Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
These Pumpkin Cheese Cookies are the perfect pumpkin cookie filled with a sweet cream cheese center and rolled into cinnamon sugar.
Servings: 20
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling:
- (1) 8-ounce pkg. Cream Cheese (softened)
- 4 Tablespoons Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste
Pumpkin Cookies:
- 2/3 cup Pure Pumpkin Puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 cup Butter (softened)
- 1 cup Brown Sugar (packed)
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 2 large Egg Yolks (yolks only)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 3/4 cups Flour
- 2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture:
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
Instructions
Cheesecake Filling:
- Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Scoop 2 teaspoon sized mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until solid (about 1 hour).
Pumpkin Cookies:
- Remove excess moisture from pumpkin. Place 2–3 layers of paper towels on a large plate, cutting board, or baking sheet. Spoon the measured amount of pumpkin puree onto the paper towels. Spread it into an even layer. Gently press a paper towel on top of the pumpkin to remove excess moisture. After blotting, scrape the pumpkin into a bowl.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in egg yolks, blotted pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt. Mix until just combined.
- Cover or wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes but ideally...chill for 1 hour.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and flatten it in your palm. Place one frozen cheesecake ball in the center. Wrap the dough around the filling, sealing it completely. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Roll the cheesecake stuffed pumpkin cookie dough balls into the mixture covering well. Place on baking sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 11–14 minutes, until edges are set but centers are soft. Do NOT overbake as the cookies will continue to set up once removed from the oven.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.TIP: Once the cookies have cooled, I like to store them in the freezer because it chills the cheesecake mixture.
Notes
Baking Tips:
Blot the Pumpkin: Spread the pumpkin purée on a few layers of paper towels and press gently. This reduces wateriness which can result in cakey cookies.
Chill the Dough: A short chill helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
Seal the Filling Well: Wrap the dough fully around the frozen cream cheese ball to avoid leakage.
Don’t Overbake: The cookies should look slightly underbaked in the center when you take them out. They’ll set as they cool, staying soft and chewy.
Nutrition
Calories: 231kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 206mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 1582IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg
