Food Friday: Casual Cream Cheese Cookies with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Growing up, we loved to bake with our mom!  She taught us that baking solved everything. If your hungry, bake some cookies. If your sad, bake some cookies. If your happy, bake some cookies. Besides the classic Nestle Toll House or Nestlay tool hoouse (if you are a fan of Friends, you should get this joke!) chocolate chip cookies these Casual Cream Cheese cookies were a favorite. They are super easy, fun to make with kiddos and great with or without the frosting.

   
Casual Cream Cheese Cookies
Best Kids Cookie Cookbook 
By: Sunset

Ingredients
1 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix butter, sugar, cream cheese, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add flour and beat until well blended.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. (I had to bake mine for quite a bit longer. Next time I might preheat my oven to 350.)  Let cookies cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring cookies to racks.

Makes about 36 cookies.


Lemon Buttercream Frosting
Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today 
By: Betty Crocker

Ingredients:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

In a medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with a spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Gradually beat in enough lemon juice to make frosting smooth and spreadable.


Once the cookies cool, spread the frosting on top and enjoy these buttery little treats!