The Hungry Canary

Adapted from Ideals Family Cookbook · Aurora Santerre

Cream Cheese Cookies

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Ingredients

  • 1 small package cream cheese (original package weight not specified; 3 oz was a common small package)
  • ¼ lb margarine (½ cup or 1 stick; butter is an optional alternative)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 cup sorghum flour (original: wheat flour; experimental substitution)
  • 2½ Tbsp sugar
  • ½ package chocolate chip bits (package weight not stated; use approximately half of your chosen bag, adjusting to taste)

Directions

  1. Mix the softened cream cheese, margarine, egg yolk, sugar and chocolate chip bits until combined. Add the sorghum flour last and mix to form a dough.
  2. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  3. Using wax paper or parchment paper, shape the chilled dough into a log. Refrigerate again until firm enough to slice cleanly.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the dough into ¼-inch slices and arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  5. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet briefly before transferring, since sorghum-based cookies may be fragile when hot.

Cookbook source

“Cream Cheese Cookies,” contributed by Aurora Santerre to the Ideals Family Cookbook. The original lists one small package cream cheese, ¼ pound margarine, one egg yolk, one cup flour, 2½ tablespoons sugar and half a package of chocolate chip bits. Mix ingredients with flour last, chill 2 hours or overnight, roll using wax paper, chill again, cut ¼-inch slices and bake on an ungreased sheet at 350°F about 20 minutes until lightly browned at the edges.

Hungry Canary substitution

Flour: Use one cup sorghum flour as an experimental replacement for the original wheat flour. As a gluten-free slice-and-bake dough, it may need testing to hold together and slice cleanly. Margarine: The original amount is a quarter pound (4 ounces), equivalent to half a cup; butter is an optional alternative.

Vintage package sizes

The source does not specify the weight of its “small package” cream cheese or “½ package” chocolate chips. Three-ounce cream cheese packages were historically common, but are not guaranteed to be what Aurora intended. Verify dough consistency when testing rather than assuming a modern 8-ounce block was used. The chocolate-chip amount similarly depends on the original package size.