Start the Year Off with Cream Cheese Cookies

Photo: Cream Cheese Cookies

I haven’t made these lovely little cookies in years, but I love the taste of cream cheese in my cookie. I found a recipe that I adapted to a low carb version and they came out delicious. You can use any sugar-free jam for the filling. I made some with apricot jam and some with raspberry. I also put pecans on some and sugar-reduced craisins on others. If you can think of something else you’d like to top them with, it will probably work.

When I made my batch, I used three different flour options — Bakesquick from DCC, coconut flour (1/4 equals 1/2 cup of other flour), and vanilla whey protein powder for 1/4 cup of it. It worked okay, but unless you like the slightly grainy texture of the coconut flour, I would stay away from it for this recipe. You can use almond flour or any other low carb flours to make this.

Cream Cheese Cookies

2 sticks of Butter, room temperature
8 ounces of Cream Cheese, room temperature
1 cup Sugar Substitute
2 Eggs Yolks
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 cups Low Carb Flour
Sugar-free jam – Any flavor

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, butter,and sweetener together until smooth. Scrape the bowl if the mixture builds up on the sides. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until combined.

If you are using a combination of low carb flour types, mix them in a bowl before adding to the creamed mixture. Add about 1/4 cup at a time until you’ve mixed it all in. The dough will be stiff.

Chill dough for at least two hours to firm up the butter and cream cheese.

Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Use a teaspoon of dough to roll into a ball about 1-inch in diameter. Place on baking sheet and flatten the top until about a 1/2-inch thick disc is formed. Make about a dozen on the cookie sheet, then go back and press a little well in the middle of each cookie for the filling. Put about 1/4 teaspoon of sugar-free jam in the well, or you can top them with a half pecan or two or three sugar-reduced craisins.

Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes until the bottoms turn slightly brown. Remove and let sit to cool for about 10 minutes to firm up.

Use a spatula to move them to a wire rack to continue to cool.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

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