Browsing Tag

cream cheese

Eats

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy National Chocolate Chip Day!! If you were looking for an excuse to make some chocolate chip cookies today, today is the day to have that cheat day because c’mon it’s a national holiday!  And any reason to make these soft cream cheese chocolate cookies is a good day in my book! These cream cheese chocolate chip cookies are so soft and moist with the addition of a little bit of cream cheese.

Would you believe me if I told you that the secret ingredients to these soft cookies is cream cheese and cornstarch?!? If you don’t believe me, give this recipe a try and tell us what you think. The other secret to thick soft cookies is to refrigerate the dough for up to 2 hours or overnight. I know some people hate recipes that require you to refrigerate your dough, but if your dough is warm your cookies will spread while baking and turn out thin.

I love how these cookies are thick without being cakey and the texture of these cookies are a bit chewy around the edges while the interior is soft, tender, and moist.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  2. 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened (don't use fat-free, light or whipped)
  3. 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  4. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  5. 1 large egg
  6. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  7. 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  8. 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  9. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  10. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  11. 2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (I like to use 1 cup chips and 1 1/4 cups chunks)
Instructions
  1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, cream cheese (to get an accurate measurement, put it into a 1/4-cup measure cup rather than using the marks on the outside package), sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
  3. Add chocolate chips and chunks, and beat for just a minute to incorporate, or fold in by hand.
  4. Using a medium cookie scoop, form heaping mounds. Place on a large plate and flatten mounds slightly with your palm.
  5. Cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Baking with warm dough causes cookies to spread and bake thinner and flatter.
  6. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat and place dough on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set. They will look slightly under cooked, pale and glossy in the center. Rotate pans after 4 minutes and do not bake longer than 10 minutes as cookies will firm up as they cool. (If dough is refrigerated overnight, allow dough to come to room temp for 15 minutes before baking).
  7. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Sweet Lemon Made http://sweetlemonmade.com/

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Eats

Blue Moon Cupcakes

Blue Moon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting sweetlemonmade.com

These Blue Moon cupcakes are light and fluffy topped with zesty orange cream cheese frosting. When I first came across these on Pinterest, I knew I needed to pin it for later so that I could make them for one of my friends who loves Blue Moon beer! So surprise a Blue Moon loving friend with these scrumptious cupcakes!

Blue Moon Cupcakes sweetlemonmade.com

Blue Moon Cupcakes
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Ingredients
  1. FOR THE CUPCAKES
  2. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  3. 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  4. 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  5. 1 teaspoon baking powder
  6. 1/8 teaspoon salt
  7. 2 eggs, room temperature
  8. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  9. 1 orange, zested (save some for garnishing)
  10. 2/3 cup Blue Moon beer
  11. 2 tablespoon whole milk
  12. ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
  13. 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  14. 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  15. 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  16. 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
  2. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter for 1 minute, until pale and fluffy. Add sugar. Cream together butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of the bowl after each addition. Add vanilla and orange zest; mix until just combined.
  5. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together beer and milk. Alternatively add beer mixture and flour mixture to butter mixture until fully incorporated.
  6. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 – 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes until slightly golden brown and cupcakes bounce back at the touch of a finger, or a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
  7. In a stand mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese.
  8. Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until all sugar has been added, scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Stir in orange juice until fully incorporated.
  9. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and top with fresh orange zest and small orange slice, if desired.
Sweet Lemon Made http://sweetlemonmade.com/

 

Recipe adapted from Sweet Caroline’s Cooking

 

Eats

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

Yummy Red Velvet Cookies sweetlemonmade.com

If you love red velvet and cream cheese, you will fall in love with these delicious Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies! Can I just tell you how soft these cake cookies are? SUPER SOFT!! Cake cookies have become my new favorite type of cookie. My family, friends and coworkers who I’ve shared them with would all agree. I normally make red velvet treats in February for Valentine’s Day but, when you get a craving for red velvet there is no right or wrong time to have a red velvet treat! Am I right?! I know all you fellow red velvet lovers would agree with me!  Because what’s better than cream cheese frosting smooshed between two soft and chewy red velvet cake cookies! So, if you’ve never had a cake cookie, you’re missing out and should probably make these pronto! They are like pillows of heaven! And another plus, they are super easy to make!

Red Velvet Cookies sweetlemonmade.com

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling
Yields 10
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Ingredients
  1. COOKIES
  2. 1 package Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix
  3. 2 large eggs
  4. 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  5. CREAM CHEESE FILLING
  6. 8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
  7. 5 tbsp. unsalted butter
  8. 2 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  9. 2 tsp. vanilla
For the cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Combine cake mix, eggs and oil in a large bowl.
  3. Using a mini ice cream scooper, scoop out dough and roll into balls. Place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Tip: **It's best to bake one sheet at a time.**
  4. Bake 8-9 minutes or until edges are set. FYI--The cookies will look under baked when you pull them out. That is alright because once they cool they will be soft and chewy. **Don't over bake them. Let cookies cool for 2-3 minutes on baking sheet. Transfer to cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Cream Cheese Filling
  1. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
  2. Mix in the vanilla extract.
  3. Gradually add in the powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached and smooth--should be thick but, not too thick.
  4. Transfer the cream cheese filing to a pastry bag fitted with a plain, round tip.
Assembling the sandwich cookies
  1. 1. Pair the cookies up by size and shape as best as possible.
  2. 2. Flip one cookie of each pair over so that the flat side is facing up.
  3. 3. Pipe frosting onto the flat sided cookie of each pair, keeping the edges clear.
  4. 4. Sandwich the cookies together so the flat sides are facing each other and press gently and evenly to help the filing reach the edges but, not spilling out.
  5. 5. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container.
Sweet Lemon Made http://sweetlemonmade.com/