2¼ cups bread flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
8-ounce package cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted, for rolling & dusting cookies
Whisk together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Cream together cream cheese and butter until well blended, creamy and smooth. Add in sugar, vanilla and salt; mix until well combined and light and fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk and beat in well until creamy and light, about 1 to 2 minutes on medium speed.
Gradually add flour mixture and mix until just fully incorporated. Dough will be very sticky. Cover work bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325ºF.
Roll 1-inch dough ball in confectioners’ sugar to lightly coat. Place dough balls on prepared baking sheets lined with parchment paper at least 2 inches apart.
Bake in preheated oven until cookies have spread into round cookie shapes and are puffed and crackly, about 14 minutes. Do not overbake. The cookies will still be soft in the centers. If they start to brown around the edges, they have baked too long. The underside of the cookies should be only very lightly browned.
