Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cookies
The perfect fall cookie recipe! Not too sweet with just a touch of pumpkin and a little bit of spice. The cheesecake filling adds a layer of decadence. Great for holiday parties, Thanksgiving, and Halloween!
Servings: 30 cookies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookies
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature * to soften, take butter out of the fridge and leave it on the counter for an hour or so before you plan to start baking. Do not heat butter to soften it.
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (no spices added)
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cheesecake Filling
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 4 oz block-style cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- cinnamon for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you have silicone baking mats, line two baking sheets with them. Otherwise, line each baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl add butter and sugars and mix on medium-high speed till light and fluffy. Add egg, pumpkin and vanilla, mixing on low speed till just combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves and stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl with wet ingredients and continue mixing on low speed until all ingredients are well combined. Do not overmix.
- Scoop dough out using a spoon or 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop (filling it just slightly heaping). Drop onto prepared baking sheet spacing cookies about 2-inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time at 350 degrees F for 13-15 minutes, till just brown around the edges. Leave on the baking sheet and make an indent in the center of the cookie with your thumb while still warm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile in a medium mixing bowl add soft butter, room temperature cream cheese, and vanilla. Blend with an electric mixer till light and fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar and continue mixing until it looks smooth. This is better kept at room temperature to spread on the cookies otherwise it will be too hard to frost them well. You can always put in the fridge to store and then wait for it to come to room temp.
- Once cookies have cooled slightly (about 15 minutes), add the cream cheese filling to the center indent and sprinkle with brown sugar. Store in an airtight container (in single layers divided by wax paper) in refrigerator (see more storage suggestions in post). Bring cookies back to room temperature before serving.
Video
Notes
- Avoid organic pumpkin puree if you can - I prefer to use Libby's or another regular brand as it's more flavorful and less watery, which can affect the texture of your cookies.
- Store these in an airtight container with parchment in between layers. You can also freeze these and defrost at room temperature for about 1 hour.
- Philadelphia cream cheese, organic valley, and publix greenwise are all good brands for cream cheese. Make sure you buy it in block form and not a tub.
- You may not use all the frosting (I usually have approximately 1/4 cup left), so store it in a small bowl or bag and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. It's best to freeze the pumpkin cookies and cream cheese frosting separately, then frost when ready to serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 111mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1447IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
