brown butter cream cheese sugar cookies
Soft and buttery, these melt-in-your-mouth brown butter cream cheese sugar cookies are a must bake. Brown butter adds depth of flavor and keeps the sweetness in check; a touch of cream cheese in the dough makes it easy to work with and ensures that the cookies remain soft and tender.
Dressed up with frosting and sparkling sprinkles for a festive feel, these brown butter cream cheese sugar cookies are almost too pretty to eat and a beautiful twist on a holiday classic!
How to Make Perfect Sugar Cookies
Chill the dough – Chilling the dough is essential! Chill the dough before punching out shapes, then chill cut out cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets before baking.
Roll out dough – Divide dough into two pieces and roll each piece out between two pieces of parchment paper. Transfer to the refrigerator (keep flat) and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Punch out cookies – Once the dough has chilled, remove the top layer of parchment paper from the dough. Use lightly floured cookie cutters to cut out cookies and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Dough scraps can be re-rolled one time. Chill the cut-outs for 20 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.
Bake – Bake cookies, rotating pans halfway through, for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly golden and tops and edges are set. For smaller cookies, baking time will be approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets before frosting.
Frosting – Combine powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, almond extract, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk frosting until completely smooth and glossy.
Decorate cookies – To make the outline, transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe the frosting around the edge of the cookies, then let set. To flood the center, add more milk to the frosting, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Fill the center of each cookie with frosting. Top cookies with sprinkles and let frosting set before serving.
Make ahead cookies – Shaped, unbaked cookies can be frozen up to 2 months and baked directly from the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 14 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and buttery brown butter cream cheese sugar cookies topped with frosting and sparkling sprinkles! The perfect holiday cutout cookie!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 oz reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp pure almond extract
Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2–3 Tbsp milk
- 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
- 1/4 tsp pure almond extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Cook butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Pour browned butter into a glass measuring cup and chill in the freezer until solidified, about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat solidified brown butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until creamy; beat in cream cheese and egg until combined. Beat in extracts until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture; beat just until incorporated.
- Divide dough in half and roll out each half into a 1/4-inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper. Transfer to the refrigerator (keep flat) and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Once the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the top layer of parchment paper from the dough and use cookie cutters to cut out cookies before transferring to prepared baking sheets. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Bake, rotating pans halfway through, 12 to 14 minutes, until lightly golden and tops and edges are set. For smaller cookies, baking time will be approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely on baking sheets.
- For the frosting, combine powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, almond extract, and salt in a small bowl, whisking together until smooth and glossy. If the frosting seems too thick, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
- Spread or pipe frosting onto cookies and top with sprinkles immediately, while the frosting is still wet. Let the frosting set completely before serving. Store cookies at room temperature.
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use and love!
Cookie Yield: About 2 dozen sugar cookies, depending on size. Yield will vary depending on the size of your cutter.
Make ahead: Shaped, unbaked cookies can be frozen up to 2 months and baked directly from the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time.
Keywords: Brown Butter, Cream Cheese, Cutout Cookie, Holiday Cookie
More holiday cookies to try:
Brown Butter Walnut Sugar Cookies
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Raspberry Pecan Linzer Cookies
I bet the brown butter gives these cookies amazing flavor Laura! They’re sooo pretty too! They’d make great gifts for the holidays!
I use cream cheese in my sugar cookies, too! These look fabulous—brown butter is one amazing addition!!
YOU and these COOKIES!! OH my gosh. Dying over here. These are gorgeous and sound delicious!
This would be a fabulous recipe to use the brand new star shaped cookie cutters I just purchased. With browned butter they are irresistible!
Ahh, these cookies are just so pretty and festive, Laura! Love those beautiful sprinkles on top too!
These cookies are just too pretty to eat dear Laura! I love love those pretty sparkly sprinkles on the top 🙂 DELISH!!!
These are SO cute and festive. Love the bling Laura! 😀
They look like snow! Perfect and love the brown butter and cream cheese flavours. They are sure to be delicious as well as pretty 🙂
YUM!!
These cookies look and sound amazing! I love the idea of putting brown butter and cream cheese in them!
These are so lovely, Laura!
Hi Laura…these cookies are amazing! I have been looking for the perfect cutout recipe. I found it here, thanks. Brown butter and cream cheese work for me!
Thanks
Kathleen
Thanks so much, Kathleen! That’s so great to hear! 🙂
These cookies are really excellent. They hold their shape in the oven really well. It’s hard trying to find a sugar cookie recipe that holds their shape and tastes phenomenal. So many sugar cookies look pretty but taste terrible. Not these. So buttery and delicious. Only sugar cookie recipe I use and I have made these countless times. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you Lauren! 🙂
Would this recipe work as well with full-fat cream cheese?
Hi Chelsea, yes! Happy baking! 🙂
Hello. Question for you. I want to make a chocolate version of these delicious cookies but not sure how to tweak to account for the addition of cocoa powder. Have you tried that? If not, what would you suggest? Thank you.
Hi Lauren, I haven’t tried making a chocolate sugar cookie with this recipe. I would try adding in 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (whisk in with the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt).
If you’re looking for a roll-out chocolate cookie that will hold shape, I’d go with the cookie I use for my homemade thin mints (just omit the peppermint extract): https://tutti-dolci.com/homemade-thin-mint-cookies/
Thank you so much for your help and quick response. I’ll give that a try and see what happens. Thanks for directing to the other chocolate cookie recipe too. Much appreciated.
Hi. I noticed that my cookies are spreading. I freeze the rolled out dough overnight and I refrigerate for 20+ mins once I cut the shapes out. Sometimes I’ll freeze the cutouts before baking for 20+ mins too. They cookies seem to spread either way. Any suggestions as to what I could try to stop them from spreading so much? Thank you.
Hi Lauren, what kind of butter are you using? It may be the fat content. Also, are you baking on parchment paper or silicone baking mats? I find cookies tend to spread more on silicone.
I usually use store brand unsalted butter. Really depends what I have in the freezer brand wise. I haven’t tried these cookies with the extra creamy European style butter. I bake them on silicone. I’ll try the parchment and see how that works. Thank you.