hey cookie
Recipe: raspberry cream cheese cookies
Happiness is getting another day of skiing when you thought your season might be over. We hit the local hill this morning and played around working on form, balance, technique. Another gorgeous bluebird day!
tele gurl
jeremy working on form
practice practice
A couple of weeks ago I made a bunch of cookies to send to my MIL’s quilting groups to thank them for the awesome ice cream cone quilt they made for me. With memories of those incredible melt-in-your-mouth cookies that Anita had sent to me from Miette, I searched for a cream cheese cookie recipe in an attempt to reproduce that kind of joy. I found a recipe in one of my old cookie books that looked pretty similar.
cream together the butter and cream cheese
The book suggests using full-fat cream cheese to maximize the tenderness of the cookie. Because the dough needs to be refrigerated, this isn’t one of those recipes that lends itself to last-minute rush jobs. EDIT: Dough refrigeration is necessary, but not for as long as the original recipe suggests. I make edits in the recipe below.
i used a 2-inch biscuit cutter
The dough is pretty well-behaved and rolls out easily without too much sticking. Sticking is annoying because it will shear the cookie dough if you have to pull it from the work surface, resulting in an ellipse instead of a circle. I’m not ellipse-ist, but my general preference is for circles in this instance. EDIT: I now roll the dough out between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper. Once it is the desired thickness, I place the dough and papers on a baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill (about an hour).
pressing indentations in the center of the dough
I used a little marble pestle for the indentations because my thumb isn’t symmetric. Take care not to press indentations too enthusiastically. I pushed a few too far and wound up with leaking jam. The recipe calls for a honey-nut filling, but I was having none of that. I wanted raspberry jam – just like the cookies Anita had sent. You can leave the seeds in or sieve them out. Running a jar of preserves through a fine mesh sieve is a good way to make yourself insane, though. I sieved them the first time and have since decided it is worth leaving the seeds in.
a dollop of raspberry jam
One problem I encountered with my cookies was that I probably didn’t cook them long enough. The dough was fine, but the jam took a long time to set if it did at all. I suspect a few more minutes could have solved that issue. Everyone who received these cookies in the post probably had some nightmarish sticky mess to deal with. At least the reports came back that they were delicious, mess or no.
My verdict: the cookies were nice and soft with a mild and sweet tang to the dough from the cream cheese. The jam is a perfect pairing with it. However, they aren’t quite the delicate and magical cookies that Miette cranks out. So be it – all the more reason to make a pilgrimage to San Francisco to visit that shop! Meanwhile, this recipe is a keeper.
cookies to say thanks
updated cookies in whimsical mushroom form
Raspberry Cream Cheese Cookies
[print recipe]
modified from The Joy of Cookies by Sharon Tyler Herbst
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
4 oz. raspberry jam
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and if using, almond extract, together until light and fluffy. Mix in flour 1/2 cup at a time, blending well. Place half of the dough between two sheets of wax or parchment paper. Roll to 3/8-inch thickness. Set the dough sandwich (with the paper) on a baking sheet or flat surface and refrigerate for an hour up to 24 hours. Repeat for the second half of the dough.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Take one sheet of dough out of the refrigerator. Cut dough with cookie cutter (I used 2-inch round). Gather and re-roll the scraps between the wax or parchment sheets. Place rounds 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use thumb or other utensil to press a 1-inch wide indentation in the center of each circle. Return your baking sheet to the refrigerator and repeat the process for the other half of your dough.
Fill the divots of your first half with a teaspoon or more of jam, taking care not to overfill. Repeat for the other half of the dough. Bake 13-15 minutes (15 minutes for me) or until pale golden brown on the bottom. Cool on racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week or freeze for longer storage.
To make amanita mushroom cookies: Use mushroom cookie cutters. I pressed the mushroom cap indentations with the flat base of a 1 cm diameter handle. Use whatever works, but leave a 1/4-inch margin so the jam doesn’t run out and over the cookie during baking. Fill the caps with jam. Bake the cookies the same as round cookies.
For the white dots you can apply white nonpareils sprinkles or pipe small dots of royal icing onto the cooled cookie mushroom caps.
royal icing
from New York Times Cooking
1 1/4 cup (150g) powdered sugar
1 (40g) egg white
scant 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
pinch salt
Whisk ingredients together until stiff and glossy. Use right away or cover surface with plastic wrap and store in airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days.
more goodness from the use real butter archives
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raspberry pink cadillac margarita |
April 8th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Oboy! That picture where the cream cheese is getting (uh) creamed is what you’ll find in the dictionary next to “money shot” :) How do you think these compare to the Miette cookies? Was the taste even close?
I wouldn’t mind contending with a little stickiness if it gets me nice, soft cookies. I’m afraid baking them a few minutes more would set the jam but make the cookie itself, well, different. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Maybe we can dehydrate the jam pre-baking, or maybe it’s in the brand… (ah, stress)
Whoohoo hot couple! Watch that powder! Go tele! I am using these terms wrong!
April 8th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
I devoured the stash Anita sent me in one afternoon…so buttery wonderful! From what I can tell, yours are just as decadent! Still jealous of all your snow..rubb it in…fine :)
April 9th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Yay for one more day on the slopes! And yay for these beautiful cookies!
April 9th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Oh these look just perfect. Cream cheese. Cookies. Most definitely perfect!
xx
April 9th, 2008 at 2:14 am
My biggest mistake was reading this post first thing in the morning, now I will probably spend the rest of the day thinking about these.
I think jam and ccokies are one of those combinations made in heaven. Can’t wait to try these!
April 9th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Those cookies look perfect and very pretty! I’m bookmarking this great recipe. Thanks for sharing it with us…
Cheers,
Rosa
April 9th, 2008 at 4:51 am
It’s good you got in one more day on the slopes. Where as I can’t wait for this horrilble snow to melt so the Spring can start and I can get out on that lake and go fishing.
I gotta stop reading your Blog first thing in the morning, cause I see this food that you post and then I have horrible cravings all day! right now I really want a cookie!
April 9th, 2008 at 5:26 am
Those look delicious…something I am going to try soon!
April 9th, 2008 at 6:09 am
Very stream-lined, no nonsense cookies…butter and raspberry…that’s it, that’s best!
April 9th, 2008 at 8:37 am
I was hoping you’d post these!!! *shrieking with delight* Now I’m off to go get me some cream cheese and seedless preserves! : ) xoxo
April 9th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Those look petite and pretty, just how I imagine spring cookies to look. I will try these out, but knowing my luck, the jam in the middle will spread out, making the entire sheet look like a huge mess. But here’s hoping it doesn’t :)
April 9th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Oh how cute! Perfect cookie for spring!
April 9th, 2008 at 11:11 am
great ski shots even if i, unlike you, hate winter :)
and of course, very pretty cookies! i’ve been thinking about doing some lime thumprints this weekend, will use the pestle idea!
April 9th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Jen~
Those cookies look really good. I guess I’ll have to use some of the seedless raspberry preserves I got to make Dories perfect party cake and make these tonight. Oh, just so you know, I shamelessly stole your “raspberries as decoration” idea for that cake as I’m not very handy with a piping bag. :) Thanks for the inspiration! My goal is to someday produce a cake that looks as good as yours did.
All the best!
Bri
April 9th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Raspberry jam and cream cheese all rolled up into a cookie sounds really good!
April 9th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Ok, we’re really happy that you guys are getting more snow, really we are. Peace here, our friends and may you continue to have snow for as long as you want. Dam, his tele moves looks awesome!! Can you guys teach us how to do that?
We like cookies that are nice and soft, just like these. Love the cream cheese addition. We’ll try out these cookies, for sure!
April 9th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
What a great recipe and the cookies are beautiful. I am always looking for something new and special to send in a care package – last year was homemade Magnolia cupcakes. I am going to have to try out this recipe this year.
Thanks for sharing them!
April 9th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Pretty cookies!
I always say that I wouldn’t mind the snow if I lived in Colorado. Of course, I don’t really know if that’s the case, but that’s what I say!
I am reading past posts you’ve made and I came across the sizzling rice post. A) Hunan’s Restaurant was where I fell in love with sizzling rice as a kid. Every time my family and I went there I ordered sizzling rice soup. B) I have the exact bag of sizzling rice cakes in my pantry!
April 9th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Jen – the things you make, whether simple or fancy – are always mouth watering. These remind me of jam thumbprint cookies that I like. Cream cheese is a rich but oh-so-good addition to cookie dough or pastry dough, I think. Zingerman’s here in Ann Arbor makes one of their pie crusts with cream cheese and it’s freakin’ delicious.
Yay for more skiing! So great to see you guys working it out there :)
And thanks for the seedless jam tip – good to know!
April 10th, 2008 at 7:34 am
I have never made cookies like these. They look superb!
April 10th, 2008 at 8:13 am
hey Jen, I’ve presented you with an award on my blog! Also, those cookies look delectable!
April 10th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Cream-cheese-anything sweet is wonderful to me. Never thought of making a cream cheese cookie, and I fear I would eat dozens and dozens.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Beautifully simple.
Btw, Jen – As part of my course, I’m required to write about my inspirations and who I admire. Rather than list off reems of published pros, I’ve decided to discuss the more “regular” people (If I can use such a word), with whom I share my love for photography.
I included you, as “a fantastic and passionate photographer, with whom I have a great rapport. Jen’s work has inspired me since the day I discovered it, and her sense of humor is testament to the advantage ‘advanced enthusiasts’ have over seasonsed professionals.”
Thank you, Jen.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Mark – the taste was sort of close, but the Miette cookie texture was superior by a lot. Oh well… I think a slightly longer baking time might not hurt the cookie texture though – the cream cheese seems to keep it quite soft/tender. You worry too much! :) You’re a hoot with your tele terms. Here’s one: just huck it!
Tartelette – :)
Peabody – yay!!
Fanny – thanks sweetie!
Joanne – I always forget how much I love cookies with jam. Sorry about putting them in your head first thing in the morning :(
Rosa – aw, thanks!
Woolly – you know, you can try ice fishing :) It’s too bad I can’t figure out a way for everyone who reads the blog to acquire a sample of the recipe!
Sarah – great! I hope you like it.
Peter – yum.
Joyce – oh, and you can use some of your amazing homemade jams too! :)
Amanda – give it a try. I think the jam might behave itself. Mine didn’t seem to have too many problems and this was my first attempt!
Jerry – thanks!
Mimi – well, it’s probably more fun to see the pictures for non-winter lovers than to live the pictures, right? :) Good luck with your cookies.
Bri – the honest truth is that I use raspberries as decorations because I’m not terribly talented when it comes to piping and all that pastry bag work. So you didn’t steal my idea because I probably snarfed it from some magazine for poor sots like us who have no choice but to decorate with fruit :)
Kevin – it’s not bad!
WoRC – yes! I can totally teach you how to tele. I am the one who taught (and continues to teach) Jeremy to tele. I used to coach vball and have a pretty good grasp on analyzing form and technique. Come on out guys. There are mountains with your names on them!
Denise – ah yes, these are great to send to people. Just beware of my gooey jam issues!
Chirstina – Colorado is snowy, but sunny – a very pleasant combination :) Cool! We have the same rice cakes!
Christine – omg – in a pie crust?! That’s brilliant. I’ll have to give it a go some time. Yeah, beware the seeded preserves because that made me batshit to deseed :)
Patricia – they’re pretty good, and cute to boot!
Antonio – aww, thanks! I’ve received that one a few times now. I hope it’s okay if I pass on the meme – but thank you so much :) xxoo
Annemarie – well, at least these are pretty little, so dozens are more like… a dozen? ;)
Graeme – you’re such a sweetheart! I’ve never considered myself regular, more like irregular ;) And no… thank YOU, Graeme. You make photography fun! xxoo
April 11th, 2008 at 4:49 am
I am more than willing to pay for fed-ex to send me cookies… or anything else for that matter!!!
April 14th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Woolly – maybe when my chemo is done :)
April 15th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Jen,
Sorry I’ve been so bad on keeping up on the blogs – I actually read this post when it came out and I meant to comment but I forgot:( I’m so glad you liked the cookies from Miette and your rendition is just swoonworthy! Glad to see you’re enjoying the slopes…and if you ever make it out west, I’ll be sure to take you to Miette:)
April 16th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Anita – no worries, dear. I know you’re super busy! I *loved* those cookies and they were perfect timing too because there were so few things I could actually eat. You’re such a sweetheart!! xxoo
July 19th, 2008 at 12:19 am
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August 29th, 2013 at 5:10 pm
can I just drop by spoon full.
August 29th, 2013 at 5:46 pm
Helen – you could try.
January 19th, 2014 at 5:10 pm
I’m anxious to make these so… quick question: no eggs? And if yes, the dough stayed together just fine?
January 19th, 2014 at 5:34 pm
Diana – no eggs and yes, the dough was fine!
January 19th, 2014 at 5:59 pm
Thanks a million for your quick response!
You’re on top of things and I appreciate you. (so many other sites, never answer any questions… you’re the best!)
So off I go into the kitchen… thank you again! :)
annnd— Go Broncos! *teehee*