Description
Sweet, pillowy Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting bring nostalgic comfort straight from grandma’s kitchen. Delicate cookie layers paired with silky frosting create an irresistible treat you’ll want to savor slowly and share with loved ones.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Frosting Ingredients:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Decorative Ingredients:
- Sprinkles (optional)
- Food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the dough by thoroughly blending softened butter and sugar until the mixture becomes airy and pale. Incorporate eggs and both vanilla and almond extracts, ensuring a uniform mixture.
- In a separate vessel, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold dry ingredients into the wet mixture, being careful not to overmix, which could result in tough cookies.
- Encase the dough in plastic film and refrigerate for a minimum of 60 minutes to firm up the texture and enhance flavor development.
- Heat the oven to 350F (175C) and arrange parchment paper on baking trays. Dust a clean surface with flour and roll out the chilled dough to a quarter-inch thickness.
- Utilize cookie cutters to create desired shapes, carefully transferring each piece onto prepared baking sheets, maintaining adequate spacing between cookies.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, watching for subtle firmness around edges without allowing browning. Allow cookies to rest momentarily on the tray before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Craft the frosting by whipping cream cheese and butter until silky smooth. Gradually integrate powdered sugar, creating a luxurious, creamy consistency.
- Enhance frosting with vanilla extract and adjust texture using milk. Optional: Introduce food coloring for visual appeal.
- Once cookies have completely cooled, generously spread frosting and embellish with sprinkles as desired.
Notes
- Chilling the dough helps prevent spreading and creates a more defined cookie shape, ensuring picture-perfect edges every time.
- For a gluten-free version, swap regular flour with a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking blend to maintain the soft, tender texture.
- Keep the cookie thickness consistent by using guide sticks or rolling pins with thickness rings to achieve uniform baking and professional-looking results.
- To prevent dry cookies, remove them from the oven when edges are just set and centers look slightly underbaked, as they’ll continue cooking on the hot baking sheet.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 100 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg