I participate in a cookie exchange with a group from work and this particular year I wanted to make something simple instead of over-the-top. I’ve been busy and needed something what was easy and that would taste good. This little gem came to me from my Twitter friend @brandiego and i thought that it sounded delicious and simple; so simple that I was unsure how this cookie would stay together since there seemed to be so little flour!
I have to admit: the first batch was undercooked, so undercooked that it still tasted somewhat of raw dough and could not keep its shape when held. I made one crucial mistake: since I was making a double batch, I had two pans in the oven and I forgot to switch their positions halfway through the baking process! Luckily I was able to save them by throwing them back in the oven for a few minutes.
It was a hit! I thought these were going to be a sugar cookie, but they are so much more; these are moist and buttery, sweet but not tooth-achingly so, and feel so light that before you know it, you already had your third cookie! My friend Peggy Steele loved them so much that when she made a batch for her kids she made them fun by adding green food coloring and called them grinch cookies!
The recipe below is a modified version of the one found at http://www.Dessertfortwo.com
Serves: 1 dozen
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar (adding more when needed)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat together with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 30 seconds.
- Slowly add the sugar to the cream cheese mixture while continuously beating. Beat the sugar into the cream cheese mixture until light and fluffy, 1 minute.
- Next, add the vanilla, whole egg, and egg yolk. Beat until combined.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this to the cream cheese mixture in three increments, beating in between each addition.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325-degrees, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Have the powdered sugar ready in a shallow bowl nearby.
8. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough, with a 1 tablespoon ice-cream scooper (you can use a bigger one or a smaller one, just adjust placement on the cookie sheet as necessary). Drop scooped dough into bowl of powdered sugar and roll the dough into the powdered sugar before placing them evenly on the baking sheet. Make sure the dough is completely covered.
9. Bake for 16 minutes. Keep a close eye on these cookies–they should not brown in the oven. The top of the cookies will be puffed. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before serving.
Tips and changes:
- Bring the butter to near room temperature, the cream cheese needs to be close to that as well, doing this will allow the dough to mix much better.
- I adjusted the time in the fridge because I feel that the original 30 minutes is not enough to solidify the dough, especially when you make a double batch.
- Disregard the powdered sugar amount: just pour a lot of powdered sugar into a bowl and then scoop the dough into it and roll it around. Don’t bother rolling with your hands…it will be too tacky and besides, using an ice cream scooper will help make them all uniform.
- The cookies should not be brown, they should be golden, on the other hand, the cookies should not be undercooked either!
Scraping The Bowl 