Cream Cheese Walnut Cookies Food

CREAM CHEESE WALNUT REFRIGERATOR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
• Mix butter and cream cheese on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in sugar and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix until just combined (do not overmix). Mix in toasted walnuts.
• Transfer dough to a work surface. Divide in half; shape each half into an 8 1/2-inch long log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in parchment paper; freeze until firm, about 30 minutes or up to 2 weeks.
• Preheat oven to 350 with racks in upper and lower thirds. Unwrap 1 log, and roll in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, coating completely. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• Bake cookies, rotating halfway through, until golden around edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Repeat with remaining log and remaining 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

CREAM CHEESE WALNUT DROP COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, cream cheese and milk.
• Beat in sugar and vanilla.
• Gradually mix in flour. Stir in walnuts.
• Drop by tablespoonful 2-inches apart on to ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes or until edges begin to slightly brown.

PUMPKIN WALNUT COOKIES WITH CARAMEL CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• For cookies: In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until combined. Add sugars; beat until light and fluffy. Blend in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg. Gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well (dough will be thick). Fold in chopped nuts. Refrigerate cookie dough for 2 hours.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop by tablespoonfuls 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes. (Mine came out perfectly in 12 minutes for both a gas and electric oven. These cookies don't brown much because of their color.).
• Cool for 1 minute on pan. Move to wire rack to cool.
• For frosting: In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 3 minutes and remove from heat.
• Stir in maple syrup (or flavoring) and vanilla extract. Cool completely.
• In a mixer bowl with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir caramel until smooth, add to cream cheese, and mix until combined.
• Add and mix in powdered sugar, starting with 2 cups, until it reaches a frosting consistency. Frost cookies.
• NOTE: I've glazed these when the bottom of the cookies are just a little warm and the frosting has set up beautifully. With my next batch, I didn't wait as long, and while the frosting did stay on the top, some of it did ooze down the sides like a glaze. So frost however you want it to be like!