Cream Cheese Meltaways

When I was a kid, I'd lose stuff and then have difficulty finding it again.  My dad was in the military, and the ID card that they give everyone was always the first thing to disappear.  My parents used to say, "It will always be the last place you look."

I felt very much that way for this baking challenge, for which Amanda from Our Italian Kitchen chose mini/bite sized treats.  Everything I found was delicious looking truffles, and I couldn't find anything that I actually had to bake.  I was so stuck on the truffle idea that I had almost given up, until I found these Cream Cheese Meltaways at Alida's Kitchen.  I found what I was looking for in the last place I looked.

 

Cream Cheese Meltaways
from Alida's Kitchen
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla

Glaze
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup  fresh lemon juice

assorted sprinkles, for decorating (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cornstarch and salt until combined.
3) In a large bowl, add powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese and vanilla and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. 
4) Add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring until combined.  (Note: dough will be dry and crumbly). 
5) Shape dough into 1-inch balls (be careful not to overwork dough) and place on prepared cookie sheets.
6) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned.  Cool 5 minutes of pan and then move to wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze:  In a medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth.  Dip the tops of cooled cookies into glaze and place on wire rack.  Decorate with sprinkles, as desired.  Let cookies stand until glaze is set.

I have to admit that I thought these cookies were more addicting without the glaze.  To me the glaze tasted better after it had awhile to sit, but I still think they were better without.  These were slightly bigger than bite sized for me, but I definitely could have made them smaller too.  I only yielded 20 cookies, while Alida said the recipe makes 36.  These are fantastic cookies, and I'm glad I ran across them for the challenge.