Chewy Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

5 from 1 vote

These chewy pumpkin cheesecake cookies are stuffed with a creamy cheesecake filling and rolled in pumpkin spice sugar. Not only do they take less than 1 hour to make, you also don't have to chill the cookie dough. This is a perfect fall treat to make for any pumpkin lover in your life!

Prep Time25

Cook Time13

Cool Time10

Total Time50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: large cookies

Calories: 260kcal

Author: Karissa Parrish

Equipment

Electric Stand Mixer
Parchment paper
Mixing Bowls
Cookie Scoop

Ingredients

Cheesecake Filling

6 ounces block-style cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Spice Sugar

¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin Cookies

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons corn starch
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted & cooled for at least 20 minutes
½ cup pumpkin puree, blotted (see note below)
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cheesecake Filling

Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, add the cream cheese sugar, and vanilla extract and beat on medium-high speed using an electric mixer (I used my handheld).
Scoop the cheesecake filling into 17, 1 ½ teaspoon balls and place onto the lined baking sheet.
Place the pan into the freezer. They must be completely frozen before using in the cookie dough.

Pumpkin Spice Sugar

In a small bowl whisk together the sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

Pumpkin Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a microwaveable-safe bowl, melt the butter and let it cool on the counter for 10 minutes (do not skip this step!).
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, corn starch, baking soda, and salt.
On a plate, spread out the pumpkin puree and use a folded paper towel to press into the pumpkin repeatedly to extract the moisture. Do this at least 4 times, or until the amount of moisture on the paper towel is very minimal. At the end you should have ¼ cup of pumpkin puree.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently fold into the wet ingredients until combined.
Use a medium cookie scoop (I used my #24, which is 2.7 tablespoons) to scoop out the cookie dough. Use your thumb to press into the dough and place a frozen cheesecake ball into it. Take the cookie dough ball out and use your hands to form into a ball, being sure the cheesecake ball in completely covered by the dough. Then roll into the pumpkin spice sugar.
Place 6 of the cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking pan and bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them over to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Keep any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

Baking Sheet: Line each pan with parchment paper. Only bake 6 cookies per pan.

Melted Butter: Make sure the butter is completely cooled. This takes at least 10 minutes sitting at room temperature. Don't skip this step.

Blotted Pumpkin: Pumpkin puree has too much moisture, so in order to avoid a cakey cookie you need to use paper towels and press into the pumpkin repeatedly to extract the moisture. Do this at least 4 times, or until the amount of moisture on the paper towel is very minimal. At the end you'll have a ¼ cup of pumpkin.

Measuring Flour: To help ensure you don’t add extra flour, follow these three simple steps: 1) Fluff up the flour using a fork. 2) Spoon the flour into your measuring cup. 3) Scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level out the flour.

Pumpkin Spice: If you do not have pumpkin pie spice at home, you can easily make your own. Here is my recipe for how to make your own pumpkin spice.

Cheesecake Balls: These need to be completely frozen before stuffing into the pumpkin cookie dough.

Nutrition