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Home » cookies

Published on October 21, 2022. Published by Megan

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

74 shares
Jump to Recipe

These Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies are soft and chewy with a crunchy pumpkin spiced sugar coating. They're made from chilled pumpkin cookie dough, stuffed with cheesecake and crushed graham crackers. Think of these pumpkin snickerdoodle inspired cookies as a fun alternative to the classic cream cheese pumpkin cookie!

Jump to:
  • Why Should You Make This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • How To Make
  • How To Make Ahead, Freeze, Thaw and Store
  • Ms’ Expert Tips
  • FAQ's
  • Other Pumpkin Recipes to Try
  • Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies Recipe

Why Should You Make This Recipe

Take a look around my blog and you’ll find lots of pumpkin cookie recipes. My Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies, Chewy Maple Pumpkin Cookies and Pumpkin Smores Bars  are just a few of my favorites. I’m so excited to add these pumpkin cream cheese cookies to the mix. I know you’ll love this pumpkin cheesecake cookie recipe because: 

  • You love cheesecake and chewy pumpkin cookies. These pumpkin stuffed cookies combine a “chewy for days,” pumpkin cookie dough and spiced cheesecake. They're the for the ultimate creamy and chewy spiced cookie. They’re rolled in a cinnamon sugar mix which makes gives them serious snickerdoodle cookie vibes.  
  • You love an easy cookie recipe. These pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodles are actually super easy to make. However, the chewy pumpkin cookie dough and cheesecake filling do need some chill time.

Ingredients

This pumpkin cookies with cream cheese filling recipe requires only a handful of pantry basics to make. Make sure you have these ingredients ready to go!

For the Pumpkin Cookies

Dry ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, ground cinnamon, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt.

Wet Ingredients: Gather cold unsalted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, canned pumpkin vanilla extract and crushed graham crackers.

For the Cheesecake Filling and Spiced Sugar Topping

Cheesecake Filling: Gather cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and graham crackers. 

Spiced Sugar Topping: Gather granulated sugar and ground cinnamon or pumpkin spice

Ingredient Substitutions 

Here are my recommended substitutions to make these soft, pumpkin spiced and chewy, cheesecake filled cookies:

  • All purpose flour: This recipe hasn’t been tested with an alternative flour. However, if you want to make this recipe gluten free, use a good 1-1 flour and measure by weight rather than cups. 
  • Ground Cinnamon and Pumpkin Spice: Feel free to use any blend of ground spices. Chai spice or apple pie spice would also be wonderful in this pumpkin cookie recipe.
  • Unsalted Butter: You can use the same amount of salted butter as written in the recipe, but omit the added salt. 
  • Light Brown and Granulated Sugars: This recipe hasn’t been tested using alternative sugars. However, I love using maple sugar as a refined sugar free option in my other cookie recipes.
  • Canned Pumpkin: Feel free to use the same amount of fresh pumpkin puree. Don’t like pumpkin? Check out my Pumpkin Spiced Sugar Cookies. 
  • Graham Crackers: This is a fun addition to these cookies that makes them a bit more like cheesecake. Feel free to omit if or use for a gluten free graham cracker if needed. 
  • Cream Cheese: This is an essential ingredient for the cheesecake filling. This recipe hasn’t been tested using a dairy free cream cheese.

How To Make

Grab a mixer and let's make these easy and wonderfully delicious pumpkin cookies with cream cheese recipe.

  1. Whisk the flour, ground cinnamon, pumpkin spice and baking soda together until well combined. 
  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until smooth and well combined.
  3. Beat in the canned pumpkin and vanilla extract until well combined. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little curdled.
  1. Add the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Fold in the crushed graham crackers. Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for 2 hours.
  2. Make the spiced cheesecake filling my mixing the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. Mix well to combine.
  1. Scoop 16 tablespoon sized scoops onto a lined plate or baking sheet. Top the cheesecake scoops with the crushed graham crackers. Place the cheesecake filling in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. 
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix the granulated sugar together with the ground cinnamon in a wide bowl until well combined. 
  3. Scoop 3 tablespoons of cookie dough into the palm of your hand. Press a frozen cheesecake filling ball into the center of the dough. Cover the cheesecake filling with the cookie dough. Roll the cookie dough into a ball. Roll in the spiced sugar.
  1. Place about 5- 6 pumpkin cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Place the rest of the cookie dough in the fridge and cookie dough in the freezer to chill while the first batch of cookies bake.
  2. Bake the pumpkin cookies for 14 -16 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven onto a cooling rack or stove top. After 10 minutes, transfer the cookies off the hot baking sheet and onto the cooling rack to cool to room temperature and enjoy!

How To Make Ahead, Freeze, Thaw and Store

Make Ahead

These pumpkin cheesecake cookies are perfect for making ahead of time. Make the  cookie dough through step 4 and cheesecake filling through step 6. The cheesecake filling can be frozen for 1 hour and then transferred to a freezer safe container until baking time. The pumpkin cookie dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge for up to 1-2 days. 

Freeze And Thaw

To freeze the cookies: Place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet after the cookie dough has been chilling in the fridge for 2 hours. Place the baking sheet into the freezer and freeze until the cookie dough is frozen. Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and place the frozen cookie balls into a ziplock bag. These pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodle cookie balls can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

To thaw the cookie dough: Transfer your desired amount of frozen cookie dough balls onto a lined plate or baking sheet. Allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge. Set the cookie dough balls out at room temperature for 15 -20 minutes before stuffing with the frozen cheesecake filling, rolling in the spiced sugar and baking. 

Store

To store baked cookies: These cheesecake stuffed pumpkin cookies need be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. This is necessary because of the cheesecake filling. These chewy pumpkin cream cheese cookies store well in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Ms’ Expert Tips

  • Chill the cookie dough: These pumpkin cheesecake cookies need a 2 hour chill time to bake properly. 
  • Freeze the cheesecake filling: In order to properly stuff the cookies into the pumpkin cookie dough, the cream cheese needs to be frozen for at least 30 minutes. 
  • Don’t overmix the cookie dough: Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. 
  • Use cookie scoops: To get uniform and evenly sized drops of spiced cheesecake filling, use a small 1 tablespoon cookie scoop. For perfectly portioned pumpkin cookies, use a large 3 tablespoon cookie scoop. 
  • The easiest way to stuff the cookie dough: Take the scoop pumpkin cookie dough ball in your hand and make a dent in the middle with your thumb. Place a frozen cheesecake ball in the dent and press down a little more, making sure not to press all the way through the bottom. Gently gather the sides of the cookie dough around the cheesecake filling until fully covered. Roll into a smooth ball. 
  • Allow the cheesecake cookies to fully cool before eating them: This gives the filling time to firm up.

FAQ's

Why is my cheesecake filling runny?

This usually happens when the cheesecake filling is too warm. Make sure the cheesecake filling has been in the freezer for at least 30 minutes prior to using in the recipe. Additionally, the cheesecake filling should be kept in the freezer in between batches of cookies.

Can these pumpkin cheesecake cookies be made vegan?

This recipe hasn’t been tested using vegan ingredients. However, the pumpkin cookie dough doesn’t contain any eggs as the pumpkin acts as the binder for the dough. Use vegan butter, vegan cream cheese and vegan graham crackers (or omit) to make these cookies vegan friendly.

Other Pumpkin Recipes to Try

  • Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Spiced Bourbon Tiramisu
  • Pumpkin Gingersnap Icebox Cake

If you try this Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies Recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Leaving a review helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Make sure to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! - M

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies Recipe

Megan
These Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies are soft and chewy with a crunchy pumpkin spiced sugar coating. They're made from chilled pumpkin cookie dough stuffed with cheesecake and crushed graham crackers. Think of these pumpkin snickerdoodle inspired cookies as a fun alternative to the classic cream cheese pumpkin cookie!
4.34 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 14 mins
Chilling Time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 34 mins
Course Celebrations, Dessert, Holiday
Cuisine American
Servings 16 cookies

Equipment

  • 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
  • 2 mixing bowls
  • 1 small cookie scoop (tablespoon sized)
  • 1 large cookie scop (3 tablespoon sized)
  • 1-2 baking sheets

Ingredients
  

Pumpkin Cookie

  • 2½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, cold and evenly cubed
  • 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (120 g) canned pumpkin
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup (25 g) crushed graham crackers about 2 full "sheets" of grahamn crackers

Cheesecake Filling

  • 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, room temperature
  • ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup (50 g) crushed graham crackers about 4 full "sheets" of graham crackers

Spiced Sugar Topping

  • ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp (6 g) ground cinnamon or pumpkin spice

Instructions
 

  • Whisk the flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, pumpkin spice and salt together until well combined.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until smooth and well combined. This takes about 2-3 minutes on medium speed.
  • Beat in the canned pumpkin and vanilla extract on low speed until well combined. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little curdled. Once the dry ingredients are mixed in, the cookie dough will look perfect.
  • On low, add the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Fold in the crushed graham crackers.
    Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for 2 hours. While the cookie dough chills, make the cheesecake filling.
  • Make the spiced cheesecake filling my mixing the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. Mix well to combine.
  • Scoop 16 tablespoon sized scoops onto a parchment or wax paper lined plate or baking sheet. Top the cheesecake scoops with the crushed graham crackers. Place the cheesecake filling in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
    Make the spiced sugar by mixing the granulated sugar together with the ground cinnamon in a wide bowl until well combined.
  • Scoop about 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of chilled pumpkin cookie dough into the palm of your hand. Using your thumb, press a well into the center of the ball. Press a frozen cheesecake filling ball into the center of the dough. Cover the cheesecake filling with the cookie dough.
    Roll the cookie dough into a ball. Roll in the spiced sugar.
  • Place about 5- 6 pumpkin cheesecake cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Place the rest of the cookie dough in the fridge to chill while the first batch of cookies bake. Place the cheesecake filling back into the freezer.
  • Bake the pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodle cookies for 14 -16 minutes. The edges will be set and the centers will look slightly puffed. There may even be some fine cracks running across the top of the cookie.
    Remove the cookies from the oven. After 10 minutes, transfer the cookies off the hot baking sheet and onto the cooling rack to cool to room temperature and enjoy!

Notes

Use cookie scoops: To get uniform and evenly sized drops of spiced cheesecake filling, use a small 1 tablespoon cookie scoop. For perfectly portioned pumpkin cookies, use a large 3 tablespoon cookie scoop. 
To store baked cookies: These cheesecake stuffed pumpkin cookies need be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. This is necessary because of the cheesecake filling. These chewy pumpkin cream cheese cookies store well in the fridge for up to 5-7 days.
Keyword Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies, Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cookies, Stuffed Pumpkin Cookies
did you make this recipe?tag @olivesnthyme on Instagram

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Hi friends, I'm Megan!

Welcome to my blog, Olives + Thyme. I am a food photographer and blogger with a love of all things sweet.

Here you'll find mostly sweet recipes that are simple to make and full of flavor.

Learn more about me

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