Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies: A Stuffed Holiday Treat

Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies

These gingerbread cheesecake cookies are soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies stuffed with a tangy cream cheese filling and rolled in sugar. From the outside they look like thick, cozy ginger cookies, but the first bite reveals a creamy cheesecake center tucked inside all that warm spice.

The pairing works because the spices are bold enough to hold their own. Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves bring the holiday warmth, molasses adds deep caramel sweetness, and the cream cheese answers back with a cool, tangy contrast.

I started baking a batch every December for our family cookie tray, and now friends ask about these before they ask about anything else on the plate.

This is a Christmas baking recipe that rewards a little planning, and the planning is what makes it work.

Making Cheesecake Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies

Here is the one thing I want you to know before you start. This recipe is not difficult, but it does need a schedule. The cookie dough has to chill, and the assembled dough balls have to freeze.

Skip those steps and you will be fighting sticky dough with one hand while the cheesecake filling melts and oozes out of the cookies in the oven with the other.

So let us plan it out. The filling comes first. Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, cornstarch and vanilla together until the mixture is completely smooth with no lumps.

That small amount of cornstarch is there to thicken things up, and it helps the filling hold its shape once the cookies bake. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and pop it in the freezer to firm up while you make the cookie dough.

The cookie dough is built to be thick and chewy on purpose. Crisp cookies do not stuff well, so this dough stays soft and pliable instead of snapping like a gingersnap.

It is spiced with ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves, and I like to add a little lemon zest or orange zest to brighten all that deep, dark molasses flavor. The zest is optional, but it makes the whole cookie taste more alive.

Once the dough comes together, cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes. This step is not really about flavor development. It is simply so the dough is less sticky and easier to handle when you shape it.

Now for assembly. Pour your coarse sugar onto a small plate. Scoop about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the chilled dough and flatten it into a disc.

Add about 1 to 2 teaspoons of the chilled filling to the middle. The filling should be firm but not frozen solid, which is exactly the texture you want. Top it with a second flattened scoop of dough, about the same size as the first.

Then pinch the edges of both dough discs together so the filling is completely enclosed, and roll the whole thing into a ball.

If the filling starts getting too soft while you work, just put it back in the freezer for 10 to 20 minutes and pick up where you left off.

Roll each ball in the coarse sugar, set them on a plate, cover, and freeze for at least 1 hour. Once they are firm, you can move them into a freezer bag and keep them for up to 2 months.

Freezing matters more than you might expect. When the dough balls go into a hot oven still frozen, the cookie dough sets around the filling before the filling has a chance to turn runny and escape. That is the whole trick behind a stuffed cookie that actually stays stuffed.

The coarse sugar on the outside is not just decoration either. It gives the cookies a slightly crackly, sparkling surface that contrasts beautifully with the soft, chewy middle.

Baking is the easy part. The dough balls go into the oven straight from the freezer, no thawing, and they bake until the tops look set. The result is a cookie with warm spice and molasses up front, a chewy middle, and a cool, tangy cheesecake center that makes people stop mid sentence.

If you love this style of holiday baking, these sit nicely next to soft gingerbread cut out cookies, cheesecake stuffed red velvet cookies, whipped shortbread cookies and chocolate thumbprint cookies on a cookie platter.

Ingredients

This recipe makes 18 cookies. Have everything measured and at room temperature before you start, because the dough comes together quickly once you begin.

For the cheesecake filling

• 4 ounces (112 grams) full fat cream cheese, brick style, not from a tub, softened
• 1 cup (110 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch, called cornflour in the UK
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the gingerbread cookie dough

• 2 2/3 cups (334 grams) all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (112 grams) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (210 grams) brown sugar, packed, dark or light
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest or orange zest, optional
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) molasses, do not use blackstrap
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup (67 grams) coarse sugar or granulated sugar, for rolling

Instructions

Cheesecake filling

1. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, cornstarch and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
2. Transfer to an airtight container and place it in the freezer while you make the cookie dough.

Gingerbread cookie dough

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and lemon zest until creamy.
3. Mix the egg, vanilla extract and molasses into the butter mixture until you no longer see pieces of egg.
4. Carefully mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture about half at a time, until all the flour is incorporated.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate for about 30 minutes so the dough is less sticky and easier to work with.

Assembling the cookies

1. Pour the 1/3 cup of coarse sugar onto a small plate.
2. Scoop about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of chilled cookie dough and flatten it into a small disc.
3. With a clean teaspoon, scoop out about 1 to 2 teaspoons of the chilled cream cheese filling. It will not be frozen, but it will be firmer. Drop it in the middle of the disc of cookie dough.
4. Scoop a second scoop of gingerbread cookie dough, about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons, and place it on top of the cream cheese dollop. You may not use all of the cheesecake filling.
5. Pinch the edges of the two dough discs around the cream cheese so it is entirely covered, then roll into a ball. If the cream cheese mixture starts to get too soft, return it to the freezer for 10 to 20 minutes.
6. Roll the dough ball in the coarse sugar.
7. Place the dough balls on a plate, cover, and freeze for at least 1 hour. Once they are firm, they can go into a freezer bag and stay frozen for up to 2 months.

Baking

1. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line your cookie sheets with baking paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Place the frozen cookie dough balls on the lined sheets, do not thaw them first, spacing them about 1 1/2 to 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) apart.
3. Bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the preheated oven for about 11 to 14 minutes, until the tops look set.
4. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet.

Notes

A few details make a real difference here. First, use full fat brick style cream cheese. Spreadable cream cheese from a tub, along with low fat or low calorie versions, is too thin and will not set up properly in the freezer or the oven.

If you are out of cornstarch, all purpose flour works as a substitute in the filling.

For the flour, the most accurate approach is to weigh it with a kitchen scale. If you are using cups, whisk the flour first, spoon it into your dry measuring cup, and level off the top. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour and gives you a drier, denser cookie.

This is a wonderful make ahead recipe. Freeze the firm dough balls in a freezer bag for up to 2 months, then bake them straight from frozen whenever a craving hits. Fresh cookies on demand is a very good thing.

The nutrition information is an estimate for one cookie, assuming the recipe makes 18 uniform cookies and all of the cheesecake filling is used.

Chill the dough, freeze the balls, and bake them straight from frozen. Those three steps are what keep the cheesecake filling where it belongs, right in the center of the cookie.

Recipe details

Prep time is 30 minutes, cook time is 12 minutes, and chilling and freezing take 1 hour 30 minutes, for a total of 2 hours 30 minutes. One batch makes 18 cookies.

Estimated nutrition per cookie:

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Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies These gingerbread cheesecake cookies are soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies stuffed with a tangy cream cheese filling and rolled in sugar. From the outside they look like thick, cozy ginger cookies, but the first bite reveals a creamy cheesecake center tucked inside all that warm spice.

• Total Time: 150 min
• Yield: 18 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Cheesecake Filling
4 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened, brick style
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Gingerbread Cookie Dough
2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 large egg
1/3 cup molasses, do not use blackstrap
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup coarse sugar, or granulated sugar, for rolling

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Instructions

Cheesecake Filling
1-In a medium bowl, beat together the: In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, cornstarch and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
2-Transfer to an airtight container and place: Transfer to an airtight container and place in the freezer as you make the cookie dough.

Gingerbread Cookie Dough
3-In a medium bowl whisk together the: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4-In a separate large bowl, beat together: In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and lemon zest until creamy.
5-Mix the egg, vanilla extract and molasses: Mix the egg, vanilla extract and molasses into the butter mixture until you no longer see pieces of egg.
6-Carefully mix the dry ingredients into the: Carefully mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture about 1/2 at a time until all the flour is incorporated.
7-Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate: Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. This is so that the dough isn’t as sticky and is easier to work with.

Assembling the Cookies
8-Pour the 1/3 cup of coarse sugar: Pour the 1/3 cup of coarse sugar onto a small plate.
9-Scoop about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons: Scoop about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of chilled cookie dough. Flatten into a small disc shape.
10-With a clean teaspoon, scoop out about: With a clean teaspoon, scoop out about 1-2 teaspoons of the chilled cream cheese filling (it won’t be frozen but will be firmer). Drop in the middle of the disc of cookie dough.
11-Scoop a second scoop of gingerbread cookie: Scoop a second scoop of gingerbread cookie dough (about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons) and place on top of the cream cheese dollop. Note: You may not end up using all of the cheesecake filling.
12-Pinch the edges of the 2 cookie: Pinch the edges of the 2 cookie dough discs around the cream cheese dollop so that it’s entirely covered by cookie dough and roll into a ball. Note: If the cream cheese mixture starts to get too soft, return it to the freezer for 10-20 minutes.
13-Roll the dough ball in the coarse: Roll the dough ball in the coarse sugar.
14-Place the dough balls on a plate,: Place the dough balls on a plate, cover and freeze for at least 1 hour. After the dough balls are firm, they can be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 months.

Baking
15-When ready to bake, preheat the oven: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line cookie sheets with baking paper or silicone baking mats.
16-Place the frozen cookie dough balls (do: Place the frozen cookie dough balls (do not thaw) about 1 1/2 – 2 inches (4-5 cm) apart on the lined cookie sheets.
17-Bake 1 sheet at a time in: Bake 1 sheet at a time in the middle of the preheated oven. The cookies will bake for about 11-14 minutes, or until the tops look set.
18-Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet: Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet.

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 12 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cookie
• Calories: 271kcal
• Sugar: 27g
• Sodium: 109mg
• Fat: 10g
• Saturated Fat: 6g
• Carbohydrates: 42g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 3g
• Cholesterol: 37mg