Nutella lovers, unite! These cream cheese cut-out cookies with Nutella glaze are the softest, thickest, and creamiest sugar cookies to ever come out of my oven. They stack and store for easy transport, so you can bring them to cookie exchanges, parties, or any gathering. (Or pack them in your own personal lunchbox!)
Like my original sugar cookies, this new recipe for cream cheese cut-out sugar cookie dough is extra soft, while still holding its shape for cutting out with cookie cutters. Cream cheese makes the dough extra soft and creamy, which I love in so many cookie recipes, like apricot cream cheese thumbprints and maple walnut tassies. Whenever I need a flavor upgrade from plain sugar cookies, this is the recipe I choose!
Here’s a handful of reasons why I know you’ll love them too:
- The dough is so easy to work with
- The cookies hold their shape beautifully
- They include almond extract, which is fantastic paired with Nutella
- Each bite is soft, smooth, and creamy
- No fussy piping tips or decoration required
Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies Details
- Texture: Super soft + smooth + thick + creamy = PERFECT.
- Flavor: Enjoy a little tang, a little sweet, and a whole lot of nutty Nutella icing on top. They’re like regular sugar cookies but with a flavorful flair!
- Ease: The dough and glaze are easy to prepare, but you’ll need a couple special tools like cookie cutters and a rolling pin. Plus, Nutella is super sticky and thick, so it’s easiest to use a handheld or stand mixer to beat all the icing ingredients together.
- Time: Though this recipe does take a few hours to complete, most of the time is spent waiting for the dough to chill. I promise they’re worth the wait!
Key Ingredients in These Cookies
- Brick-Style Cream Cheese: Follow my #1 cream cheese rule: choose the right cream cheese for baking. Don’t reach for cream cheese spread sold in a tub. You know the stuff you schmear on bagels? Not that. Cream cheese in the tub is much thinner because it’s meant for spreading. You want the more solid bricks of cream cheese. The 8-ounce bricks of cream cheese are perfect for cooking and baking. You’ll need 4 ounces, or half of an 8-ounce brick, for these soft cut-out cream cheese cookies.
- Almond Extract: I love using almond extract in recipes like sugar cookies and butter cookies because it adds a little something extra. A little bit can go a long way, so stick with 1 teaspoon in this dough. And feel free to reduce down to 1/2 teaspoon or you can skip it entirely if you aren’t a fan.
- Nutella: Sweet, chocolatey, and nutty, this easy Nutella glaze is lick-the-spoon DELICIOUS. And it’s made from just 5 ingredients including Nutella, heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and a little salt.
And one other thing to note, this recipe makes a good amount of cookies so if you’re looking for 3 dozen cookie cutter cookies, this recipe can be your prime choice!
How to Make These Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through the steps with some photos so you have a clear idea what to expect. These cream cheese cut-out cookies are pretty simple, but be mindful of the order of steps.
Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately per the recipe instructions below and then bring it all together. The dough will be soft and creamy.
Time to roll out and chill. Divide the dough in half because smaller sections of dough are easier to manage. Roll out each portion of dough and then chill them in the refrigerator. Since this is a very soft cookie dough, make sure you flour your hands, rolling pin, and work surface. Here’s half of the dough rolled out:
Cut the chilled dough into shapes and bake.
Let cool completely before decorating.
Rolling Out Cookie Dough: The Trick Is the Order of Steps
Notice how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it in the refrigerator? That’s the trick to the cookies holding their shape, and let me explain why it works.
To prevent the cookies from over-spreading, the cookie dough must be refrigerated first. Right after you prepare the dough, it’s too soft to cut into shapes but it’s not too soft to simply roll out. (Don’t chill the cookie dough and then try to roll it out because it will be too cold and stiff to roll.) I divide the dough in half before rolling it out because smaller sections of dough are easier to handle.
Another trick! Roll out the cookie dough directly on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper so you can easily transfer it to the refrigerator. Pick it up, put it on a baking sheet, and place it in the refrigerator. If you don’t have enough room for two baking sheets in your refrigerator, stack the pieces of rolled out dough on top of each other, with a layer of parchment paper in between. (That’s what I do.)
Nutella Glaze
You need a mixer for the Nutella glaze. After preparing it, spread it on the cooled cookies. No piping tips or complicated decoration required! And if you’re feeling extra nutty (I can relate), you could sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts on top.
Like royal icing, this Nutella glaze sets on top of the cookies. It doesn’t dry super hard, but it will set enough to make for easy stacking + storing + transport.
Oh the Nutella possibilities! This Nutella glaze would also be delicious on muffins, donuts, shortbread, waffles, chocolate pop tarts, or even drizzled on chocolate chip scones.
Yes, instead of Nutella glaze, you could decorate these cream cheese cut out cookies with easy cookie icing, chocolate buttercream, or traditional royal icing. This dough would be perfect for decorating Valentine’s Day cookies, too!
If you end up loving these tangy and soft cream cheese cut-out cookies, you may enjoy these raspberry sugar cookies too. I actually used today’s recipe as the base for that raspberry flavored dough!
Other Sugar Cookie Recipes
- Raspberry Sugar Cookies
- My Favorite Regular Sugar Cookies
- Drop Sugar Cookies
- Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Soft Cream Cheese Cookies with Nutella Glaze
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 36 3-inch cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Extremely soft and thick sugar cookies made with cream cheese and almond extract and topped with creamy Nutella glaze.
Ingredients
- 3 cups + 2 Tablespoons (390g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 ounces (113g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Nutella Glaze
- 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup (100g) Nutella
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- optional: 1/2 cup (60g) chopped hazelnuts for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium-high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until mixture is fluffy and combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Dough will be very soft and creamy.
- Generously flour your hands and rolling pin. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat to about 1/4-inch thickness. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
- Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it’s sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. (I like these heart cookie cutters.) Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. Note: It doesn’t seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.
- Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 12-13 minutes until very lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. I like to decorate the cookies directly on baking sheets so I can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help set the Nutella glaze. If you’d like to do it that way, place the cooled cookies back on baking sheets.
- Make the glaze: In a medium bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat all of the ingredients together on medium-high speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Taste. Add another pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Spread on each cooled cookie then decorate with hazelnuts, if desired. Nutella glaze will set at room temperature after 3-4 hours and even quicker in the refrigerator, about 1 hour.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Plain or decorated sugar cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Wait for the icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months before rolling it out. Prepare the dough through step 3, divide in half, flatten both halves into a disk as we do with pie crust, wrap each in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the disks in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 4, then chill rolled out dough in the refrigerator for 45 minutes – 1 hour before cutting into shapes and baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin | Cookie Cutters | Cooling Rack
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: soft cream cheese cookie with Nutella galze
These are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever made and absolutely perfect for cookie decorating! I hope you make a chocolate version soon!
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These cookies are delicious! You can taste the hint of cream cheese (I love cream cheese.), which tastes really good, but if you’re looking for a traditional frosted sugar cookie this wouldn’t be the one for you, in my opinion. They are just kind of a delicious new twist, but they are different from regular sugar cookies. Great recipe, though! Yum!
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Hi Sally, I made these for Valentines Day and they came out perfect and soooo good. I’m wondering. Since rolling out the dough took a whole rack in my frig (worth it for cookie cutters), I’m wondering if I could separate the dough into two “tube shapes,” refrigerate it, and cut 1/4 inch cookies. It would be easier to leave the dough in overnight. Thank you for all the joy you bring. I made your bagels for the third time, this time with onions, and they get better and better. I made them because I had cream cheese left over from the cookies! Best to you and your family.
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Hi Nancy, can’t see why not — let us know if you try it, and thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes!
The cookies are so-so, certainly not my favorite from Sally! And unless the measurements are wrong for the icing, it was way too hard and not speadable, couldnt even mix it! Had to add WAY more cream! Sallys baking addiction always has my fav recipes and always usually turn out, not this time! Thanks though Sally, LOVE your site the BEST!!
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Hi! I made the dough tonight- do I have to roll out in parchment to refrigerate overnight, or could I just refrigerate the whole batch in the bowl and roll out to 1/4 thickness tomorrow before we cut out?
Yes, roll the dough out right after you prepare it.
I made a test batch of these and my Nutella glaze came out more like a thick frosting. It was very hard to spread. What did I do wrong?
Hi Elizabeth, If your glaze is too thick you can add a bit more heavy cream (1 TBS at a time) until it becomes your desired consistency. Just keep in mind the more liquid you add the longer it may take for the glaze to harden.
Hello Sally! On your soft cream cheese cookies, have you ever decorated them with your royal icing recipe? I tend to use a buttercream with mine, but wondering if they would decorate well and taste good with the royal icing. Thanks!
Hi Lisa, Yes you can absolutely use royal icing on these cookies. Enjoy!
Hi Sally! I’ve been following your awesome sites for quite a while now and I enjoy all the wonderful recipes! Two questions- for the soft cream cheese cookies, can these be shipped as well as your regular sugar cookies? And did you find out how to make these into chocolate ones?
Hi Rose, I do have a chocolate sugar cookie recipe, but I have not yet tested the cream cheese chocolate cookie. For shipping cookies you can check out this post on how I wrap them. Sugar cookies are a bit more fragile so some people put a layer of padding such as bubble wrap between the layers.
Hi Sally!
Can i use half the dough for cinnamon slice and bake cookies and the other to make plain cut out ones?
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I haven’t personally tested it, but I can’t see why not!
They turned out marvelous!! Pap’s loved it and i can say that i do too.
I rolled out the dough that was supposed to be for cut outs then put it in the fridge for a few minutes while i prepped the butter and made the filling. I spread 1 tbsp of melted butter on the surface then sprinkled the sugar and cinnamon filling.
Made some yesterday to taste and i am making the second batch at the moment. They taste so good with coffee or tea! Very impressive.
Thank you Sally!
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Hi Sally! I just found your blog and am loving all the recipes and especially the tips! I had no idea baking powder expired after 6 months! I’m embarrassed to say how long it has been sitting in my pantry! HA! Question for you though, on your cream cheese cookies, could lemon extract be substituted for the almond? I am not doing the Nutella glaze, but using your traditional royal icing instead. I would like to give it that hint of lemon flavoring and wasn’t quite sure. I am doing a cookie exchange and need to make 10 dozen, so want to make sure they are out of this world! Thanks in advance for your advice!
Hi Samantha, Welcome to the blog! You can certainly try to substitute the almond with lemon. I suggest making one batch and trying them before making all 10 – and then adjusting the amount of lemon accordingly depending on how strong you would like the flavor. Let me know how they turn out!
Hi Sally! I found this recipe a little late in the game and am incredibly excited to use it this weekend for a Halloween cookie decorating party! I just have one question–I tend to have a bad reaction to almond extract and was wondering if 1 tsp maple extract in its place might be an interesting sub? I saw you mentioned that almond can be subbed with more vanilla, but I thought this might add a fun zing! Do you think this could be a good idea or would it compromise/overpower the cookie’s flavor?
HI Kristen, I haven’t tested these with maple extract but I can’t see how that would taste bad! Let me know if you try it!
Hi Sally, your recipe was an absolute hit!! The maple swap went over very well, too–I tested two batches and found that if you swap just the 1 tsp there won’t be too much of a detectable difference, but if you opt for 2 tsp maple and 1 tsp vanilla, you end up with a nice discernible but not overpowering maple zing–guests said it reminded them of a warm pancake! To your point earlier in the recipe, guests loved the softness of the cookie and that their level of sweetness was perfectly complemented by the icing. Thank you so much!
Hi Sally, I always used this recipe everytime I need a decorated sugar cookies. Erything On this recipe is perfect . Now I have a question how can I turn this into a chocolate one? Please and thank you in advance.
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That is a great question! This is my go-to chocolate sugar cookie recipe, but it doesn’t use cream cheese: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/chocolate-sugar-cookies/ They do stay nice and soft and the flavor is fantastic.
Now I have to go experiment with a chocolate cream cheese cookie!
Made without the glaze and used buttercream to ice. These are hands-down the very best cookies our family has ever eaten. They will leave a lasting impression!
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One word: DELICIOUS! Simply irresistible! I can tell by the photos that these cookies are melt-in-your mouth perfection, Nutella is just icing on the cookie. 🙂
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What is the best way to get frost the cookies? Do you spread it on using a knife or do you pipe it on? thank you!
Hi Michelle! Use a knife for this nutella glaze. That’s what I do!
If making the dough ahead of time and freezing, can the dough be chilled, cut with cookie cutter and then frozen? I would use parchment paper to avoid sticking.
Yes, absolutely.
BEST COOKIES EVER!!!
This is my new sugar cookie recipe! The only quibble was that I found the almond extract to be overpowering, so I’ll cut that way back the next time. I may also experiment with ways to amp up the Nutella flavor in the glaze – it seemed to be a bit lost in the sugar and cream.
Made these today for my grandsons. Topped some with Nutella glaze, and some with vanilla buttercream in white, pink, and red. Used a few heart shaped sprinkles. Beautiful and yummy!!
These are phenomenal! The cream cheese adds a nice lightness to the cookie and they are incredibly soft. This recipe is going directly in my favourites!
Would this be good with another frosting or glaze? I love the cream cheese cookies idea (have some bricks from christmas baking i didn’t use) so would love to make these, but (sorry!) actually not a nutella fan really. Plus it’s kind of pricey too! I was thinking just buttercream frosting spread thinly, or a typical royal icing.
Absolutely! In fact, I made them this week and decorated with my vanilla buttercream this morning.
I made these last week, as I was going to visit my step-daughter and she LOVES loves LOVES Nutella. They came out looking just like yours, however I was disappointed in the taste. They were ok, a little dry for my taste. Good with a cup of coffee, but not worth the calories. I was massively disappointed. Especially as I tasted the dough pre cooking (who doesn’t !) and it was delicious!!
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I made these this week. They are so good! Perfect make ahead instructions. I made the dough two nights ago and cut them out tonight. Highly recommend this recipe! It may be my go to from now on. The cookie itself is not overly sweet so the glaze really enhances the sugar cookie rather than overpower it. Love it!
I couldn’t get these to roll out, because the dough was so sticky. I thought that I was pretty generous with the flour when I came to that step, but didn’t want over do it. I chilled the dough for a good 4 hours, and it was still sticky. I ended up just rolling balls with my hands and flattening them out with a glass, and they taste wonderful, but I was excited to use cutters for my kiddos. Was I doing something wrong, or should I have really gone for it with the flour?
Hi Kim! Just keep adding more flour so you can neatly roll it out. The cream cheese– did you use full-fat block cream cheese?
I made these today. Delicious! The icing is the perfect complement to the cookie!
My three year old daughter and I made them a couple hours ago for tomorrow’s dance class. And then we ate them all. Delicious!
Thanks for sharing! Would it be ok to use this cookie and nutella glaze recipe and make the footballs from the previous recipe? I would still use the royal icing for the white detailing. I’m worried the glaze won’t spread as well as the brown royal icing. Thanks!
It sure is! This Nutella glaze is super easy to work with.
I’m thinking of making sugar cookie bars and putting the Nutella glaze on top (with sprinkles to decorate!). Think it would work on them?
I can’t see why not!
These look delicious! Will the sugar cookie hold up to royal icing? I have been wanting to try a new recipe, but need one that will hold up to decorated cookies.
It sure will! The soft cookie and hardened royal icing taste wonderful together. Best textures.
I must make these! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve never tasted Nutella! This may be the recipe that makes me buy a jar!
Could you just take tablespoons of dough, put on cookie sheet & flatten slightly, or does it have to be rolled out?
Hi Karen! Use my cream cheese sugar cookies recipe for the drop cookie version. 🙂 Pretty similar!