Cream Cheese Christmas (Holiday) Cookies

k k Nye's Note:

My Grandmother taught me this recipe when I was very young. Now, I can't go a Christmas without making these cookies! I usually make a double batch of these and pass them out to everyone, but here's the recipe for a single batch. You can also use this recipe for ANY holiday, not just Christmas.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 32-38

Yield: 5.0 dozen c ...

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup softened butter
• 3 ounces softened cream cheese
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 ¼ cups flour

Directions:

1. Mix sugar, salt, butter, cream cheese, almond and vanilla extract, and egg yolk together well.
2. Stir in flour until well blended.
3. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes (I've chilled mine a little less than 24 hours but I wouldn't suggest going over that.).
4. After You've taken the dough out of the chilled area (sometimes I use the garage) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
5. On a lightly floured surface roll out 1/3-1/2 of the dough.
6. Cut the dough to holiday shapes and place on an ungreased pan. (The cookies do not expand very much while cooking, so you can place them close together.).
7. Here's where you can use the egg white! Spread the egg white over the top of the cookie and add sprinkle if you would like, or leave them plain and add frosting later!
8. Bake the cookies 10 minutes (or until they're a light brown).
9. Let cookies cool completely before adding any frosting.

Reviews

[Domestic Goddess]

I have been making these cookies for many years. I originally found the recipe in one of those cooking magazines, which you'll find near the checkout counter at your grocery store... Pillsbury's Simply From Scratch Recipes Volume 3 (1981). Now-a-days, I mainly use this recipe to make my Valentine heart-shaped cookies for Valentine's Day, and will use a 3-inch cookie cutter. In the end you will get 66 heart shaped cookies. This recipe makes for one heck of a sugar cookie, which you will enjoy! If you love cream cheese, and sugar cookies, you will LOVE this cookie recipe.