Name: Polish Cream Cheese Cookies
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 110 min
Ingredients: 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened; 2 sticks salted butter (softened); 1/4 c. sugar; 2 3/4 c. flour; 1 c. apricot jam; Coarse sugar

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Polish Cream Cheese Cookies are a classic cookie with dough that mimics a pastry crust and then is stuffed with a variety of jams such as apricot, cherry, or almond.

When I was a child we used to go to church every Sunday. In between Sunday School and church they would put out coffee and cookies in the kitchen for people, mainly adults, to snack on while socializing before the service. After the adults were finished and about 5 minutes before the church service started the junior and senior high Sunday school classes would go in and grab any cookies that were left.

I remember those years fondly both because of the people who were in my class and because of those cookies. I remember going into the kitchen and the anticipation I would feel before seeing what types of cookies were left on the plates. Many weeks it was just Oreos or chocolate chip cookies but every once in a while I would get lucky.

Those were the weeks when I would find a Polish Cream Cheese Cookie with apricot jam sitting on the tray. I don’t know what it was about those cookies but man were they good. They are one of the few cookies I couldn’t pass up then and that I still can’t pass up today. Something about the delicate, lightly sweetened cookie paired with jam and sprinkled with coarse sugar is pure perfection.

You would think because of how much I enjoyed those cookies that I would have been making them for years but that is not the case. In fact, as an adult I would still feel like I scored whenever I came across a cookie plate that had the Polish Cream Cheese Cookies on them. While I like the ones with raspberry jam in them, the original apricot ones were always my favorite.

So when Food Network Magazine had a recipe for these cookies in their holiday magazine edition I immediately cut it out and stuffed it in my planner because I knew I was making them. Quick note on making these, make sure you have plenty of time as they do take a bit of work. You need to make the dough, chill for an hour, roll the dough, cut the dough, then fold the dough so these are not fast cookies. However, they are totally worth the work.

Ingredients:

cream cheese
butter
sugar
flour
apricot jam
coarse sugar

To make these cookies beat the cream cheese, butter, and sugar together until smooth. Add in the flour and mix until just combined.

Wrap the dough and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 2 1/2 inch squares. Place the squares on a cookie sheet.

Place a spoonful of jam in the center of each one and pinch opposite corners to seal in the jam. Sprinkles with the coarse sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes.

I ended up making this dough while my son was playing with his cars under my feet in the kitchen. It’s an easy dough to whip up. Then I chilled it so I could make the cookies while J napped. As soon as he went down I rolled out the dough and cut it into squares. Well let’s be honest, they were more like rectangles but they worked.

Do I have to use apricot jam?

No! You can use cherry, apricot, raspberry, or even an almond filling.

What if I don’t have coarse sugar?

You can certainly use regular granulated sugar or even colored sprinkles. While the coarse sugar looks amazing on these cookies any sugar or sprinkles will work. You can even omit it if you want.

Can I freeze this dough?

Yes! Wrap it well and put it in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator over night when ready to use.

Filling the dough, folding it, and pinching it took a while. Then while the cookies baked the jam starting oozing out of them. I was a little worried but in the end they were perfect and just like I remembered. The cookie is delicate and has just a hint of sweetness. The jam is sweet but a bit tangy and the coarse sugar gives the cookie a nice crunch. It really brought back memories of my childhood and both my husband and I really enjoyed these cookies.

I’m fairly certain that while they were a lot of work they will be on our yearly holiday cookie list from now on!

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