Step 1

Let butter and cream cheese sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or until softened, meaning you can easily press on them to mash

Step 2

Cream the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and brown sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time. Beating until combined before adding another one. You may need to stop to scrape down the side of the bowl halfway. Add pandan extract and mix to combine

Step 3

Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt and then use a rubber spatula to mix until combined. The cookie dough is very sticky at this point

Step 4

Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. They are easier to work with once they are sufficiently chilled

Step 5

Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop about 1 1/2 Tbsp of the cookie dough out using a cookie scoop

Step 6

Spray your palms with some cooking spray or lightly oil them if you find the cookie dough is still too sticky to handle. They should be easier to work with after chilling for at least 4 hours. Roll them into dough balls

Step 7

Prepare two bowls of sugar, one filled with granulated sugar and the other one with icing sugar. Roll each dough in granulated sugar first. This prevents the cookie dough from absorbing the icing sugar later. Then roll it into the icing sugar. Coat 2-3 times with icing sugar to make sure they are thoroughly coated or they won't show much after baking. Only roll the dough in both sugar when you are ready to bake them, don't let them sit around waiting for the oven while the other tray is baking. I bake one tray at a time for the best result

Step 8

Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart as the cookies will spread.

Step 9

Put the tray in the oven, 3rd rack from the top (middle of the oven). Let them bake for 13-15 minutes. They appear to be still very soft when you pull them out from the oven, but they will toughen up a bit as they cool down. Let them cool down on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to the cooling rack to let them cool down completely

Step 10

The cookies can be kept at room temperature in an air-tight container for 4-5 days. For longer storage, freeze them unbaked or baked. See post for details