Pound Cake Cookies
These Pound Cake Cookies are reminiscent of a classic pound cake…just in cookie form! They’re a unique and delicious treat!
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I love a good pound cake. I’ve made countless pound cakes over the years, and there’s always room for another. Always! There’s something about the density of a pound cake that really appeals to me. On a side note, have you ever tried grilling pound cake? It’s amazing. I’m fairly certain that grilling a ‘regular’ piece of cake would lead to a monstrous mess, but grilling a piece of pound cake? Do it. Just make sure to have fresh berries and ice cream on hand, too.
Given my love of pound cakes, I was quite intrigued when my sister told me about pound cake cookies. I had to try a batch for myself! And that batch turned into another batch…and another…and we’ll just stop there before I admit how many batches of pound cake cookies I’ve made over the last several weeks. (I highly recommend trying my sister’s version of this recipe. It’s one of the most popular recipes on her blog – for good reason!)
Pound Cake Cookies
Much like their cake cousin, these cookies are dense. However, they are dense in a good way. And they keep for a long time. We somehow made a batch of these cookies last for 5-6 days, and the last cookie tasted just as good as the first.
As with a classic pound cake, these cookies don’t call for any leaveners (i.e. baking soda or baking powder). Instead they more or less hold their shape in the oven. For one of the batches we made, I flattened the dough balls with the palm of my hand before baking. That method worked fine, but I found that I prefer just rolling the dough into balls and baking them without flattening the dough. You end up with a much thicker, smaller cookie this way…and it totally reminds me of pound cake!
For this batch, I went with a pecan angle by pressing a pecan half into the top of each cookie. I also mixed some chopped pecans into the dough itself – I like the added crunch and texture that comes with the nuts. If you aren’t a fan of nuts, then you can certainly omit them.
Prior to making these Pound Cake Cookies, I hadn’t really experimented with using cream cheese in a cookie batter. Based on my current love (some might call it an addiction) for these cookies, I’m glad I stumbled on the idea of using cream cheese and butter together in a cookie recipe.
Laura has kindly requested that I make another batch of these cookies with almond extract. I think she might be onto something there! And I want to make a lemon version packed with fresh lemon zest. There are so many flavor options here! I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as we do – happy baking!
Did you make a batch of these Pound Cake Cookies at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Pound Cake Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
- ½ cup whole pecan halves
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese and brown sugar until light and fluffy (~3-4 minutes on medium speed).
- Add egg and vanilla; mix until well combined.
- Add flour, salt and finely chopped pecans; mix until just combined.
- Cover and refrigerate dough for 2 hours. (Note: Dough can be refrigerated overnight.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- Roll dough into 1” balls and place 2” apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Gently press a whole pecan half into the top of each ball.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until edges of cookies just begin to turn golden brown.
Looking for more tasty cookie recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Chocolate Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use vegan butter and cream cheese i never had pound cake cookies before perfect for my after office snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Yes! I think vegan butter and cream cheese would certainly work in this recipe, Ramya. I haven’t tried it myself, though, so let me know how it works out? Happy baking!
Who could resist these pound cake cookies David? Dee-licious!! Had a look over at your sisters version of the recipe and was drooling there too. Talented family! Hope you are well!
Thanks so much, Neil! These pound cake cookies were indeed fantastic…pound cake in a cookie form. Who woulda thunk it? 🙂
Lol, I can certainly see why you love these cookies, David! They sound wonderful and would be perfect with a tall glass of cold milk! I think Laura might be onto something too…I bet the almond extract version would be equally as delicious! Either would be such a lovely addition to the holiday baking list. 🙂
Oh, these cookies would indeed be fantastic with a glass of milk, Dawn! I love pound cake, and turning that pound cake into cookie form? Yum! Santa would approve. 🙂
Pound cakes might not be my favourite type of cake (I am sorry to upset you, David. But I am definitely accepting pound cake shipments from you! lol), but these cookies do sound intriguing indeed. And they look tasty, too. And the batch lasting for 5-6 days? I can easily make it 1 or 2 days! 🙂
That’s ok, Ben. That just means more pound cakes for me! These cookies were dense like a pound cake, but incredibly tasty. I do suggest baking up a batch!
I too love the density of a pound cake and the idea of it being in a cookie is absolutely fabulous. These would be great in a Christmas gift box. They look so pretty with the pecan on top. BTW, I must try grilled pound cake. I can only imagine it is ridiculously good. Thanks David for all the great recipes you share.
These would be fantastic in a cookie box, Kristy! The most important thing about a cookie box is mixing up the types and textures of the cookies…and this one is unique for sure. And yes to grilling pound cake – it’s dense enough that it holds together on the grill! Brush it with a little bit of butter and then wait for those grill marks to appear. It’s fun served with grilled fruit like pineapple or peaches, too!
Wow, pound cake cookies are such a genius idea, David! Love how they are individually portioned — they’d be great in my kids’ lunchboxes!
That’s a good point about these cookies would be great for lunchboxes! They make for a great treats for kids and adults alike… 🙂
Wait, your sister’s a blogger too! Amazing!!! And so fun 🙂 Now about these cookies…I’ll take a couple of dozen please! You are accepting orders, right? 🙂
Haha – the madness runs in the family, Kathy! 🙂 And, yes, I’ll be happy to ship a couple dozen up to you…although your order might be a few short. Sorry.
What an interesting mash-up! I love pound cake – and yes, love to slather it in butter and grill it, too! I’ve been toying with the idea of trying to recreate the lemon loaf at Starbucks. Maybe in cookie form? This is quite an inspiration, David!
Hmmm…that’s a fun idea, Jeff. I bet you could take this recipe and turn it into a lemon version. I’m not sure how it would compare to Starbucks’ Lemon Loaf, but I bet it would be delicious. Maybe with a simple white glaze on top with some lemon zest? Almost like anginetti. And now I’m craving cookies…haha.
these look so wonderful david. I love the idea of using cream cheese in them and yep i love a pecan or two:)
The cream cheese adds a denseness to these cookies, and they really do resemble the texture of a good pound cake! We love these. 🙂
I can never resist pound cake and somehow having it in cookie form makes it even more enticing! I’m afraid to think about how many of these I could devour, haha. Perfect for edible gift giving during the holidays too!
I’m with ya 100%, Marissa! If there’s a pound cake around, I can’t resist taking a little nibble. Same goes for these cookies. They were super tasty…and they didn’t last long around here!
YES – there is ALWAYS more space (in ma belly) for pound cake! Oh wait – you meant different variations on pound cake… 🙂
If I had seen this post when you had that one batch that lasted 5-6 days, well – let’s just say, it would have lasted 5-6 hours! These look amazing! I love the addition of pecans on top and in the dough!
Hahaha – I totally caught that, Shashi. There’s always room in my belly for pound cake, too. 🙂 And let me tell ya – it took some serious self control to make these pound cake cookies last more than 5-6 hours. They are SO good!
Can I leave out the pecans? If so, what can I do to replace them?
Hey Karen! You can absolutely leave the pecans out of this recipe if you’d like. You can either omit them entirely (the recipe will stand alone without the nuts), or you could replace them with a different nut if you’d like. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
This sounds amazing! Question: can we roll out the dough and use cookie cutters with this recipe?
Thank you so much!!
Hey Christine! These cookies are delicious, and I hope you bake a batch! As far as rolling the dough and using cookie cutters…I haven’t tried that. The dough puffs up a bit in the oven, so my gut tells me that it wouldn’t be the best dough for cut-out cookies. However, give it a try! I’d start by making a batch of dough and rolling most of the cookies into balls…but try a couple as cut-outs and see what happens. If you do, let me know?? Happy baking!