Crème Brûlée Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Crème Brûlée Sugar Cookies are a fun twist on traditional sugar cookies. Chewy, vanilla-scented cookies frosted with tangy cream cheese frosting. A sprinkling of sugar that gets caramelized like the top of Crème Brûlée provides a delightfully satisfying crunch and an additional layer of complex sweetness to your new favorite cookie recipe!
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 292kcal
Equipment
- Kitchen Torch
- Mixer
Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookies:
- 2 ¾ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 cup unsalted Plugrà butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted Plugrà butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Sugar Cookies:
- In a small bowl, whisk together 2 ¾ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar and 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted Plugrà butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- While the sugar and butter cream, whisk together the eggs. Then, scrape down the mixing bowl before adding the eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mixing well to incorporate. Working in three batches, add the dry ingredients, mixing well to incorporate after each to ensure the dough is properly mixed.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, portion the dough out onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. These portions can be right next to each other, as we aren’t baking them yet, just chilling!
- Cover the dough and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place portioned dough 1 ½ inches apart on parchment lined baking trays and bake in preheated oven for 14 – 15 minutes, or until edges of cookies are golden brown and the centers are just set.
- Remove cookies from oven and cool on wire rack.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream together ½ cup (1 stick) butter and 4 ounces (½ block) cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Scrape down bowl and add almost all of the powdered sugar (reserving about ½ cup or so), 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 tablespoons whole milk, and a pinch of salt. Pulsing the mixer on and off, slowly begin to combine the ingredients.
- Increase mixer speed to medium and whip frosting for 2 – 3 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl at least once during the mixing process to ensure all of the cream cheese and butter mixture is well-incorporated into the frosting. Add the remaining powdered sugar, if desired consistency has not been reached yet and mix again.
To Frost and Brûlée the Cookies:
- Spread a generous layer of frosting over the cooled cookies. I like to use a small cookie scoop for this, the equivalent to 1 – 2 tablespoons.
- Sprinkle more granulated sugar over the tops of the frosted cookies and caramelize using a kitchen torch.
- Allow caramelized sugar to cool completely before enjoying cookies. This is how you get that satisfying crunch!
Notes
- Cookies are best served the day they are bruleed. But they can be baked, frosted, and stored in refrigerator for up to five days, until ready to serve.
- If it’s particularly warm in your kitchen or where you live, I recommend popping the frosted cookies into the fridge for 5 – 10 minutes just to firm up the frosting so it doesn’t run during torching.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 126mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 440IU | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg