Gingerbread cheesecake cookies are soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies filled with creamy ginger-spiced cheesecake for a Christmas delicacy that is unabashedly extra. Do you like the soft and chewy gingerbread biscuit without the cheesecake filling? Make my ginger molasses chewy cookies!
Fair warning: this article will have more process images than normal, since this is a bit more difficult recipe than I generally share with you guys. I wanted to make certain that I was clearly demonstrating each step so that you could get the greatest outcomes possible!
I can’t tell you how many batches I had to make before getting it correct.
Actually, the correct answer is seven.
They spread too much if there wasn’t enough flour. The cookies were greasy if the butter was not at the proper temperature (and, just, ew). If there was too much cheesecake filling, it exploded like miniature ginger-flavored volcanoes from the crevices of the biscuits.
But I eventually nailed it!
Contents
- Ingredients for gingerbread cheesecake cookies
- How to make gingerbread cheesecake cookies
- Tips for making the best gingerbread cheesecake cookies
- Why put molasses in cookies?
- How to store gingerbread cheesecake cookies
- Can I make these cookies without the cheesecake filling?
- Why are they baked at 325°F instead of 350°F?
- Helpful tips
- FAQs
- Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies
Cheesecake Filling:
- The cream cheese
- Sugar, granulated
- Authentic vanilla extract
- ginger powder
Gingerbread Cookies:
- Flour for all purposes
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon dust
- ginger powder
- Cloves, ground
- Salt
- Unsalted butter, at ambient temperature It should not be too soft, or your dough will be too sticky to work with.
- Light brown sugar with granulated sugar This sugar blend provides a richer taste and just enough spreading when baking.
- room temperature egg
- Molasses that has not been sulphured That is not blackstrap molasses.
Sugar coating:
- Sugar, granulated
- Cinnamon
- ginger powder
Making the cheesecake filling
- In a medium mixing bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and ginger using a hand mixer (aff link) on low speed. Raise the speed to medium-high until the mixture is mixed and fluffy.
- Put in the refrigerator to cool while you create the cookie dough.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
- Wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed with a stand or hand mixer (aff link) until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Mix in the egg and molasses on medium speed until well incorporated and the color is a rich caramel.
- Add the flour mixture a bit at a time, beating on low speed until mixed and tan in color.
- Cool the dough: Put the bowl of dough in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to allow it to chill and become less sticky to deal with (longer, if needed). If desired, place it in the refrigerator overnight, covered.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick silicone mats.
- Portion: Roll each dough ball into a ball using a big cookie scoop (aff link) (approximately 3 tablespoons).
- Flatten each ball between your palms, pour approximately 1 teaspoon of cheesecake filling in the middle, top the cheesecake ball with the cookie dough, and form into a ball again. Make sure there is no visible cheesecake so that it does not spill!
- If the dough becomes too sticky to deal with, just place it in the freezer for a few minutes before continuing.
- Roll each dough ball in the sugar mixture, then place on prepared baking sheets, no more than 6 on a sheet to allow for some spreading. To be safe, I normally only do four at a time.
- Refrigerate the remaining cookie dough balls until ready to bake.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes on the center rack, one sheet at a time, or until the tops are softly domed, golden brown, and beginning to wrinkle. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to wire racks (aff link) to cool entirely.
- Cool thoroughly: It is critical that the cookies completely cool so that the cheesecake filling can chill and solidify before serving. Enjoy!
- Make sure the cookie dough balls are tightly rolled! You want to be sure there are no gaps where the cheesecake filling may escape. The cookies will balloon up and then crumple as they cool, and there may be traces of cheesecake in the crevices, but it should not flow out.
- Add some additional ground ginger. I prefer to add a pinch of ginger to both the cheesecake filling and the sugar mixture for the exterior coating since it adds a little additional flavor to the cookies.
- Let them to cool fully before serving. I’m not kidding! If you don’t allow them cool and solidify entirely, the cheesecake filling will be liquidy and warm. If you’re impatient, put them in the fridge to set them faster (I actually prefer them from the fridge).
- While the second batch is baking, let one batch cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. That turns out to be exactly the appropriate length of time to leave them on the baking sheet before shifting them.
- For an added crunch, roll them in sparkling sugar. The ones rolled in sparkling sugar are the most sparkly, as shown in the picture at the top of the page.
or brown sugar for it fully, but it does help lessen the quantity of each of those components that you require. Molasses is fantastic because it has a distinct taste, but it also functions as a liquid sweetener (to a degree). You can’t merely change granulated and fine since it increases moisture.
You can keep these cookies in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper.
Since the cheesecake filling contains dairy, keep them in the fridge rather than at room temperature.
Sure! You may just omit the cheesecake filling; no additional changes are required.
If you only want a chewy gingerbread cookie, try my ginger molasses cookie recipe.
Why are they baked at 325°F instead of 350°F?
Most cookie recipes ask for 350°F baking, but I use 325°F since I discovered that baking cookies low and slow yielded the ideal size and consistency with those wonderful crinkles.
Helpful tips
- Make sure the cookie dough balls are tightly rolled! You want to be sure there are no gaps where the cheesecake filling may escape. The cookies will balloon up and then crumple as they cool, and there may be traces of cheesecake in the crevices, but it should not flow out.
- Add some additional ground ginger. I prefer to add a pinch of ginger to both the cheesecake filling and the sugar mixture for the exterior coating since it adds a little additional flavor to the cookies.
- Let them to cool fully before serving. I’m not kidding! If you don’t allow them cool and solidify entirely, the cheesecake filling will be liquidy and warm. If you’re impatient, put them in the fridge to set them faster (I actually prefer them from the fridge).
- While the second batch is baking, let one batch cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. That turns out to be exactly the appropriate length of time to leave them on the baking sheet before shifting them.
- For an added crunch, roll them in sparkling sugar. The ones rolled in sparkling sugar are the most sparkly, as shown in the picture at the top of the page.
FAQs
You can keep these cookies in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper. Since the cheesecake filling contains dairy, keep them in the fridge rather than at room temperature.
Sure! You may just omit the cheesecake filling; no additional changes are required. If you only want a chewy gingerbread cookie, try my ginger molasses cookie recipe.
Most cookie recipes ask for 350°F baking, but I use 325°F since I discovered that baking cookies low and slow yielded the ideal size and consistency with those wonderful crinkles.
Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies
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Description
Equipment
- blending bowls
- Hand held mixer
- Scooping cookies
- Baking pans
- Silicone nonstick mat
- Cooling racks made of wire
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling:
- 8 oz. chilled cream cheese
- granulated sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Optional but suggested pinch of ground ginger
Gingerbread Cookies:
- 2 cups regular flour
- 2 tbsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- softened room temperature cupunsalted butter
- a cup of granulated sugar
- a cup of light brown sugar
- 1 big room temperature egg
- Not blackstrap molasses, but cupunsulphured molasses
Sugar coating:
- a cup of granulated sugar
- teaspooncinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
Cheesecake Filling
- 4 tsp pure vanilla essence, 1 tsp powdered ginger
two cups powdered sugar 1
In a medium mixing bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and ginger using a hand mixer on low speed. Raise the speed to medium-high until the mixture is mixed and fluffy.
8 oz. cream cheese, 1 - Put in the refrigerator to cool while preparing the cookie dough.
Gingerbread Cookies
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ginger, 1 teaspoon cloves 1 teaspoon salt
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2 1 - 2 c. unsalted butter, 1 c. granulated sugar, and 1 c. light brown sugar
In a large mixing basin, cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed with a stand or hand mixer until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
1 - Mix in the egg and molasses on medium speed until well incorporated and the color is a rich caramel.
1 big egg, 1 cup molasses (unsulphured) - Add the flour mixture a bit at a time, beating on low speed until mixed and tan in color.
- Put the bowl of dough in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to cool and become less sticky to deal with (longer, if needed). If desired, place it in the refrigerator overnight, covered.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick silicone mats.
- Roll each part of dough into a ball using a big cookie scoop (approximately 3 teaspoons). Flatten each ball between your palms, then pour approximately 1 spoonful of cheesecake filling in the middle, then top with cookie dough and form into a ball again. Make sure there is no visible cheesecake so that it does not spill! Note: If the dough becomes too sticky to deal with, just place everything in the freezer for a few minutes before continuing.
- 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger
Roll each dough ball in the sugar mixture, then place on prepared baking sheets, no more than 6 on a sheet to allow for some spreading. To be safe, I normally only do four at a time. Refrigerate the remaining cookie dough balls until ready to bake.
1 cup granulated sugar - Bake for 12-13 minutes on the center rack, one sheet at a time, or until the tops are softly domed, golden brown, and beginning to wrinkle. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool fully.
- It is critical that the cookies cool fully before serving so that the cheesecake filling can chill and solidify. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: Refrigerate these cookies in an airtight jar between layers of parchment paper for up to 1 week. Since the cheesecake filling contains dairy, keep them in the fridge rather than at room temperature.
- Make sure the cookie dough balls are tightly rolled! You want to be sure there are no gaps where the cheesecake filling may escape. The cookies will balloon up and then crumple as they cool, and there may be traces of cheesecake in the crevices, but it should not flow out.
- Let them to cool fully before eating. I’m not kidding! If you don’t allow them cool and solidify entirely, the cheesecake filling will be liquidy and warm. If you’re impatient, put them in the fridge to set them faster (I actually prefer them from the fridge).
- For an added crunch, roll them in sparkling sugar. The ones rolled in sparkling sugar are the most sparkly, as shown in the picture at the top of the page.