Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies
These are the best gingerbread cheesecake cookies! They are chewy gingerbread cookies, stuffed with a creamy cheesecake filling and rolled in spiced sugar. They’re the perfect Christmas treat and every gingerbread lover will adore them!
If you loved my pumpkin cheesecake cookies from fall, then you will love the Christmas version: gingerbread cheesecake cookies! These cookies are pure Christmas magic. No need for a springform pan or water bath to make the easy cheesecake filling either. These cookies come together easily and you won’t believe just how good this delicious dessert is. These are the perfect way to celebrate this time of year!
If you’re looking for other Christmas cookie recipes for the holiday season, try my chocolate thumbprint cookies, chewy peanut butter cookies, chewy gingerbread cookie recipe, Christmas kitchen sink cookies or chocolate peppermint cookies!
Why You’ll Love These Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies
They have the best texture– These cookies are super chewy and soft.
They have a creamy cheesecake filling- The centers are stuffed full of a delicious, creamy cheesecake layer.
They taste like Christmas.The dough is flavored with lots of warm spices and molasses for the best holiday flavor. These cookies are the perfect addition for all your holiday baking!
Ingredients for Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies
- Unsalted Butter– make sure it’s softened, room temperature butter
- Brown Sugar– brown sugar is used for chewier cookies
- Molasses- adds that classic gingerbread flavor and helps to make the cookies soft and chewy
- Egg Yolks– make sure they’re room temperature
- Vanilla– as always I recommend vanilla bean paste for the best flavor, but vanilla extract will work perfectly fine as well
- Flour– just the right amount of all purpose flour helps give these cookies their perfect texture
- Baking Soda– helps the cookies to rise
- Salt– brings out all the flavors in these cookies
- Spices– ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves add warm Christmas flavor to these cookies
- Granulated White Sugar– used for the cheesecake filling and spiced sugar
- Cream Cheese– used to make the delicious cream cheese filling
Step by Step Instructions
Please see the recipe card below for the complete recipe, including measurements and bake time!
STEP ONE: Add the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla to a small mixing bowl. Mix on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until the cream cheese mixture is fluffy and the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Scoop the cheesecake mixture into 18, 2 tsp portions onto a small parchment paper lined baking sheet. Freeze the cheesecake balls until they are frozen and very firm.
STEP TWO: To make the gingerbread cookie dough, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Then set aside the flour mixture.
STEP THREE: In a large bowl cream the softened butter and brown sugar together with an electric hand mixer on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula. (You can also use a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.)
STEP FOUR: Add in the egg yolks, molasses and vanilla and mix for one minute on medium speed until fluffy.
STEP FIVE: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine on low speed.
STEP SIX: Scoop the dough into 18 portions with a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, then roll into balls. Press cookie dough to slightly flatten it out, then place a frozen cheesecake ball in the center. Then close the cheesecake ball in with the cookie dough and roll into a ball again. Make sure the cheesecake is completely covered in cookie dough. Roll the cookie dough balls in the spiced sugar.
STEP SEVEN: Transfer the cookie dough to a prepared baking sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper. Bake 6 cookies at a time. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer the baked cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Then serve!
FAQs
Why aren’t my cookies as chewy as they should be? If your cookies came out cakey instead of chewy this most likely happened because the ingredients were not measured properly. Use a digital kitchen scale so that your cookies (and all baked goods) come our perfectly every time.
Why aren’t my cookies as flat as pictured? When the cookies are straight out of the oven they will appear “fluffy” and tall, but as they cool they will become flatter like the pictures show!
How do I store these cookies? Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to three days, or freeze them for up to two weeks!
Pro Tips
For best results, measure your flour properly. This is always my #1 baking tip. Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to using too much flour. Instead, sprinkle spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and swipe excess flour off with the back of a knife. Or better yet, weigh your flour. 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams.
Make sure to completely freeze the cheesecake balls. This will ensure no cheesecake filling leaks out of the cookies while baking. Keep the cheesecake balls in the freezer just until you’re ready to use for each batch of cookies.
Let the cookies cool completely before eating. This will allow the cheesecake filling to firm up and not be runny.
When the cookies are straight out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around them to give them a perfect circular shape!
Make sure to beat your eggs and molasses into the butter and sugar until the mixture is fluffy, not just until it’s combined. Doing this will help give you perfectly textured cookies.
If you make these cookies please, please leave a star rating! Tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ and follow me on Pinterest also for other dessert ideas!
Other Recipes to Try Next Time
Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cheesecake Filling
- 6 oz (170 g) cream cheese, cold
- 3 tbsp (38 g) granulated white sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
For the Spiced Sugar
- 6 tbsp (75 g) granulated white sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
For the Gingerbread Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups (313 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (165 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup (113 g) unsulphured molasses
Instructions
For the Cheesecake Filling
- Line a small cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla to a small mixing bowl. Mix on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until the cream cheese mixture is fluffy and the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.6 oz (170 g) cream cheese, cold, 3 tbsp (38 g) granulated white sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla
- Scoop the cheesecake mixture into 18, 2 teaspoon portions onto the baking sheet.
- Pop the cheesecake balls into the freezer until they are frozen and very firm.
For the Spiced Sugar
- Add the sugar and spices to a small bowl. Whisk to combine then set aside.6 tbsp (75 g) granulated white sugar, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground allspice, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ground cloves
For the Gingerbread Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt. Then set aside the flour mixture.2 1/2 cups (313 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground allspice, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda
- In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and brown sugar together with an electric hand mixer on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula. (You can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.)3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened, 3/4 cup (165 g) light brown sugar, packed
- Add in the egg yolks, molasses and vanilla and mix for one minute on medium speed until fluffy.2 egg yolks, at room temperature, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup (113 g) unsulphured molasses
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine on low speed.
- Scoop the dough into 18 portions with a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, then roll into balls. Press the cookie dough to slightly flatten it out, then place a frozen cheesecake ball in the center. Then close the cheesecake ball in with the cookie dough and roll into a ball again. Make sure the cheesecake is completely covered in cookie dough. Roll the cookie dough balls in the spiced sugar.(Keep the cheesecake balls in the freezer until ready to use for each batch of cookies.)
- Transfer the cookie dough to a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 6 cookies at a time for 11-12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer the baked cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Then serve!
Hey, these look amazing! Just curious, how quickly do you need to eat them? They seem like the type of cookie you’d need to eat the day they’re made, but I was wondering what you do if you have leftovers. Will they keep at room temperature or need to be refrigerated because of the cheesecake filling? Thanks!
GINNY. THESE WERE ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLEEE! My husband often dms me dessert recipes as I bake pretty much every weekend and this is definitely a keeper. I’ve never tried your recipes before and I’m so glad I did! The cookies were soft, beautifully spiced ( I tend to add extra spices as we like our flavors intense but didn’t need to here!) and the cream cheese filling???? perfection, just the right amount. I’ll be bringing to Thanksgiving and/or Christmas FOR SURE. We didn’t have unsalted butter or allspice so I subbed with salted butter and extra spices+ cardamom. THANK YOU !
i only have cinnamon, how much should i use to replace all the other spices?
Delicious and easy! I also would like to know how these should be stored and for how long, thanks!
Ginny put on her Instagram that you can make these without the cheesecake filling and I did because I brought them on a plane for thanksgiving and they are LITERALLY AMAZING and even for leftovers they were STILL moist and so good
Do they need to be stored in the refrigerator?
They taste amazing. Just wondering if the dough is supposed to be super crumbly? It was a little hard to work with and I ended up needing 3 tbs of dough to cover the cheesecake. I let them cook for 15 minutes then pulled them out and let them cool on the pan for the 10 minutes as directed. I also left out the clove as I didn’t have any. They are delicious!
If I wanted to make these in advance and freeze the dough in balls before baking, should I add the cheesecake filling at that time? Or would I have to keep the cheesecake filling and dough separated when storing, and only add the frozen cheesecake to the room temperature dough before I bake them? Thanks in advance!
SO GOOD!! I’m usually not a fan of gingerbread cookies but this recipe looked too good not to try. I was skeptical because the molasses seemed to overpower every other smell of the cookie dough while it was raw, but once they were baked they turned out PERFECT. They’re super soft and the filling turned out great! The family loves them and we will be making them again!!
I made these cookies and when I tell you they were delicious, I mean it! I Recommend following the instructions to a T. I’m making another couple of batches for Christmas.
This recipe is delicious! Only hiccups I found is that I slightly pressed my dough balls once I put them on the cookie sheet. I made exactly 18 cookies like the recipe, 6 at a time and 12 minutes was not enough time at all, kept putting them in 2 more ministers at a time. I would say took closer to 15-16 minutes and were perfect!
Incredible! I love how detailed your recipe is, and the cookies came out fantastic during my test bake! Unfortunately I ran out of ginger unknowingly, and wasn’t able to make it for the holidays, but now they’ve had a year of hype and I’m so excited to bring them to the family!!
Love the cookies!!
Hi, I am these cookies and they are so delicious but after they cooled they were very soft and couldn’t hold as you would usually hold a cookie as they would break and fall apart. Why is that and what can I do to make it different.
Came out super salty and the dough was hard to work with
Made these for Thanksgiving for my first time meeting my partners family and they were all gone !!! We just made a little change and added maybe 20 extra grams of sugar to the cheesecake filling so it’s more gooey and loose at room temp. Thanks! This is my first time following a recipe this complex
Hi I’m making these for teachers appreciation day and was wondering if we learned if they need to be stored refrigerated? I see airtight container is on the counter okay???
Followed the recipe exactly & they turned out great! I expect these will become a Christmas tradition.
They are large cookies & although one cookie is very satisfying, I can’t help but eat two. I love that they’re not too sweet! For the next batch, I’m going to simply dip the tops in the sugar instead of rolling them.
Thanks Ginny!! 💚💙💚
Cookies tasted amazing but mine looked like golf balls and didn’t flatten like the photos. Any thoughts??
Wow! These cookies are excellent! I followed recipe exactly, and baked for 13 minutes. I added a swirl of melted white chocolate on the top. It’s the best gingerbread cookie I’ve ever had. Thank you for the delicious recipe.
These are one of our new favorite cookies! The spices are amazing and the kitchen smells like Christmas while baking them! The cream cheese filling is so easy and a tasty surprise! Thank you for sharing!
My husband doesn’t like ginger cookies but these cookies are amazing! He loves them and said I can make them anytime.
My cheesecake balls wouldn’t freeze at all
Delicious and soft! I do wish I would have used a full 8 oz of cream cheese and it took about 15-16 minutes to bake.
I just made these and they’re delicious! I ran out of the filling but still had dough, and omg they are the perfect ginger molasses cookies!
I NEVER comment on recipes but this one, gets a mention. 5+ stars for the cookie and the formatting of the instructions with the addition of the measurements was phenomenal and oh so helpful. Thank you for sharing such an incredible recipe. It’s now a Christmas cookie tradition.
These cookies are amazing! Huge hit.
These cookies came out amazing, the cheesecake filling was easy to make, froze well, and perfectly satisfying. I even had to slightly tweak some spice measurements because I ran out of cinnamon after too much Christmas baking!!! I will definitely be making these cookies next year. I will mention that I personally froze the cheesecake filling for a few days—which was perfect for me because it checked one thing off my baking to-do list early off.