This cream cheese sugar cookie dough is my mother’s recipe. We used it every year to make Christmas cookies. I could be imagining but I think the recipe originally was on a stained index card printed from a typewriter. The egg yolk and cream cheese make a rich dough that is never dry or crumbly. When making these for my family, I only roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and use a large cutter to make big, dramatic cookies. If I need to make a large batch, for a party or Leia’s preschool, I roll dough closer to 1/4-inch and use a small, 2 inch cookie cutter – hence why the yield, and cooking time, has a large range.
Valentine Sugar Cookies with Chocolate Ganache
makes about 2 to 4 dozen 2-inch cookies
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped or chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
Valentine sprinkles (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Arrange two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with a silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese and egg yolk until creamy. Add the vanilla and sugar and mix until combined. Gradually add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.
- Place the dough onto a work surface light dusted with flour. Shape dough into a flat disk. Wrap the disk in plastic and chill for 30 minutes, or until firm.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough ¼- to ½-inch thick. Cut cookies using a heart-shaped cutter and transfer to prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies until lightly brown around edges, rotating trays halfway through, about 10 to 18 minutes depending on the size and thickness. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, place the chopped in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand for one minute. Using a whisk or rubber spatula, stir the mixture until it forms a smooth chocolate sauce.
- Once cool, dip half of the cookie, lengthwise if you have a heart shape, into the chocolate ganache. Return the dipped cookie to the cooling rack and top the ganache with sprinkles, if using. Repeat with remaining cookies. Allow ganache to set completely before serving cookies.