Cream Cheese Cookies

When we would visit my in-laws in Cleveland, somehow I always managed to end up in their kitchen.

When they visited us, my mother-in-law ended up in our kitchen.
 

After every meal, my mother-in-law would bring out her tin of homemade goodies, usually kolache and chocolate chip cookies. She and my father-in-law called it, "bakery." I was recently looking through the many newspaper and magazine clippings of recipes that my mother-in-law had saved and found a cream cheese cookie recipe. I love cream cheese, so I thought it was worth making! In the directions it said, "this grand, adaptable dough can be dropped by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet, put through a cookie press (if you're lucky enough to have one) or chilled until firm and then rolled with a rolling pin and cut with cookie cutters."  I love the part that talks about a cookie press and being lucky if you own one! When my "sous chef" saw me getting out the ingredients to make these last night, he came over to help me.  Since Dominic is still learning to crack an egg, I did the "separating" of the yolk from the white. I think he thought I was using some magic when I put just the yolk and not the white into one of the shells! Since I don't own a cookie press, we used the bottom of a drinking glass. Maybe I'll get "lucky" and the kids or the hubby will get me a cookie press for Mother's Day (hint, hint). These cookies are fine without frosting, but they are even better with it!

You can also make them a little bigger and add sprinkles - yummy!

 
Ingredients:

1 cup shortening
3 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups white flour

In large bowl, put the shortening and cream cheese. Mix well by hand with a large spoon or with electric mixer until fluffy. Next, add the sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix well again . Lastly, with a large spoon, add the flour, a half a cup at a time, until all the flour is well incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and put into the fridge for about a half hour. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and set aside. Roll the dough into 2 1/2 dozen equal sized balls or if you prefer bigger cookies, then roll into 15 equal sized balls. Flatten with the bottom of  a drinking glass and sprinkle a little white sugar on top if desired. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges and the bottom of the cookies are starting to turn brown. Let them cool five minutes and the remove to wire rack to continue cooling.