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Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

These pumpkin cheesecake cookies are chewy, packed with flavor and totally addicting! They're the perfect addition to your holiday baking roster!
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 12 cookies

Ingredients
  

For the Cheesecake Filling

  • 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
  • 1/4 c granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Pumpkin Cookies

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned and brought to room temperature 1 stick + 1 Tbsp (cold to mix in)
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin puree 2/3 c before straining (see recipe), room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg

For the Cinnamon Sugar

  • 1/3 c granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions
 

For the Cheesecake Filling

  • In a medium bowl mix together 8oz of cream cheese, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla extract until well combined.
  • Using a spoon, scoop out 12 equal dollops of cheesecake filling onto a plate or tray that can fit into the freezer. Optional: weigh each dollop, each should be roughly 20g.
  • Optional: wet fingers and form each dollop into more of a ball. This will be helpful later when stuffing the cookies. The wet fingers help control the mess.
  • Place the 12 dollops of cheesecake filling into the freezer for 1 hour.

For the Pumpkin Cookies

  • Measure out 2/3 cup of pumpkin puree and place it onto a paper towel in a bowl to start releasing its liquid while you work on the brown butter. Set aside.
  • Place a medium saucepan over medium/high heat and add 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter cut into 1 Tbsp cubes. Brown the butter by allowing the butter to melt, foam and then produce toasted "brown" bits at the bottom of the pan. The butter should smell nutty at this stage. Keep an eye on the pan as it can go from browned to burnt quickly.
  • Pour the browned butter into a bowl, remembering to include all of the browned bits left in the pan. Immediately add 1 Tbsp of cold butter to the bowl and stir until it melts.
  • Add ice to a bowl larger than the bowl with the browned butter. Place the bowl with the browned butter onto the ice and stir until the butter goes from liquid to a solid, spreadable consistency (about 5-7 minutes)
  • Place the cooled browned butter into a large bowl and add 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar and 1 large egg yolk. Mix until just combined.
  • Take the bowl with the pumpkin puree (lots of liquid should have released by now) and use either a paper towel or cheese cloth to strain the rest of the liquid. After straining you should have 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree.
  • Add the strained pumpkin puree (1/3 cup) to the butter sugar mixture and mix until just combined.
  • In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and mix until combined.
  • Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until dough forms.
  • Scoop out 12 balls of dough and refrigerate for 1 hour. Optional: weigh each ball of dough for even cookies. Each ball should weigh roughly 50g.

For the Assembly

  • Towards the end of the chill time for both elements, preheat the oven to 365°F (roughly 185°C) and prepare the cinnamon sugar by mixing 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon together in a small bowl.
  • Remove the dough and filling from the fridge/freezer. Assemble the cookies by pressing the cookie dough flat, placing a frozen cheesecake dollop in the center, and forming the cookie dough around the filling.
  • There should be little to no cheesecake filling sticking out, but if there is, it's not the end of the world.
  • Roll each filled cookie in cinnamon sugar and place on a baking tray about 2in apart. You may need to bake in two batches or on two baking sheets.
  • Bake for 12 minutes. The cookies will still look a little tall when removed from the oven. Once removed, bang the baking sheet (carefully) on the counter 3-4 times to reveal the characteristic cracks.
  • Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes and enjoy!!