Description
Soft cookies with fresh raspberries and graham crackers, stuffed with frozen cream cheese that melts perfectly during baking.
Ingredients
Raspberry Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2⅓ cups + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup raspberries, roughly chopped
- ½ cup chopped graham crackers (plus extra for topping)
Cream Cheese Filling
- ¾ cup cream cheese (regular or vegan)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat the cream cheese with powdered sugar until it’s completely smooth – I learned the hard way that lumps will show up in the final cookies. Scoop 20 teaspoons onto the parchment and flatten them into little discs. Stick these in the freezer for at least 45 minutes. They need to be almost rock-hard or they’ll leak out during baking (been there, done that, had to start over).
Whisk your flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set it aside. In your mixer, beat the butter with both sugars until it looks fluffy – this takes about 3-4 minutes and I promise it’s worth the wait because it makes the texture incredible. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until everything looks combined.
Add your flour mixture and mix just until it comes together – don’t go crazy here or you’ll end up with tough cookies. Fold in the graham crackers, then gently add the raspberries. I say gently because if you’re too rough, you’ll smush them and turn your whole batch pink (learned this one the messy way).
Scoop your dough into 20 portions – I use a cookie scoop but a spoon works fine. Make a little dent in half of them, then grab those frozen cream cheese discs and nestle one into each dent. Top with the remaining dough and pinch the edges to seal everything up. Sprinkle some crushed graham crackers on top because it looks pretty and gives you more of that cheesecake vibe.
Stick your assembled cookies in the fridge while the oven heats to 350°F. Bake them one sheet at a time for about 9-11 minutes – you want the edges to be lightly golden and the tops to look set but still soft. Here’s the hard part: let them sit on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before moving them. I know it’s tempting, but they need this time to firm up or they’ll fall apart on you.
Notes
Room temperature butter is key – cold butter won’t cream properly and your cookies will be dense. If you forgot to take it out, cut it into pieces and it’ll soften faster.
My biggest mistake early on was making the dough balls too big. Stick to about a tablespoon each or the filling will burst out. Also, don’t peek at them while they’re baking – opening the oven door can cause the filling to leak.
If your raspberries are super juicy, pat them dry first. Too much moisture makes the cookies spread weird.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes + Chill/Freeze Time: 45-60 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American