Best Cream Cheese Walnut Refrigerator Cookies Recipes

HUNGARIAN WALNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until blended. Gradually beat flour into creamed mixture. Divide dough into 3 portions. Shape each into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. For filling, in a small bowl, beat egg whites and vanilla on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on medium after each addition until well blended. Stir in walnuts., Generously coat a work surface with confectioners' sugar. Roll 1 portion of dough into a 12-in. square about 1/8 in. thick, sprinkling with additional confectioners' sugar as necessary to coat well. Cut into sixteen 3-in. squares., Shape 2 teaspoons filling into a small log about 2 in. long. Place diagonally onto a square. Overlap opposite corners of dough over filling; pinch tightly to seal. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., Bake until bottoms are golden brown, 9-11 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar., To Make Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days in advance. Wrap and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. , Freeze option: Freeze cookies in freezer containers. To use, thaw before serving. If desired, dust with additional confectioners' sugar.

CREAM-CHEESE WALNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in sugar and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix until just combined (do not overmix). Mix in toasted walnuts.
• Transfer dough to a work surface. Divide in half; shape each half into an 8 1/2-inch long log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in parchment paper; freeze until firm, about 30 minutes or up to 2 weeks.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Unwrap 1 log, and roll in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, coating completely. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• Bake cookies, rotating halfway through, until golden around edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Repeat with remaining log and remaining 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

CREAM CHEESE WALNUT DROP COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, cream cheese and milk.
• Beat in sugar and vanilla.
• Gradually mix in flour. Stir in walnuts.
• Drop by tablespoonful 2-inches apart on to ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes or until edges begin to slightly brown.

CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Combine the butter, vanilla, 4 ounces of the room-temperature cream cheese and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and beat until smooth, then add the flour and beat on low until the dough just comes together. Remove the frozen cream cheese from the freezer and chop into 1/4-inch cubes. Add the cubes to the dough, quickly stirring with a rubber spatula to evenly incorporate them into the dough. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
• Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or 2 tablespoons, scoop 12 portions of dough, roll into balls and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Lightly flour the bottom of a 1/2-cup measuring cup and use it to flatten each cookie into a disk about 1/2 inch thick, re-flouring the cup after each cookie.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until the cookies look set but are still pale and barely brown on the bottom, 20 to 24 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
• Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 ounces room-temperature cream cheese, 2 cups sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture forms a thick paste. Add the milk and stir slowly until a thick glaze forms.
• When the cookies are cool, dip the entire surface of the top of each cookie in the glaze and lift up, letting the excess glaze drip off, then flip the cookie right-side up and onto the cooling rack. If the glaze is too thick, add another teaspoon of milk to loosen it. If using the cranberries or lime zest, sprinkle on top of the cookies while the glaze is still wet. Allow the glaze to set before serving, at least 10 minutes. Store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

STEPHANIE SCHRADER'S WALNUT CUPS

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer cream 1 stick of the butter with the cream cheese until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the flour and the salt, and beat the mixture until it forms a dough. Form the dough into a disk and chill it, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 30 minutes. Press rounded teaspoons of the dough into thirty-six 1/8-cup muffin tins and work the dough evenly onto the bottoms and up the sides of the tins to form 1/8-inch-shells.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a bowl whisk together the egg, the brown sugar, the melted butter, and the vanilla until the mixture is combined well. Divide the filling among the shells, sprinkle it with the walnuts, and bake the walnut cups in the middle of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crusts are golden. Let the cookies cool in the tins on racks for 10 minutes, remove them from the tins carefully, and let them cool completely on the racks. The walnut cups may be made 2 months in advance and kept frozen in airtight containers.

ICEBOX COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts if desire. , On a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into three 10-in. x 1-in. rolls. Tightly wrap each roll in waxed paper. Freeze for at least 12 hours. , Cut into 3/8-in. slices and place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.