonderful cookies may have tasted even more spectacular because they looked so simple and unassuming. Wow. The extra teaspoon of molasses may have been the secret ingredient. Like her snickerdoodles, they had a crispy edge and soft center.

The recipe was adapted from 100 Cookies: The Baking Book for Every Kitchen with Classic Cookies, Novel Treats, Brownies, Bars and More by Sarah Kieffer. I chilled the dough prior to baking and modified the cookie size. I also reduced the amount of granulated sugar needed for rolling. Great!

Yield: 30 to 32 cookies

• 364 g (2 1/2 cups plus 1 T) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt (I used fine sea salt)
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 350 g (1 3/4 cups) dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp molasses
• 1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 50 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar, for rolling

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). (I did not use the convection setting.)
2. Line rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.
5. Add the brown sugar and the molasses and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until combined.
7. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
8. Place the granulated sugar in a small bowl.
9. Using a medium-sized cookie scoop, ration the dough into 30g (1 oz or 1 1/2 T) portions. (At this point, I wrapped the scoops with plastic wrap and chilled them. I baked half after 1 hour and the other half after 24 hours.)
10. Roll each ball in the granulated sugar and place 8 cookies on each sheet pan.
11. Bake one pan at a time, rotating halfway through baking. Bake until the sides are set and the bottoms are light golden brown, 12 to 13 minutes (for the chilled dough).
12. Transfer the sheet pan to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the pan, then remove them and let them cool completely on the wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Note: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Pan-Banging Giant Crinkled Snickerdoodles

I first read about Sarah Kieffer’s famous pan-banging baking method when her Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe was published in The New York Times, adapted from The Vanilla Bean Baking Book. During the baking process, the sheet pan is intermittently tapped on the oven rack. The resulting cookies have a “crinkled,” rippled, crisp outer edge and soft center. I love how they look. The added bonus is that they have to be large- giant– in order for the method to be successful.

In Kieffer’s second cookbook, 100 Cookies: The Baking Book for Every Kitchen with Classic Cookies, Novel Treats, Brownies, Bars, and More, she has an entire chapter devoted to pan-banging cookies. I can’t believe that it has taken me this long to bake them! The original chocolate chip cookie recipe has been modified in the new book. I will have to try the chocolate chip cookie version, of course, but I loved the idea of making giant crinkled snickerdoodles.

I did find that the method was only successful with three cookies per sheet pan. It may be be because the dough is closer to the center of the pan but I’m not exactly sure. The pans with four cookies cracked on the edges and spread more than the pans with three cookies. I reduced the amount of cinnamon sugar topping in the recipe below because there was excess.

The original recipe states that it yields twelve cookies, but, after weighing the rationed dough, each batch (sadly) only yielded ten cookies. I immediately made a second batch to share after baking the first ten cookies! We loved them.

Yield: 10 giant cookies

For the Cookie Dough:

• 284g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt (I used fine sea salt)
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 227g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 300g (1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Topping:

• 25g (2 T) granulated sugar
• 1/2 T ground cinnamon

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. (The remaining oven racks should be below this middle rack to not interfere with the pan-banging.)
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). (I did not use the convection setting.)
3. Line 3 rimmed sheet pans with aluminum foil, dull-side up.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, and nutmeg.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.
6. Add the 300g (1 1/2 cups) sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low speed to combine.
8. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
9. In a small bowl, combine the 25g (2 T) and ground cinnamon for the topping.
10. Form the dough in to 85 to 86g (3 oz or 1/4 cup) balls. (I initially used the combination of a large and medium cookie scoop, but found it was easier to just weigh chunks of dough.) Place all of the dough balls on a plate until all of it has been rationed.
11. Roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar topping.
12. Place 3 cookies an equal distance apart on the sheet pans. (One will be leftover to bake after a sheet pan has cooled.)
13. Bake the cookies one pan at a time.
14. Bake until the dough balls have flattened but are puffed slightly in the center, 8 minutes.
15. Lift one side of the sheet pan up about 4 inches (10 cm) and gently let it drop down against the oven rack, so the edges of the cookies set and the center falls back down. (I repeated this lifting the other side of the pan as well.)
16. After the cookies puff up again in 2 minutes, repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times, every 2 minutes, to created ridges around the edge of the cookie. Bake for 14 to 15 minutes total, until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden brown but the centers are much lighter and not fully cooked. (To keep track, I actually kept a paper to keep track of the timing: 8*2*2*2*1.)
17. Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Note: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days (or refrigerate for up to 3 days).

Everyday Soft French Bread

Recently, my friend’s husband made this wonderful bread. It was so delicious, she ran over to give us a few slices to sample. Lucky me! 🙂 She also shared the recipe, of course. This bread is completely different from a classic crusty baguette. It is soft, tender, and quite dense. The dough is more manageable and it can also be made from start to finish in a single day.

The recipe was adapted from The French Kitchen: Tales and Traditions of Everyday Home Cooking in France by Susan Herrmann Loomis. The texture and flavor of this loaf are reminiscent of my husband’s favorite sourdough sandwich bread, which also includes milk and butter in the dough. Both this loaf and the sourdough sandwich bread seem to be resistant to becoming stale- if they’re not eaten right away. 😉

Yield: One 18 by 3-inch (45 by 7.5 cm) loaf

For the Bread:

• 250 ml (1 cup) whole milk
• 1 tsp active dry yeast or instant yeast
• 2 T granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 325 g to 360 g (2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur), plus more for dusting
• 2 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the Glaze:

• 2 tsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp whole milk

1. Scald the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat, just until it has tiny bubbles around the edge of the pot.
2. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or to a large bowl.
3. When the milk is slightly cooled (and no longer feels hot), sprinkle in the yeast and sugar. Let sit until some of the yeast has bubbled up to the top of the milk, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the salt, stir, and slowly add half of the flour.
5. Add the melted butter.
6. Add up to 1 1/4 cups (187 g) of the remaining flour to form a fairly thick dough. If the dough is still soft and very sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get a dough that is firm, but not stiff. (I started with 325 g flour and incorporated an additional 20 g to achieve the desired consistency.)
7. If using a stand mixer, knead the dough with the paddle attachment on low-speed for 5 minutes. Alternatively, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes.
8. Form the dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. (I used a proofing oven.)
9. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and position a rack in the center.
10. Gently punch down the dough down. Pull to form it into a baguette shape measuring 18-inches by 3-inches (45 cm by 7.5 cm). (I formed mine into a 16-inch long shape because of the length of my baguette pan.) Crimp the ends.
11. Let it rise until it is about one-third larger, about 30 minutes. (I placed it on a baguette pan in a proofing oven.)
12. To make the glaze, melt the butter and the milk together, whisk to combine. Keep warm until ready to use.
13. Brush the loaf with the glaze. (I used about 2/3 of the glaze.) Score the top of the loaf 4 or 5 times using a sharp knife, lame, or kitchen shears.
14. Bake until the loaf is golden and baked though, about 25 minutes.
15. Remove from the oven, brush the loaf with any residual glaze, and let cool before slicing.

Soft Sugar Cookies with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

My daughter is mildly obsessed with the grocery store version of these cookies. I was always hesitant to make them because I thought that they required shortening or margarine in order to keep their soft texture. This version uses a combination of butter and cream cheese to create the soft-baked, cakey texture.

I loved the color and taste from the freeze dried raspberries in the frosting. The resulting color was pretty and fun. 🙂

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Eric Kim. I used a stand mixer and reduced the size of the cookies. They would be very festive as a Valentine’s Day treat. ❤

Yield: about 26 cookies

For the Cookies:

• 1/2 cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
• 3 ounces/85 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups/285 grams cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• sprinkles, for garnish

For the Frosting:

• 1 cup/30 grams freeze-dried raspberries, finely ground in a food processor or spice grinder (I used Trader Joe’s)
• 1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 2 cups/245 grams confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of kosher salt

Make the Cookie Dough:

1. In a large bowl, using a spoon, cream the butter, cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth and fluffy. (I used a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mixed on low-speed.)
2. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk to incorporate some air and to dissolve the sugar crystals, about 1 minute. (I mixed the batter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low-speed.)
3. Stir in the flour and baking powder until just incorporated.
4. Using two spoons or a cookie scoop, ration out 1 1/2-tablespoon/25 to 30-gram rounds onto a plastic wrap-lined baking sheet, tray, or container. Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap.
5. Place the rationed dough in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky and easier to handle.
6. Heat oven to 350 degrees, preferably on convection, and line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper.

While the dough chills, Make the Frosting:

1. Finely grind the freeze dried raspberries in a food processor or spice grinder.
2. In a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl, sift the ground raspberries, using a spoon to help pass them through, until most of the ruby-red powder is in the bowl and most of the seeds are left behind in the sieve. (Discard the seeds.)
3. To the sifted dried raspberries, add the 1 cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt and, with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, mix on low-speed until the butter absorbs the sugar.
4. Turn the speed up to high and beat until the frosting doubles in size, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated.
5. Transfer the frosting to a small container, cover tightly, and set aside. (You should have about 2 cups of frosting.)

To Bake the Cookies and Decorate:

1. Remove the dough from the freezer.
2. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Roll the chilled dough into even balls and flatten them slightly with your fingers so they’re about 2 inches wide and 1 inch high. Place on the prepared baking sheets. (You should get about 12 to 13 cookies per sheet pan.)
4. Bake the cookies for 9 to 15 minutes, rotating the pans and switching racks halfway through, or until they no longer look wet on top, are still light in color and spring back to the touch. They will puff up and crack slightly.
5. Let cool completely on the sheet pan. (They will continue to cook as they sit.)
6. Using a butter knife or offset spatula, frost each cooled cookie with the raspberry frosting and adorn with the sprinkles.