Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookie Dough

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour — spooned and leveled
• 8 oz full-fat brick cream cheese — softened
• 1 cup salted butter — softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional Toppings

• colored sugar or sprinkles (optional)
• royal icing (optional)
• powdered sugar glaze (optional)

1. Cream Butter and Cream Cheese: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and salted butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.8 oz cream cheese, 1 cup salted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar
2. Add Flavoring: Mix in the almond extract and vanilla extract until evenly combined, scraping the bowl once more as needed.½ tsp almond extract, 1 tsp vanilla extract
3. Add Flour: With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour and mix only until no dry streaks remain and the soft dough comes together. Do not overmix.2½ cups all-purpose flour
4. Chill the Dough: Divide the dough into three equal portions and shape each portion into a flat disk. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
5. Prepare Baking Sheets: Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Roll and Cut Cookies: Work with one chilled dough disk at a time, keeping the remaining dough refrigerated. Roll the dough about ¼-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters and arrange similar-sized cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. If using colored sugar or oven-safe sprinkles, gently press them onto the cookies before baking. If the cut cookies have softened, refrigerate the filled baking sheet for 10–15 minutes before baking.
7. Bake: Bake each sheet for 10–15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies, until the tops look set and the edges just begin to turn pale golden while the centers remain pale and tender. Begin checking smaller cookies at 10 minutes.
8. Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before applying royal icing or powdered sugar glaze.