Description
Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies offer a creamy, spiced twist on a classic holiday treat. Perfect for sharing, a delightful festive bite!
Ingredients
Scale
- Cookie Base Essentials:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses
- Spice Cabinet Stars:
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- Cheesecake Filling Dream Team:
- 8 oz (226g) full-fat cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Finishing Touches:
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Creaming the Cookie Base:: First things first, get your butter and brown sugar together in a bowl. You want to cream these until they’re light and fluffy, like a cloud, honestly. I usually let my butter sit out for an hour or so, because trying to cream cold butter is a battle I’ve lost too many times. Add the egg and molasses, mixing until it’s all combined. It’ll look a little messy, but that’s just part of the process, don’t worry! This step really sets the stage for chewy Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies.
- Mixing the Dry Ingredients:: In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, and all those lovely spices – ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and a pinch of salt. Make sure it’s all evenly distributed; you don’t want a bite that’s just a mouthful of ginger! Gradually add these dry ingredients to your wet mixture, mixing until just combined. Overmixing is where I always mess up; it makes the cookies tough, and nobody wants tough Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies. Stop when you see no more streaks of flour.
- Preparing the Cheesecake Filling:: Now for the good part! Take your softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a little egg yolk and beat them together until super smooth and creamy. It should look like a dream, honestly, no lumps allowed! I use my hand mixer for this, it makes quick work of it. This filling needs to be silky so it bakes up beautifully inside the Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies. Don’t skip the softening the cream cheese part, or you’ll have lumpy filling, a mistake I’ve definitely made.
- Assembling the Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies:: Roll your cookie dough into small balls – about 1.5 tablespoons each. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Here’s my trick: use the back of a small spoon or your thumb to make a little indentation in the center of each cookie dough ball. This is where our creamy cheesecake filling will go. It’s a bit fiddly, but totally worth it. I sometimes get dough on my fingers, but hey, that’s just proof you’re baking!
- Filling and Baking:: Spoon about a teaspoon of your cheesecake filling into each indentation. Don’t overfill, or it might spill out during baking, which I’ve done a few times, and it makes for slightly less pretty Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies. Bake them at 350°F (175°C) for about 10-12 minutes. The edges of the cookies should be set, and the cheesecake filling should look slightly puffed and just starting to turn golden. The smell at this point is just incredible, honestly!
- Cooling and Finishing:: Once they’re out of the oven, let these Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This helps them firm up and prevents them from breaking. If you’re feeling fancy, you can dust them with a little extra powdered sugar or a sprinkle of cinnamon once they’re cool. The finished cookies should be soft, chewy, with that perfect creamy center.