Gingerbread cheesecake cookies

Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies are soft, chewy, and filled with a creamy cheesecake center that makes every bite extra special. Warm spices blend beautifully with the rich filling, creating a festive treat everyone will love. Perfect for holiday parties, cookie swaps, or anytime you want a cozy, crowd-pleasing dessert!

Love More Christmas Cookies? Try My Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies or this Raspberry Linzer Cookies next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These cookies deliver the perfect bite every time. The creamy cheesecake filling adds a decadent surprise that pairs beautifully with the gingerbread flavor. They’re easy to prep ahead, bake up beautifully, and are guaranteed to impress at any holiday gathering.

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Ingredient List

Cheesecake Filling

• 6 oz cold cream cheese
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Spiced Sugar Coating

• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Gingerbread Cookie Dough

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 2½ teaspoons ground ginger
• 2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses

Quick sub note: Don’t have every spice? Use 3½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice instead. Works like a charm!

Why These Ingredients Work

Listen, I messed up this recipe twice before getting it right. First time, I used room temp cream cheese and it melted everywhere – total disaster. You NEED cold cream cheese that gets frozen solid, otherwise you’ll have a gooey mess.

The molasses is non-negotiable too. I tried honey once thinking it’d be “healthier” – nope. Tasted weird and didn’t give that deep gingerbread flavor. Brown sugar keeps everything moist while white sugar would make them too crispy. And those egg yolks? Don’t use whole eggs or you’ll get tough cookies. Trust me on this one.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• 2 big mixing bowls
• Electric mixer (hand mixer works fine)
• Cookie scoop or tablespoon
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheets
• Wire racks
• Small bowl for the spice mix

Nothing fancy needed. I use my ancient KitchenAid that sounds like it’s dying, so you’re good with whatever you’ve got!

How To Make Gingerbread cheesecake cookies

Step 1: Create the Cheesecake Surprise Centers

Mix that cold cream cheese with sugar and vanilla until it’s smooth. Don’t overmix or it gets weird and grainy. Scoop into 18 little balls – about 2 teaspoons each. Freeze them overnight if you can. I learned this lesson the hard way when they leaked all over my oven.

Step 2: Mix Your Magical Spiced Sugar

Dump all those spices with the sugar in a bowl and mix. Smells incredible, doesn’t it? Set it aside but don’t walk away without taking a big whiff first.

Step 3: Make the Gingerbread Dough

Heat your oven to 350°F and get those baking sheets ready with parchment. Mix all the dry stuff in one bowl – flour, spices, baking soda, salt.

In your big bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Takes about 3-4 minutes. Add egg yolks, molasses, vanilla and mix till combined. Slowly add the flour mixture. Don’t go crazy here – just mix till it comes together.

Step 4: The Assembly Magic

This part’s fun but messy. Scoop dough into 18 balls, flatten each one, stick a frozen cheesecake ball in the middle, then wrap the dough around it. Seal it up good – no cheesecake peeking out! Roll each one in that spiced sugar.

My kitchen counter looks like a flour bomb went off during this step. Totally worth it.

Step 5: Bake to Perfection

Space them out on your baking sheets – about 6 per pan. Bake 11-12 minutes till the edges are set. They’ll smell amazing and look slightly cracked on top.

Let them sit on the pan for 10 minutes before moving. I know you want to eat them right away, but they need to cool so the filling sets up properly.

You Must Know

Seriously, freeze that cheesecake filling solid. I cannot stress this enough. First batch I made, I thought “eh, they’re firm enough” and half of them leaked during baking. My oven looked like a crime scene.

Measure your flour right – spoon it into the cup and level off. Too much flour makes sad, dry cookies. Nobody wants that.

Let these cool completely. I know it’s torture but the filling needs time to firm back up. Hot cookies = runny filling = disappointment.

Personal Secret: Here’s something I figured out by accident: brush the cookie tops with beaten egg white before rolling in spiced sugar. Makes that coating stick better and gives them this gorgeous sparkly finish. My sister-in-law thought I bought them from a bakery!

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Make filling 3 days ahead – it actually gets better sitting in the freezer. Use a cookie scoop for even sizes. Room temp ingredients mix easier, so pull butter and eggs out an hour early.

If your dough’s too soft, stick it in the fridge 30 minutes. Don’t skip parchment paper – learned that lesson the hard way when half a batch stuck to my pan.

Oh, and keep your hands cool when assembling. Warm hands make sticky dough that’s impossible to work with.

Flavor Variations

Orange Cranberry: Add orange zest to the filling and dried cranberries to the dough. Tastes like Christmas morning.

Chocolate Version: Replace ¼ cup flour with cocoa powder. My teenager’s favorite.

Maple Pecan: Swap vanilla for maple extract in the filling, add chopped pecans to the sugar coating. So good I could cry.

Coffee Kick: Add instant coffee to the dough. Perfect with morning coffee, obviously.

Make-Ahead Options

Thank goodness these are make-ahead friendly! Freeze those cheesecake balls up to a week early. Make cookie dough 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge.

Want to go full make-ahead? Assemble everything, freeze on baking sheets, then transfer to freezer bags. Bake straight from frozen – just add 1-2 extra minutes.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Keep your hands cool when wrapping dough around filling. If it gets sticky, pop everything back in the fridge for a bit. Don’t freak if some crack during baking – that’s totally normal and they still taste amazing.

The dough should feel soft but not sticky. If it’s too wet, add a bit more flour. Too dry? Add a teaspoon of milk.

Serving Suggestions

These are perfect for cookie exchanges, potlucks, or when you need to impress your mother-in-law. I love them with hot cocoa or coffee. They also make gorgeous gifts wrapped in cellophane bags with ribbon.

Pro tip: bring extras to whatever event you’re attending. People will hunt you down for the recipe otherwise.

How to Store Your Gingerbread cheesecake cookies

Keep them in an airtight container at room temp for 3 days max. For longer storage, freeze up to 2 weeks. Layer between parchment so they don’t stick together.

If frozen, let them thaw 30 minutes before serving. They’re still good cold though – my kids eat them straight from the freezer!

Allergy Information

Has: Dairy, eggs, gluten Dairy-free: Use vegan cream cheese and plant butter Gluten-free: Try 1:1 GF flour blend (haven’t tested this myself but should work) Egg-free: Replace yolks with 2 tablespoons applesauce (texture will be different)

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use white sugar instead of brown?

You can but brown sugar makes them softer and adds that molasses-y flavor. If you must, add extra molasses.

My filling’s too soft to work with. Help!

Use full-fat cream cheese and freeze longer. Cold is key here.

Why did mine spread everywhere?

Butter was probably too warm or dough needed chilling. Make sure butter’s soft but not melted.

Do I really need the spiced sugar coating?

You could skip it but why would you? It’s what makes them look fancy! Regular sugar works in a pinch.

These cookies basically made me famous in my neighborhood. My mailman even asked for the recipe after I gave him some at Christmas.

💬 Made these beauties? Drop a comment below and tell me how they turned out! Did anyone guess the secret filling?