Crème Brûlée Cookies — 😋💛 Super SOFT sugar cookies topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and caramelized sugar!! If you’re a crème brûlée fan, you’re going to LOVE these cookies! So many INCREDIBLE flavors and textures in every bite!!
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Easy Crème Brûlée Sugar Cookies
I love crème brûlée. It’s hard to beat soft, rich, creamy custard topped with caramelized sugar. There is something so satisfying about breaking the caramelized sugar ‘seal,’ as I like to call it, with my spoon in search of the luscious custard that lies beneath.
But rather than make crème brûlée again, I made crème brûlée cookies. They’re elegant, fancy-tasting, rich, and decadent. They’re perfect cookies for holiday parties and events. I’m thinking New Year’s Eve.
The frosting is an easy cream cheese frosting and the tanginess complements both the cookies and the granulated sugar that you sprinkle on top of the frosting.
That sugar is what becomes caramelized after you brûlée it, or torch it.
Ingredients for Crème Brûlée Cookies
This crème brûlée cookie recipe calls for the following easy-to-find ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Oil – vegetable or canola
- Granulated sugar
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Cream of tartar
- Salt
- Cream cheese
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Crème Brûlée Cookies
The cookie dough is very similar to your typical sugar cookie dough — it’s very easy to prepare!
- Beat together the butter, sugars, and oil until combined, then add the remaining wet ingredients.
- The dry ingredients are added next.
- Scoop the dough before chilling it for at least 2 hours. Once chilled, the cookie dough can be baked.
- Let the cookies cool off before adding the cream cheese frosting.
- For that authentic crème brûlée flavor, sprinkle the tops with sugar and torch until golden.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You have to chill the dough before you bake the cookies so they don’t spread into flat discs. You want a sufficiently thick cookie and the way to achieve that is from a little chill time.
The dough is very soft from both the butter and oil (and not tons of flour, comparatively) so chilling it before baking is the only way to go here.
You don’t have to bake all the cookies at once and can save the dough in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 4 months before baking it off. That way you can have fresh cookies as often as you’d like.
Julia Child said that every woman needs a kitchen torch. And for this recipe, Julia was right. You do need a kitchen torch. Using a broiler won’t work because you will melt/burn the frosting.
The one I have is this one. Amazon just told me that I bought it on Dec 27, 2013. It’s $25 but in doing a search for kitchen torches, I found dozens that are $15 to $20. It’s one of those things that you may not use very often, but for the twice a year or so you need one, you’ll have it and it’s only 20 bucks.
Don’t skip the cream of tartar. It adds a subtle tanginess to the dough and helps the cookies bake up nice and thick. I haven’t tried the recipe without it.
If you don’t keep almond extract on hand, don’t worry about it. But I love it in desserts and being that these cookies have such a mild and pure flavor (no nuts, no chocolate, no peanut butter, etc.) the almond extract is a nice touch.
The cookies are made with both butter and oil. When baking cakes and muffins, I always prefer to use oil rather than butter because oil keeps them softer. And the same held true for the crème brûlée sugar cookies – so darn soft. They almost melt in your mouth.
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Crème Brûlée Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- one 8-ounce block cream cheese, softened
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ½ to 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, or as desired
- granulated sugar, about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per cookie
Instructions
Cookies:
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) add the butter, oil, sugars, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and combined, about 4 minutes.
- Add the egg, extracts, and beat until combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, or your hands, form approximately 20 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten about halfway.
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 7 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I use a half-sheet pan and bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for about 8 minutes (if your cookies are smaller than mine, reduce baking time) or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet before frosting. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
- While cookies are cooling, make the frosting.
Frosting:
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) add the cream cheese, butter, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and fluffy, about 2 minutes
- Add 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar and beat to incorporate. If necessary, add additional confectioners’ sugar to achieve desired frosting consistency.
- Add about 2 to 3 teaspoons frosting to the top of each cookie, spreading with a knife to smooth it.
- Sprinkle each cookie with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon granulated sugar.
- Using a kitchen torch, brûlée the sugar on all the cookies. It will only take about 2 to 3 seconds per cookie. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made these last year and had to make 2 batches! They are now everyone’s Favorite cookie and requested again this year! Soooo Good 😊
Thanks for the 5 star review, Christy, and I’m glad these are everyone’s favorite cookies and on request!
How many cookies does one recipe yield?
about 20
Hi Averie,
I’m going to be making these tonight and just wondering if the butter for the cookies, is supposed to be softened?
Yes, softened to room temperature. I’m going to make a note of that in the recipe.
These turned out delicious! They are so unique and it was so fun to torch the tops! Some family said the almond taste was too much for them, but I loved it haha guess it’s a matter of preference.
Really creative recipe.. thanks Averie! :-)
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad you loved these and torching is so much fun! And yes, almond extract is strong so just scale it back for them if they didn’t like it as much, but you did, so go with what you like! haha
These turned out delicious! They are so unique and it was so fun to torch the tops! Some family said the almond taste was too much for them, but I loved it haha guess it’s a matter of preference.
Really creative recipe.. thanks Averie! :-)
These were ridiculously delicious!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad they were ridic delish!
These were ridiculously delicious!
Been a chef my entire life, I normally go for the savory side of things but needed a dessert for a dinner party, stumbled across this recipe. It was a hit! They had an excellent flavor and a unique presentation!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this recipe was a winner for you!
Been a chef my entire life, I normally go for the savory side of things but needed a dessert for a dinner party, stumbled across this recipe. It was a hit! They had an excellent flavor and a unique presentation!
Is it ok to torch them and store them for a day after torching?
Yes I would just wait then to add the frosting until before you’re ready to torch them.
Truly one of your most unique cookie recipes this year! Very pretty color that you were able to torch
These are unique!!! They look and sound wonderful too–I love the caramelized sugar on top of the frosting. Wow!
They were such a unique cookie, I knew they were perfect for the holiday season. The caramelized sugar on top of the frosting was heavenly!