Complete your pumpkin cookie fantasies with this fun recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies!
You’ll love everything about this recipe, from the soft and slightly spiced pumpkin cookies to the cinnamon sugar coating to the gooey, decadent cheesecake center.
Happy Fall! When the weather starts to turn colder in September and October, I’m all about the pumpkin recipes.
There’s nothing better than a plate of pumpkin cookies, a mug of warm apple cider, a big fluffy blanket, and my favorite TV shows on a cool autumn night. So, I make sure that there is always some sort of sweet pumpkin spiced treat in the kitchen for snacking all season long.
Pumpkin Cupcakes, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, Pumpkin Spice Pudding Cookies are all on my fall baking rotation, but these Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies, stuffed with a rich and tangy cheesecake filling, are probably my favorite.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
It’s super fun to make these giant, soft pumpkin cookies. They’re even more fun to eat, and to serve since each cookie has a creamy cheesecake surprise inside.
Your friends and family will be so impressed by your baking skills! Adding a filling to the inside of the cookie looks tricky, but I promise it’s not difficult at all. I’ll show you exactly how to do it.
Once you’ve made these pumpkin cream cheese stuffed cookies, go ahead and try more of my stuffed cookie recipes. Nutella Stuffed Cookies, Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies, and Oreo Stuffed Cookies are all just as simple and delicious.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookie Ingredients
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions is located in the recipe card below
- Cheesecake Filling: A simple mixture of cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract creates the smooth and rich filling for these cheesecake-stuffed cookies.
- Flour, Baking Soda, and Salt
- Spices: Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg give these cookies the perfect amount of pumpkin spice!
- Butter and Sugar: Cream the butter with both granulated and brown sugar. Together these create the base of the pumpkin cookie dough and will create soft, buttery cookies. Be sure to soften the butter before starting.
- Egg: It’s important to let your egg come to room temperature before mixing it into the pumpkin cookie dough. The dough will come together easily and smoothly this way.
- Pumpkin: Be sure to use pure pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling. I’ll show you how to remove some of the pumpkin’s moisture to make the dough easy to work with.
- Vanilla Extract: A good quality pure vanilla extract is the perfect cookie flavoring. It enhances all of the other flavors in the recipe.
How To Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
- Mix the Cheesecake Filling: Combine the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl, and mix well until smooth and creamy. You can do this with a mixer, but I usually just use a flexible spatula to mash everything up.
- Freeze It: This is the trick to getting the cheesecake inside of the pumpkin cookies! Drop the cheesecake mixture by heaping tablespoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or large plate. You should have twelve portions. Freeze for at least 30 minutes or until firm.
- Prep the Pumpkin: Line a plate with several layers of paper towel, the place the pumpkin puree on top. Press down with several more layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture. Continue with new paper towels until the pumpkin is as dry as possible, and has reduced in volume by half.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Set aside while you mix the wet ingredients.
- Mix the Wet Ingredients: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the dried pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Combine Wet with Dry: In two or 3 smaller additions, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing well after each.
- Portion: Use a medium (2-tablespoon) cookie scoop to scoop the dough into 24 equal portions. Flatten each ball slightly.
- Fill: Remove the cheesecake balls from the freezer. Press one into the center of half of the dough portions. Then, cover with the rest of the dough so you have 12 cookie dough and cheesecake filling sandwiches. Use your fingers to pinch the seams closed and roll into smooth balls.
- Coat With Cinnamon Sugar: In a medium bowl, whisk together the cinnamon and sugar for the coating. Roll each cookie dough ball in the mixture, then place it on a cookie sheet. Chill the unbaked cookies in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 6 chilled dough balls on each tray, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookies have spread and are slightly puffed. Cool on the pans for five minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Top Tips
- Dry The Pumpkin Well! It’s very important for this recipe that you remove as much moisture from the pumpkin as possible. This trick keeps the dough from being too sticky to work with and too cake-like after baking.
- Chill the Cookies: Don’t skip the chilling step before baking these cookies. An hour in the refrigerator is completely necessary.
- Let them Cool: The cheesecake filling will be very hot when these pumpkin cookies are fresh from the oven! Give them time to properly cool down before eating them or you’ll risk burning your tongue.
- Double the Recipe: This recipe makes only 12 cookies, but they are quite large! If you need more for your autumn occasions, simply double the recipe. You’ll need to bake the cookies in batches, but otherwise, everything should be exactly the same.
Cookie Storing Tips
These cookies are soft, and the fact that they are filled with cheesecake means that they will stay soft and moist for several days!
While pumpkin cream cheese cookies will be best if enjoyed within a day or two, they can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
You can freeze cheesecake-stuffed pumpkin cookies for up to 2 months as well!
Other Fall Dessert Recipes You’ll Love
- Pumpkin Sugar Cookies With Maple Icing
- Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats
- Apple Pie Cookies
- Fall Sprinkle Cookies
- Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes
Recipe FAQs
I will admit, it does take quite a few paper towels to get the pumpkin puree dry! If you’d rather not use so many, start the process by placing the pumpkin puree in a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a single paper towel. Let it drain over a bowl for 30-minutes to an hour. This will jump-start the drying process, but won’t do it all the way. Still press the pumpkin in between paper towels to dry it out fully.
All the details are in the recipe! But the short answer is, you need to freeze the cheesecake filling first. Once frozen, balls of cheesecake filling can be stuffed inside of cookie dough and baked together to create a delicious cream cheese filled treat.
Fresh pumpkin puree will work fine in this recipe, as long as you remove the extra moisture from it as directed.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies are like two amazing desserts in one! Add this to your fall baking list, it’s a must-try cookie recipe that you’ll want to share with everyone.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
Equipment
- Paper towels
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling:
- 6 oz. (¾ cup) cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cookie Dough:
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon sugar:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare the cheesecake filling by mashing together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Drop by heaping tablespoons to make 12 portions onto a parchment lined baking sheet or plate and freeze for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
- Meanwhile, prepare the pumpkin cookie dough. Start by lining a plate with several layers of paper towel, then place the pumpkin puree on top. Press down with several more layers of paper towel to remove the excess moisture. Repeat until the pumpkin is dry and about half the volume. Set the dried pumpkin aside until needed.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat together until smooth and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the dried pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth and well combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2-3 smaller additions, mixing well after each.
- Scoop the dough into 24 equal portions using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoon scoop) and then flatten each slightly.
- Remove the cheesecake balls from the freezer and push into the center of half the cookie dough balls. Place an additional cookie dough piece on top, then pinch the seams and roll into smooth balls.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon until evenly combined; then put each dough ball into the cinnamon sugar and roll to coat.
- Chill the dough balls in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and place 6 dough balls on each tray, spaced at least 2” apart
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookies have spread and slightly puffed. They should be starting to turn golden at the edges and no longer be glossy on top.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- It’s important to dry the pumpkin well with paper towels. If you skip this step, the dough will be too wet and sticky.
- Don’t skip the chilling step before baking these cookies. An hour in the refrigerator is completely necessary.
- To Store: Keep these cheesecake-stuffed cookies in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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Comments & Reviews
Kristi Moore says
Always have the best recipes.