The Tangy Ingredient That Works Wonders In Sugar Cookies

Every home baker should have a go-to sugar cookie recipe, whether to use as a crowd-pleasing dessert or to shape and decorate around the holidays. With their flavor being primarily that of sugar, these cookies are sweet and simple, with an irresistibly soft and chewy texture. One unexpected ingredient can turn sugar cookies from good to great, cutting that sweetness with a bit of tang and lending to the richest, creamiest texture of the finished treat. Just mix some full-fat cream cheese into the dough, and you'll never make them another way.

Adding cream cheese to sugar cookie dough adds moisture (from the fat and dairy), makes the dough more workable, and results in baked cookies that are perfectly soft and chewy. The slightly sour flavor of cream cheese balances the sweetness of sugar cookies perfectly and complements the touch of vanilla that's usually included. You don't need much, and it's not a complete replacement for butter in a typical sugar cookie recipe, but the two creamy ingredients work wonderfully together. If you want to double down on the tangy flavor, you can't go wrong by topping the cookies with a cream cheese frosting.

Depending on how strong you want the cream cheese flavor, you can choose between recipes that call for more cream cheese than butter or vice versa. Either way, you'll want the two ingredients softened to room temperature so you can beat them together until smooth before adding the sugar and the rest of the ingredients. 

To add even more interest to your sugar cookies, you can experiment with extracts beyond vanilla, such as almond, lemon, or lavender, to name a few. Spice them up a bit by using brown butter instead of regular or adding a bit of lemon zest to the dough or frosting. Chilling the dough in the fridge for a bit will make it easier to scoop or roll. Don't forget to follow this thickness tip for perfect sugar cookies every time and press or roll the dough out to ¼ inch.