Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies
These cookies are soft, chewy, warmly spiced, and filled with creamy vanilla cheesecake shards. They have all the cozy gingerbread flavor from molasses, brown butter, cinnamon, ginger, and a little nutmeg, but with a rich cheesecake-style twist folded right into the dough.
The brown butter makes them deeper and toastier, the molasses keeps them soft, and the white chocolate cheesecake pieces melt into little creamy pockets throughout each cookie.
They are especially good chilled, which makes the centers fudgier and the cheesecake pieces extra dreamy.
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookie Dough
185 g all-purpose flour
1½ tsp ground ginger
1½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cardamom, optional
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp baking soda
105 g brown butter, cooled
1 tsp honey
85 g brown sugar
1 egg yolk
55 g molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cheesecake bark shards (recipe below)
Vanilla Cheesecake Bark
160 g cream cheese, softened
100 g white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
Pinch of salt
Seeds from ½ vanilla bean
Instructions
1. Make the Vanilla Cheesecake Bark
In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, salt, and vanilla bean seeds until smooth and creamy.
Fold in the melted white chocolate until fully combined.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the cheesecake mixture into a thin, even layer.
Freeze for about 1 hour, or until firm.
Chop into small shards and keep in the freezer until ready to use.
2. Make the Gingerbread Cookie Dough
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together the cooled brown butter, honey, and brown sugar until combined and slightly lightened.
Whisk in the egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla until smooth and fully combined.
Add the dry ingredients and fold until a soft gingerbread cookie dough forms.
Gently fold in the frozen cheesecake bark shards until evenly scattered throughout the dough.
Scoop into cookie dough balls and chill in the fridge for 2–3 hours, or up to overnight.
3. Bake
Preheat oven to 350°F and line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Space the chilled cookie dough balls apart on the baking sheet.
Bake for 14–15 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly soft.
Let the cookies cool fully on the baking sheet.
For the Best Texture
These are delicious once cooled, but I recommend chilling the baked cookies in the fridge for about 1 hour before eating. The cheesecake pieces firm up, the spices settle in, and the cookie turns extra chewy and fudgy.
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving if you want a softer bite.
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Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookies
These cookies are soft, chewy, warmly spiced, and filled with creamy vanilla cheesecake shards. They have all the cozy gingerbread flavor from molasses, brown butter, cinnamon, ginger, and a little nutmeg, but with a rich cheesecake-style twist folded right into the dough.
Ingredients
- 185 g all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp cardamom, optional
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 105 g brown butter, cooled
- 85 g brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 55 g molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Cheesecake bark shards
- 160 g cream cheese, softened
- 105 g white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
- Pinch of salt
- Seeds from ½ vanilla bean
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, salt, and vanilla bean seeds until smooth and creamy.
- Fold in the melted white chocolate until fully combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the cheesecake mixture into a thin, even layer.
- Freeze for about 1 hour, or until firm.
- Chop into small shards and keep in the freezer until ready to use.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the cooled brown butter and brown sugar until combined and slightly lightened.
- Whisk in the egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla until smooth and fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and fold until a soft gingerbread cookie dough forms.
- Gently fold in the frozen cheesecake bark shards until evenly scattered throughout the dough.
- Scoop into cookie dough balls and chill in the fridge for 2–3 hours, or up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Space the chilled cookie dough balls apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 14–15 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly soft.
- Let the cookies cool fully on the baking sheet.
