Cream cheese spiral cookies are not overly sweet and are perfect for those who like less sweet desserts. These cinnamon nut-filled cream cheese cookies are one of the earliest recipes that I tried and blogged about. It has been a while since I made them.
What are cream cheese spirals?
I am often asked if these cream cheese spirals are cookies or pastries. I like to call them pastries disguised as cookies. They are somewhat similar to Rugelach cookies, but in my earlier days of blogging (when I was new to baking as well), I was not familiar with many different kinds of recipes. Now 11 years after I first baked these cream cheese spiral cookies, I am more knowledgeable about different kinds of cookies from around the world. I find these very similar Jewish Rugelach cookies. If looking for more cookies from different parts of the world, check out these recipes.
Vanillekipferl | Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookie
Naan Berenji | Eggless Persian Rice Flour Cookies
Jan Hagel Cookies | Dutch Shortbread Cookies
Sekerpare – Turkish Soft Cookies in Sugar Syrup
Nan Khatai – Indian Shortbread Cookies
The process of making cream cheese spirals does look slightly complicated, but I promise it is not hard to make. The dough comes along very nicely and we can use any nuts that we have to use as filling. I have made these spirals with walnuts, pecans, and a combination of walnuts, almonds, and pecans. These little spiral pockets are packed with flavors from cream cheese, nuts, and cinnamon. I am going to have to warn you before that these cream cheese spirals are very addictive. I find myself struggling not to go back to the containers to have one more. If you have more nuts and want to make a delicious dessert, I would highly recommend trying these pecan pie bars. I love pecan pies and these are so delicious and easier to make than the traditional pie itself.
Why make these cream cheese spirals?
I love making cream cheese spiral cookies as they are delicate enough to classify as pastry. They look and taste very complex and make for wonderful gifting. I love how adaptable these cookies/pastries are. We can mix and match any kind of nuts of our choice and they all taste wonderful. The pastry dough/shell for these cookies is very rich and the texture is melt in your mouth. We need very easy-to-find ingredients to make these cream cheese spirals.
Ingredients needed
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes. To make the pastry covering
Butter - I use unsalted butter to make the cream cheese spirals as the cream cheese has some saltiness to it. Use butter at room temperature.
Cream cheese - As the name of the cookies says we need cream cheese to make these delicious spiral pastries. The cream cheese also has to be at room temperature.
Sugar - I have used granulated white sugar.
All-purpose flour - I use unbleached flour for all my baking recipes.
For the nut filling
Nuts - Use walnuts, pecans, almonds, or a combination of nuts.
Brown sugar - I used light brown sugar.
Cinnamon powder
To glaze the cream cheese spirals
Milk and butter glaze - Typically egg white glaze is used but I have made these pastries eggless and hence used milk and butter combined.
Turbinado sugar - I have used turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top but we can use regular granulated sugar as well
Step-by-step process
To make the pastry dough Start by removing the cream cheese and butter from the refrigerator to allow it them to come to room temperature. Add the softened butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar to a large bowl or mixer bowl (1). Cream them until soft and well combined (2). Now sift the flour and gradually add to the butter-cream cheese mixture to form a dough (3). Gather into a ball (4) and divide in half (5). Flatten each piece, wrap it in parchment paper, and chill for at least half an hour (6). To make the filling I have used finely chopped walnuts and pecans today. I like to use a nut chopper and make it almost powder-like (7). Mix together the chopped nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl (8). To shape the cream cheese spirals In the meantime preheat the oven to 375F. Also, grease two baking sheets or line them with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper. Working with one piece of dough at a time (9), roll out each half of the dough thinly into a circle measuring about 12 inches (10). The edges of the dough will appear irregular. Trim the edges using a dinner plate as a guide (11 & 12). Brush the surface of the rolled dough liberally with the milk mixture (13). Sprinkle half of the prepared cinnamon nut mixture evenly over the rolled pastry dough (14 & 15). With a sharp knife or a pizza wheel, slice the dough round into quarters and then cut each quarter into 4 sections. This will yield 16 triangles altogether (16). Starting from the base of the triangle (the wide end), roll the dough into a tight spiral (17 & 18). Place the spirals on the prepared baking trays (19). Repeat the same with the other dough half and place those spirals onto the second baking sheet. Baking the cream cheese spiral cookies Brush the cream cheese spirals with the remaining milk-butter glaze (20) and sprinkle with granulated sugar (21). Bake for 15-18 minutes until they are evenly golden brown (22). Cool the baked cream cheese spirals on the tray for 5 minutes and then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Storage instructions
Allow the cream cheese spiral cookies to cool completely on a wire rack and then store them in an air-tight container. They stay fresh at room temperature for about 5 days. The cinnamon nut cream cheese spirals can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks and frozen for up to 3 months. The cream cheese pastry dough freezes really well. If planning to make a large batch, make the dough and freeze them in batches. On the day of baking, remove the dough from the freezer and thaw it in the refrigerator and then proceed with shaping and baking.
Expert Tips
Use milk and butter mixture, heavy cream, or egg white to glaze the cream cheese spirals. Use a food processor or nut chopper to chop the nuts into fine pieces evenly. Cold dough is very easy to work with. So definitely recommend refrigerating the dough for at least 30 minutes. You can also make the dough in a food processor instead of a stand mixer. Liberally spread the cinnamon sugar nut mixture over the rolled dough. Keep an eye on when the spirals are baking and check for doneness from about 12 to 13 minutes. The pastries would be a little soft when they come out of the oven. let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then carefully remove them to cool on a rack.
Frequently asked questions
More pastry recipes
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