Recipe from the December issue of Everyday Food magazine (everydayfood ). Makes 48 cookies.
Ingredients
8-ounce bar cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups jam, jelly or preserves
Directions
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, add flour and salt; beat until combined (do not overmix).
Divide dough into 3 portions; flatten each into a disk. Roll each disk to 1/8-inch thickness between sheets of parchment. Stack dough (still in parchment) on a baking sheet; refrigerate 20 minutes. (To store, wrap in plastic and freeze on sheet, up to 2 weeks. Thaw until pliable before using.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Mix egg yolk with 1/2 teaspoon water. Working with 1 dough sheet at a time, peel off parchment (save for baking). With a 2 1/2-inch round or 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jam into center of each and brush exposed dough with egg wash. Shape cookies (if using rounds, firmly pinch edges to form 4 corners; if using stars, fold points over to center and press lightly); arrange, 2 inches apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate 20 minutes (reroll scraps).
Bake until cookies are light golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on wire racks. (To store, cover and keep at room temperature, up to 4 days.)
