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Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

Pumpkin cheesecake cookies with a creamy center swirl baked into golden pumpkin-spiced dough, rolled in cinnamon sugar edges for crunch. The filling is frozen into small balls so it stays dense and firm as the cookies bake.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Freeze 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 14 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 250
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For pumpkin cookie dough
  • 2.25 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.75 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 0.33 cup pumpkin puree blotted dry
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
For cheesecake filling
  • 6 oz cream cheese softened
  • 3 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon sugar for rolling
  • 1 cinnamon sugar

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Freeze the cheesecake centers
  1. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth, then scoop into 24 teaspoon-sized balls on parchment and freeze 30 minutes.
  2. Keep the cheesecake balls frozen until ready to assemble so they stay firm when wrapped with cookie dough.
Prepare the oven and cookie dough
  1. Preheat oven to 375F and line baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Beat butter and brown sugar, then add blotted pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and mix until combined.
  3. Whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt, then fold into the pumpkin mixture to form cookie dough.
Assemble and bake
  1. Scoop 2-tablespoon portions of dough, flatten in your palm, and place a frozen cream cheese ball in the center.
  2. Wrap dough around the filling and seal completely so the cheesecake stays enclosed during baking.
  3. Roll each cookie in cinnamon sugar, place on the lined baking sheet, and bake 12-14 minutes until golden.
Cool and set
  1. Cool cookies completely before eating so the filling firms as it cools.

Notes

Pro tip: Blot the pumpkin puree well so the dough bakes up thick and doesn’t spread, and keep the cheesecake balls frozen until wrapping. Store baked cookies airtight in the refrigerator up to 4 days; freeze up to 2 months (freeze after fully cooled). For a dairy-light option, use a plant-based cream cheese substitute that is designed to bake and set for the center.