Description
These Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies combine the warm, spiced flavors of pumpkin with a smooth, creamy cheesecake center. Perfectly soft and tender, these cookies offer a delightful twist on traditional pumpkin treats and are ideal for autumn gatherings or anytime you crave a cozy dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
Cheesecake Filling
- 115 g cream cheese (full-fat)
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Cookies
- 110 g butter
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 120 g pumpkin purée
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 240 g all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon (or 1 tbsp pumpkin spice)
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice powder
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg powder
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Spice Sugar Coating
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice)
- ⅛ tsp ground allspice
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
Instructions
- Make Cheesecake Filling: Add cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract to a bowl. Whisk together using a hand whisk for about 1 minute until smooth and sugar is fully incorporated.
- Prepare Butter: Melt butter gently in microwave or on stovetop without boiling. Pour melted butter into a large mixing bowl and chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes until it reaches room temperature.
- Remove Moisture from Pumpkin: Pat the pumpkin purée with paper towels repeatedly until no excess liquid transfers to the towel.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: Once butter is cool, add granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. Whisk or mix with a stand mixer paddle attachment for 1 minute until combined.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Mix in pumpkin purée, then beat in the egg and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.
- Make Cookie Dough: Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix with a spatula just until combined without overmixing.
- Chill Dough: Place the dough in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.
- Prepare Spice Sugar: Mix granulated sugar with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger for coating.
- Preheat Oven and Prep Baking Sheets: Preheat oven to 175ºC (350ºF) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Portion Cookies: Using a 2 tbsp (1.3 oz) cookie scoop, scoop 13 balls of dough. Roll each into a ball and then roll in the prepared spice sugar. Place 6 cookies per baking tray and gently flatten each to form a donut-like shape.
- Create Indents and Fill: Press the center of each cookie ball with a tablespoon to form an indent. Fill each indent evenly with the cheesecake filling.
- Bake: Bake one tray at a time for 9-11 minutes. Keep remaining dough chilled in the refrigerator while baking batches.
- Cool: Allow cookies to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Let cool completely before serving. These cookies are best enjoyed once fully cooled.
Notes
- Removing excess moisture from the pumpkin purée ensures the cookie dough is not too wet for proper baking.
- You can substitute all the spices with pumpkin spice in the indicated amounts for convenience.
- Make sure butter is cooled to room temperature before mixing to avoid curdling the dough.
- Do not overmix the dough once dry ingredients are added to keep cookies tender.
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated for up to a week.
- Allow cookies to cool completely to set the cream cheese filling properly.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 140mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
Keywords: pumpkin cheesecake cookies, pumpkin cookies, cheesecake filled cookies, autumn desserts, spiced cookies
