What is it?

Cream cheese is a creamy, spreadable cow’s milk cheese with a slightly tangy flavor. Besides its most famous uses as a spread for bagels and a cheesecake filling, it’s also used in cookie doughs, cake and brownie batters, frostings and fillings. It occasionally makes its way to the savory side of cooking, appearing in pastas, dips, soups, and sauces.

Kitchen math:

8 oz. = about 1 cup

How to choose:

For almost all baked goods that call for cream cheese, use the kind that comes in a brick (we like regular Philadelphia brand cream cheese) and not in a tub. The cream cheese in a tub is formulated to make it more spreadable than the brick kind. That’s fine for your toasted bagel, but it’s usually not good when you’re using the cream cheese as an ingredient.

How to prep:

Most recipes call for cream cheese to be at room temperature before using.

Recipes

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  Recipe

  Challah Toasts with Dill Cheese, Fennel, and Smoked Salmon

  These canapés are like Sunday brunch meets the Jewish holidays. Use a mandoline, if you have one, to shave the fennel into super thin curls. If not, a sharp chef’s…

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  Recipe

  Gluten-Free Vanilla-Bean Cutout Cookies with Cream Cheese Glaze

  Thin, crisp, and melt-in-your mouth buttery, these scrumptious gluten-free cookies are every bit as delightful as their traditional counterparts. This dough keeps very well in the refrigerator or freezer, so…

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  Recipe

  Pecan Tassies

  Buttery, nutty, and satisfying, these two-bite pecan tartlets are as easy to make as they are to like.

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  Recipe

  No-Bake Almond Cheesecake with Cherry-Kirsch Compote

  Cherries and almonds are a classic combination. In this creamy no-bake cheesecake, a swirl of cherry juice on the top makes this dessert a real showstopper.

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  Recipe

  Truffled Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

  Thoughtfully selected cheeses mingle to create a delicate, silky sauce that allows the lobster to shine. With a touch of truffle oil, this dish is a huge hit at Steve…

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  Recipe

  Hazelnut White Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

  These sophisticated cookies combine the flavors of earthy hazelnuts and sweet white chocolate. Depending on your craving, you can finish these bars with either bittersweet chocolate ganache or sour cream…

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  Recipe

  Pumpkin Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

  These cakelike bar cookies use elements that are both traditional and fancy: a simple pumpkin cake base topped with a nutty brown-butter frosting.

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  Recipe

  Cheese Blintzes with Strawberry Sauce

  The sweet cheese filling is perfect for breakfast or dessert with berries or seasonal fruit, topped with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar.

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  Recipe

  Slow-Cooker Southern-Style Short Ribs with Pimiento Grits

  Tender, meaty beef short ribs are classic cold-weather comfort fare, but these—made in a slow cooker while you tend to the rest of your life—harken back to summer, thanks to…

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  Recipe

  Lingonberry Cream Cheese Pastries

  These individual tarts are simple to make using purchased puff pastry. You can prepare them up to the point of baking, freeze them, and then bake one whenever you want…