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Cottage Cheese Cookies

With a moist and fluffy cake-like texture, only six simple ingredients mix together to make homemade Cottage Cheese Cookies. 

This old fashioned cookie recipe is easy to make that is high in protein and always impresses your guests!

Moist cottage cheese cookies resting on a wooden board with one broken in half showing a moist white cookie on a colorful napkin.

If you like cottage cheese as an ingredient try our trending Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough and Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac and Cheese.

Cottage Cheese Cookie Recipe

These icebox cottage cheese cookies are quick to mix up, roll into a log and put in the refrigerator overnight.  When you’re ready to bake slice into thin pieces and a warm cookie is ready with very little effort.  They taste similar to a sugar cookie without being super sweet.

I love these cookies plain, but the kids and many people like to mix up a batch or use a can of icing.  Vanilla icing is great and so is the cream cheese icing that’s used on our Carrot Cake Loaf or Frosted Banana Bars. I think chocolate icing would work well too.  

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Not quite as moist as our Sour Cream Cookies these Cottage Cheese cookies are much quicker and easier to make.  Another ice box cookie we have is Butterscotch Sandies.  I love that when guests are over you can slice off a bit of the cookies dough and have freshly baked cookies within ten minutes. 

Cake like cottage cheese cookie with cream cheese icing broken in half

Simple cookies with fresh flavors are a great addition to a cookie tray alongside Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies, Easy Christmas Cookies and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.

Making this cookie dough ahead of time allows time to clean up before cookies are baked and enjoyed!

Can You Taste the Cottage Cheese?

Unless you know the ingredients you will never know that the baked cookies contain cottage cheese.

A popular new recipe that’s trending on Tiktok uses a blender to make the dough and that’s not even necessary with this classic recipe.

No one who has tasted this recipe has guessed that cottage cheese is an ingredient.

Center of moist and fluffy cottage cheese cookie

Does the Dough Have to Be Refrigerated?

Cottage cheese cookie dough is very moist and tacky. The dough needs to be refrigerated for at least a few hours to firm up and become sliceable before baking.

Refrigerate for a minimum of three hours to chill through to the center. Dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 to 3 days when tightly wrapped.

The typical refrigeration period for icebox cookies is overnight.

Refrigerated roll of cookie dough wrapped in plastic wrap

Why Use Cottage Cheese?

As the cookies bake the cottage cheese bakes out and leaves space and a cake like texture. This unique ingredient adds moisture and protein to these cookies as well.

This is a very simple recipe that can be mixed up quickly and makes a small batch of homemade cookies to enjoy.

Baked cottage cheese cookies on a cooling rack

Ingredients Needed:

  • Butter
  • Cottage cheese
  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Baking powder
Ingredients to make cottage cheese cookies are butter, cottage cheese, flour and sugar on a white counter top.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Cream butter and cottage cheese until blended.

Cottage cheese creamed into softened butter in a silver mixing bowl.

Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture.

Flour poured on top of cottage cheese and butter mixture in a mixing bowl.

Mix the dough up well.

Cottage cheese cookie dough mixed together in a mixing bowl.

Form into a loaf. Roll the loaf of cookie dough into the size you want cookies to be. Also try to make the ends square instead of tapering so that all cookies are a uniform and even size.

Chill overnight.

Slice into thin and evenly sized cookies.

Roll of chilled cottage cheese dough sliced and laid out on a non-stick mat on a cookie sheet to bake.

Bake on a greased baking sheet or use a non-stick mat at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Baked cottage cheese cookies with golden brown edges on a baking sheet.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies based on thickness of cookie slices. Baking time will also vary a few minutes based on thickness.

Prepare a batch of icing or use a can of icing if desired. Enjoy!

Overhead view of cottage cheese cookies with white icing on a plate and cutting board and one broken in half and resting on each other to show how moist they are on a colorful pastel napkin.

More Easy Holiday Desserts:

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are chewy and hearty with a hint of sweet in every juicy raisin these Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are too good to stop eating. 

Applesauce Raisin Cookies are delicious, moist, easy to make and call for simple ingredients that you likely have on hand!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe has milk chocolate and white chocolate chips to create the best cookies with a tender morsel that you’ll make at home!

Delicious cottage cheese cookies on a blue napkin

Cottage Cheese Cookies

Servings 24 cookies
Author: Jennifer
With a moist and fluffy cake-like texture, only a few simple ingredients mix together to make homemade Cottage Cheese Cookies.
4.80 from 5 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Chill time 12 hours
Total Time 12 hours 13 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1/2 cup cottage cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Cream butter and cottage cheese until blended.
    1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup cottage cheese
  • Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture.
    1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Form into a loaf. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
  • Slice thin and bake on a greased or lined baking sheet at 375°F for 8 – 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Notes

-Makes 2 – 3 dozen cookies based on how thick the dough is sliced
-Many people prefer homemade or canned frosting on these cookies

Nutrition

Calories: 83kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 99mgPotassium: 48mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 124IUCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

“Plowing Through Life” is not a dietitian or nutrition professional. Any nutritional information shared is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on specific products are used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice.

Tried this recipe?Mention @PlowingThroughLife or tag #PlowingThroughLife!

Originally published May 6, 2021 with updates made on August 30, 2023.

16 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    How interesting! I have never heard of cottage cheese cookies. I can’t wait to give these a go!

    1. 5 stars
      My mom wrote down a recipe for 4-ingredient cottage cheese cookies. Unfortunately, she passed and my copy of the recipe, on an old cellphone, was corrupted. This is the closest I have found to it, ever. Can’t wait to make some. Thanks.

    2. Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life says:

      Hey There! So glad you found this recipe! I hope it brings back great memories and creates delicious cookies for you! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  2. Do you refrigerate cookies after baked or can I put them in cookie jar

    1. Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life says:

      Hey There! Great question – since they are baked we don’t typically refrigerate, but since they have more moisture they will spoil faster than other cookies. Refrigeration will extend the shelf life if that’s your goal. Ours don’t seem to last long enough to worry about 🙂 Hope you enjoy as much as we do!

  3. Can you freeze these?

    1. Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life says:

      Hey There! Great question – Yes, be sure to let them cool and store in an airtight sealing bag. I would recommend freezing the cookie only for best results and icing them after defrosting. Hope you enjoy 🙂

  4. Catherine says:

    4 stars
    Good! I added walnuts, just because. I would make again

  5. Clarice Bauer says:

    I like the texture of the frosted cookies that can be purchased at Kroger and other groceries. If you have ever purchased them, is the texture anything like the purchased cookies.

    1. Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life says:

      Hey Clarice! Yes – this recipe does remind me of the texture of the frosted Lofthouse cookies from Kroger. It’s not quite as rich, but so simple to make at home 🙂

  6. 5 stars
    Hi, Hope Dott Kansas QUEEN TARTS hope u c this?Many years ago in home ec class we made these.I lost that recipe,but was so happy when my Aunt found it.Originally it was on a small pamphlet from SOLO fruit filling.There is the same recipe on TOH CC COOKIES.Pat

  7. Jo Lawrence says:

    Can these be made with almond flour ti make them keto?

    1. Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life says:

      Hey There! Great question! I haven’t tested that version, please let me know if you give it a try. Hope you enjoy 🙂

  8. Dawn Henderson says:

    I attempted and followed the recipe exact and my dough came out more like a crumble than a wet dough. Are the ingredient measurement amounts correct?

    1. Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life says:

      Hey There! I’m sorry that happened. We always use regular cottage cheese and have great results. I wonder if a low-fat or other variation may have affected the outcome.

      Thanks for visiting our site!

  9. 5 stars
    I made this with gluten free flour and followed the measurements exactly the same. The cookies turned out perfect!

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