Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

Yield: About 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, divided (do not use vegetable oil spread)
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, microwave 1 stick of the butter on HIGH 45 seconds or until melted.
3. Slice remaining butter into 1/2 inch pieces; add to melted butter, tossing to coat. Let butter stand 2-3 minutes or until softened. Whisk butter until smooth and free of lumps.
4. In a bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add butter to cream cheese, whisking until smooth.
5. Combine flour and powdered sugar in large colander bowl; add cream cheese mixture. Mix until well blended and smooth using spoon. (Do not over-mi.)
6. Fill cookie press with dough using a medium scoop. Fit press with disk #4, making sure the number on the disk is facing outward, away from the dough. Press dough onto flat baking stone 1 inch apart.
7. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.
8. Cool 3 minutes on baking stone; remove cookies to cooling rack. Cool completely.
9. Repeat with remaining dough.
10. Spread coconut in a single layer over bottom of small bar pan.
11. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown; cool completely.
12. Microwave preserves in small bowl, uncovered, on HIGH 30 seconds or until melted; brush over cookies using pastry brush.
13. Sprinkle cookies generously with toasted coconut.

Notes

If you have only one baking stone, press the remaining cookies onto parchment paper, cut to the size of the baking stone. As you remove one batch of cookies from the oven, unbaked cookies can be quickly placed onto the baking stone and into the oven. This will save time as well as clean-up.

If desired, this recipe can be cut in half to yield approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Nutrition

Nutrients per serving: (1 cookie): Calories 70, Total Fat 4g, Saturated Fat 2.5g, Cholesterol 10mg, Carbohydrate 8g, Protein less than 1g, Sodium 40mg, Fiber 0g

Attribution

Pampered Chef