Nutella lovers, unite! These cream cheese cut-out cookies with Nutella glaze are the softest, thickest, and creamiest sugar cookies to ever come out of my oven. They stack and store for easy transport, so you can bring them to cookie exchanges, parties, or any gathering. (Or pack them in your own personal lunchbox!)
Like my original sugar cookies, this new recipe for cream cheese cut-out sugar cookie dough is extra soft, while still holding its shape for cutting out with cookie cutters. Cream cheese makes the dough extra soft and creamy, which I love in so many cookie recipes, like apricot cream cheese thumbprints and maple walnut tassies. Whenever I need a flavor upgrade from plain sugar cookies, this is the recipe I choose!
Here’s a handful of reasons why I know you’ll love them too:
Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies Details
- Texture: Super soft + smooth + thick + creamy = PERFECT.
- Flavor: Enjoy a little tang, a little sweet, and a whole lot of nutty Nutella icing on top. They’re like regular sugar cookies but with a flavorful flair!
- Ease: The dough and glaze are easy to prepare, but you’ll need a couple special tools like cookie cutters and a rolling pin. Plus, Nutella is super sticky and thick, so it’s easiest to use a handheld or stand mixer to beat all the icing ingredients together.
- Time: Though this recipe does take a few hours to complete, most of the time is spent waiting for the dough to chill. I promise they’re worth the wait!
Key Ingredients in These Cookies
And one other thing to note, this recipe makes a good amount of cookies so if you’re looking for 3 dozen cookie cutter cookies, this recipe can be your prime choice!
How to Make These Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies
. These cream cheese cut-out cookies are pretty simple, but be mindful of the order of steps.
Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately per the recipe instructions below and then bring it all together. The dough will be soft and creamy.
Time to roll out and chill. Divide the dough in half because smaller sections of dough are easier to manage. Roll out each portion of dough and then chill them in the refrigerator. Since this is a very soft cookie dough, make sure you flour your hands, rolling pin, and work surface. Here’s half of the dough rolled out:
Cut the chilled dough into shapes and bake.
Let cool completely before decorating.
Rolling Out Cookie Dough: The Trick Is the Order of Steps
Notice how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it in the refrigerator? That’s the trick to the cookies holding their shape, and let me explain why it works.
To prevent the cookies from over-spreading, the cookie dough must be refrigerated first. Right after you prepare the dough, it’s too soft to cut into shapes but it’s not too soft to simply roll out. (Don’t chill the cookie dough and then try to roll it out because it will be too cold and stiff to roll.) I divide the dough in half before rolling it out because smaller sections of dough are easier to handle.
Another trick! Roll out the cookie dough directly on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you can easily transfer it to the refrigerator. Pick it up, put it on a baking sheet, and place it in the refrigerator. If you don’t have enough room for two baking sheets in your refrigerator, stack the pieces of rolled out dough on top of each other, with a layer of parchment paper in between. (That’s what I do.)
Nutella Glaze
You need a mixer for the Nutella glaze. After preparing it, spread it on the cooled cookies. No piping tips or complicated decoration required! And if you’re feeling extra nutty (I can relate), you could sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts on top.
If you end up loving these tangy and soft cream cheese cut-out cookies, you may enjoy these raspberry sugar cookies too. I actually used today’s recipe as the base for that raspberry flavored dough!
Other Sugar Cookie Recipes
- Raspberry Sugar Cookies
- My Favorite Regular Sugar Cookies
- Drop Sugar Cookies
- Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies Recipe
Description
Extremely soft and thick sugar cookies made with cream cheese and almond extract and topped with creamy Nutella glaze.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium-high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until mixture is fluffy and combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Dough will be very soft and creamy.
- Generously flour your hands and rolling pin. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat to about 1/4-inch thickness. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
- Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it’s sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. (I like these heart cookie cutters.) Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. Note: It doesn’t seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.
- Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 12-13 minutes until very lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. I like to decorate the cookies directly on baking sheets so I can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help set the Nutella glaze. If you’d like to do it that way, place the cooled cookies back on baking sheets.
- In a medium bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat all of the ingredients together on medium-high speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Taste. Add another pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Spread on each cooled cookie then decorate with hazelnuts, if desired. Nutella glaze will set at room temperature after 3-4 hours and even quicker in the refrigerator, about 1 hour.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
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