Cheesecake Cookies

These cheesecake cookies are the best of both worlds! Sweet, creamy cheesecake and cookies all in one!

I know I’ve mentioned on here a few thousand times that my husband loves cheesecake. Have I ever mentioned that he also loves cookies? In fact, he eats them for breakfast almost every morning. Well, every evening, I mean. He works third shift, so he wakes up not too long before we eat dinner. He always grabs a couple of cookies and a glass of milk to hold him over until dinner time though. He’s obviously very concerned about eating healthy.

Cheesecake cookies are the perfect breakfast for him and they are  so simple to make! You mix up the dough, which is full of butter and cream cheese, and then form into a log and roll it around in the graham cracker and pecan crumb crust. Ooh, it’s good.

I even added mini chocolate chips to one of the logs of dough, just for fun. Everyone loves a little chocolate, right?

The dough wraps right up in a piece of wax or parchment paper, chills in the freezer for 30 minutes, and then slices into perfect little cheesecake cookie rounds. I sliced mine about a half inch thick.

These bake in just 10 minutes and are so yummy. They look like they’d be hard, but they stay nice and chewy. They aren’t as creamy as real cheesecake, but they do have a nice soft texture.

The original recipe called for quite a bit of lemon juice and zest, and I halved that, but it was still too much lemon flavor for me. I don’t generally like lemon in baked goodies, so next time I’ll leave the lemon out entirely.

Cheesecake Cookies
Recipe adapted from Chickens in the Road

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 4 teaspoons lemon zest (omit or reduce this if you don’t like lemon)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (omit or reduce this if you don’t lemon)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional

In a large bowl, beat together butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Add in the lemon zest and juice if you are using. Mix in vanilla. Stir in the flour until well combined and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes so that it is easier to handle.

Mix together the pecans, graham cracker crumbs, and cinnamon to make the crust. Pour half of the crust mixture onto a large sheet of wax or parchment paper. Form a log with half of the cookie dough and roll it in the crust mixture. Place log of dough on a new sheet of parchment paper and wrap the ends up. Repeat with the remaining dough and place both dough logs in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Slice dough into half inch thick rounds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. The bottoms should be only lightly browned. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.