Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

Overhead view of plate loaded with pumpkin thumbprint cookies.

These Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies are made with a soft and cakey pumpkin cookie that's been filled with creamy cheesecake!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Total Time 35

Servings cookies

Calories 149kcal

Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons cinnamon plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree

Cheesecake Filling

8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 large egg

Instructions

To make the cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper, and set them aside.
In a small or medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt.
In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar with an electric hand mixer until light and creamy.
Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until the egg is just mixed.
Mix in the pumpkin puree.
Pour in the dry ingredients, and mix with the electric mixer until the batter starts to thicken. Switch to a rubber spatula or wooden spoon if the dough is too thick for your mixer.
Place the dough in the freezer while you make the cheesecake filling.

To make the cheesecake filling:

Use an electric hand mixer to combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and flour in a large bowl.
Add the egg and beat until just combined.
Transfer the cream cheese mixture into a piping bag or ziplock bag.

To bake:

Take the cookie dough out of the freezer, and scoop out balls of dough using a medium cookie scoop.
Roll the dough into a ball, and place it on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Repeat to fill the cookie sheet.
Dip the back of a teaspoon into flour and then press into the center of each cookie dough ball to make an indention.
Pipe about a teaspoon of cream cheese filling into the center of each cookie.
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the cookies have risen slightly and the edges start to turn golden brown. Do not overbake.
Allow the cookies to cool, then dust with extra cinnamon before serving.

Notes

Swap the spices called for with pumpkin pie spice, if you prefer.

It’s important that the butter is soft so it will be evenly mixed into the cookie dough. Clumps of butter will cause the cookies to spread unevenly while baking.

These cookies are soft and cakey, as opposed to a shortbread type of thumbprint cookie.

I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon/medium cookie scoop. Using a cookie scoop of different sizes will change the number of cookies you end up with.

You'll likely have a bit of leftover cheesecake filling. Cutting the filling in half isn't quite enough to fill all the cookies, so we opted for extra.

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