Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have a vice that I’m going to admit right here and now in front of you: I love those majorly-processed soft frosted sugar cookies that you can buy in every “bakery” at major chain stores. I don’t eat a lot of this kind of food because I prefer to go homemade whenever possible, but if these are at any party, work potluck or , I just can’t help myself. I can’t say I’ve ever bought a package of these cookies before, so I wanted to find a way to make a similar but much more delicious version at home.

I found these Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies on Sally’s Baking Addiction, and they sounded like exactly what I was looking for. Cream cheese added to the dough makes them a little softer, plus a touch of almond extract added with the vanilla takes these to the next level. Where are all my almond extract lovers? I adore that stuff.

You do have to plan slightly ahead so the dough can chill for an hour. Chilling the dough helps the flour to be fully absorbed, develop flavors and set the dough so it doesn’t spread all over the baking sheet when the cookies are baking. Roll these babies in a little sparkling sugar for that classic sugar cookie crunch and look and flatten slightly so you don’t have little mounds of cookies instead of actual cookies that look like cookies. I’ve said cookie four times in the last sentence.

These are crowned with luxurious, soft cream cheese frosting and adorned with sprinkles because sugar cookies are really just an excuse for sprinkles, right? I love the crunch of the sprinkles against the soft, creamy cookies. I highly recommend Fancy Sprinkles, my go-to place for the prettiest, most unique sprinkles and sparkly sugars. I used the Rose Gold ones because they are beautiful and have a mixture of textures, shapes and colors. Did I mention they have a monthly sprinkle subscription? All of my dreams have come true.