Description
These Easy Cheesecake Filled Pumpkin Thumbprint Cookies combine the warm spices of autumn with a creamy cheesecake center, creating a delightful and festive treat perfect for fall gatherings and holiday celebrations. Soft pumpkin-flavored cookies are baked to perfection, then filled with a smooth cream cheese icing, resulting in a deliciously moist and flavorful cookie.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the cookies:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
For the filling:
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese (2 oz), at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC) to prepare it for baking the cookies.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a small mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Set this mixture aside for later use.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy, ensuring a smooth texture for the cookies.
- Add Egg and Flavorings: Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree. Make sure each ingredient is thoroughly incorporated before adding the next.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Gradually stir the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients until fully combined, forming a cookie dough.
- Shape Cookies: Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoon onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them evenly to allow for spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, or until they are firm but not browned, indicating they are just done.
- Create Thumbprints: Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately press a thumbprint or indentation into the center of each cookie using the back of a spoon or a similar tool. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Prepare Cheesecake Filling: While the cookies cool, beat together the softened butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
- Fill Cookies: Once the cookies have cooled completely, fill each thumbprint cavity with the cream cheese icing using a piping bag fitted with a star tip or an improvised plastic bag piping method.
- Add Toppings: Optionally, sprinkle desired toppings on the freshly filled icing before it sets for added texture and flavor.
Notes
- If you don’t have a piping bag, simply fill a small plastic bag with the cream cheese icing, twist the top to remove air, and cut off one corner to pipe the filling into the cookies. Moving the bag in a quick circular motion while piping will create a pretty swirl on the top.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 92
- Sugar: 11g
- Sodium: 81mg
- Fat: 2g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.5g
- Trans Fat: 0.05g
- Carbohydrates: 17g
- Fiber: 0.4g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 13mg
