These pumpkin cheesecake cookies are soft and chewy, filled with cheesecake filling, and rolled in cinnamon sugar.
The warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in the pumpkin spice add an extra layer of fall-inspired goodness.
These cookies taste like pumpkin pie and cheesecake in cookie form! They are perfect for fall and for the colder months, even though I'll eat them all year long!
Perfect for holiday gatherings or as a sweet treat any time of the year, these cookies are sure to satisfy your dessert cravings.
If you like pumpkin desserts, check out my chewy pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, banana pumpkin muffins, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin snickerdoodles, and pumpkin cheesecake.
Jump to:
Why this recipe works
- Cheesecake filled cookies- These cookies are filled with a creamy and delicious layer of cheesecake filling which takes these to the next level!
- Flavor- These cookies have a delightful warm flavor from the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon and sugar exterior.
- Texture- Usually, pumpkin cookies are cakey and fluffy, but these cookies have a soft and chewy texture that goes perfectly with the cheesecake filling.
- Perfect for fall and the holidays- Serve them as a delish dessert at a fall party, for Thanksgiving, or for Christmas dessert!
Ingredients
Before you start to make these pumpkin cheese cake cookies, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Granulated sugar– We like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Brown sugar- adds a caramelly flavor and chewy texture to the cookies.
Pumpkin puree- You can use either canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree, make sure that you strain the extra liquids from your fresh pumpkins.
Baking soda – Baking soda helps the cookies rise and spread. Make sure that your baking soda isn’t expired. Don’t replace baking soda with baking powder!
Eggs and egg yolk- You will need 1 large egg, and one large egg yolk for this recipe. Make sure that your egg yolks are at room temperature.
Pumpkin spice- If you don't have pumpkin spice on hand, make a homemade mix of pumpkin spice. There are plenty of recipes on Google.
Pumpkin spice is a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Flour– We used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Cinnamon- you will need ground cinnamon for rolling the cookies in cinnamon sugar.
For the cream cheese filling
Cream cheese- Make sure that you are using full-fat cream cheese. It's important that you use full-fat cream cheese and make sure that it’s at room temperature.
Powder sugar- you don’t have to buy powder sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Instructions
Into a medium mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar, and mix with a spatula until well combined and smooth.
Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop 18 teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture on it. Freeze until harden for about 40 minutes.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, pumpkin spice, kosher salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and brown sugar, and mix with a whisk or an electric hand mixer until it’s creamy and light in color.
Add the eggs, and egg yolk, and mix well.
Add the pumpkin puree and mix until well combined.
Add the flour, and baking soda, and mix until just combined. Do not overmix this cookie dough to prevent these cookies from turning cakey.
Use a cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a tbsp, 2 tablespoons at a time. Using your thumb or a teaspoon, make indents on each cookie.
Remove the frozen cream cheese from the freezer and place each cream cheese piece in the indent you make in each cookie dough ball. Roll the cookie dough balls into balls using your clean hands.
Roll each cookie dough ball in the cinnamon sugar.
Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are light golden brown.
Do not overbake them, we want to keep these cookies soft.
Allow the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Expert Tips
- Allow the cheesecake filling to freeze completely so it will be easy to roll it into the dough. Leave them in the freezer until you are ready to use.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up.
- I suggest letting these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transferring them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
Faq's
Yes. These cookies need to be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. They taste delicious from the fridge.
This usually means that there is too much flour in the dough. It is very important to measure your flour correctly. Check out our expert tips for how to measure flour correctly.
Yes! You can double or triple this recipe. There is an option to automatically double, half, or triple this recipe in the recipe card below!
I wouldn't recommend using homemade pumpkin for this since fresh pumpkin puree has a lot of liquid which makes the cookie cakey.
If you only have fresh pumpkin puree, use a paper towel to soak as much excess liquid as you can.
Storing
Since these cookies have cream cheese inside of them, they need to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. These cookies taste delicious from the fridge!
Freezing
Follow the instructions as written and make the dough balls, then transfer the dough balls into a freezer-friendly airtight ziplock bag, and freeze the cookie dough ball for up to 3 months.
When ready to bake the cookies, bake them right away, no need to thaw them. Add an extra minute or so for the baking time.
OR freeze the cookies after they are baked and cooled to room temperature in a freezer-friendly airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter. Also, replace the cream cheese with vegan cream cheese.
Gluten-free- you can swap the flour with gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free. I never tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but it should work.
Variations
Add-ins- make this recipe your own and add your favorite add-ins: white chocolate chips, chopped nuts, chopped fruit, etc.
Serving Tips
Serve these cookies next to a large glass of milk on a gloomy winter or fall day. These cookies are perfect to serve for any special occasion, especially for fall, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.
Equipment
- Baking sheet and rack set (our fave)
- Cookies scoop set of 3 (the best cookie scoop we used)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
More cheesecake cookies recipes
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies- These strawberry cheesecake cookies are soft and sweet, loaded with fresh strawberries, and filled with creamy cheesecake filling.
Oreo Cheesecake Cookies- These oreo cheesecake cookies are made with cream cheese and lots of Oreos! You will need only 7 ingredients to make this recipe!
Cheesecake Cookies With Cheesecake Topping- These cheesecake cookies are made with a graham cracker cookie, that is topped with a creamy cheesecake topping, and graham cracker crumbs.
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
- Share/pin this recipe to Pinterest.
- Leave a comment down below!
📖 Recipe
Chewy Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
For the cheesecake filling
- ¼ cup Granulated sugar
- 6 oz Cream cheese room temp
For the cookie dough
- 1 cup Butter
- ⅔ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon Pumpkin pie spice
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg yolk
- ½ cup Pumpkin puree
- 3 ⅓ cups Flour
- ⅔ teaspoon Baking soda
For the cinnamon sugar
- ⅓ cup Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Into a medium mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar, and mix with a spatula until well combined and smooth.
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop 18 teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture on it. Freeze until harden for about 40 minutes.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, pumpkin spice, kosher salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and brown sugar, and mix with a whisk or an electric hand mixer until it’s creamy and light in color.
- Add the eggs, and egg yolk, and mix well.
- Add the pumpkin puree and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour, and baking soda, and mix until just combined. Do not overmix this cookie dough to prevent these cookies from turning cakey.
- Use a cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a tbsp, 2 tablespoons at a time. Using your thumb or a teaspoon, make indents on each cookie.
- Remove the frozen cream cheese from the freezer and place each cream cheese piece in the indent you make in each cookie dough ball. Roll the cookie dough balls into balls using your clean hands.
- Roll each cookie dough ball in the cinnamon sugar.
- Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are light golden brown.
- Do not overbake them, we want to keep these cookies soft.
- Allow the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Allow the cheesecake filling to freeze completely so it will be easy to roll it into the dough. Leave them in the freezer until you are ready to use.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up.
- I suggest letting these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transferring them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
Comments
No Comments