Description
These Easy Cheesecake Filled Pumpkin Thumbprint Cookies combine the warm flavors of pumpkin and spices in a soft cookie base with a creamy cheesecake filling. Perfect for fall, these cookies are simple to prepare and bake, featuring a delightful thumbprint filled with smooth cream cheese icing, making them an irresistible treat for gatherings or afternoon snacks.
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 (2 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350ºF (177ºC) to ensure it reaches the proper baking temperature while you prepare the dough.
- 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.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter along with the brown sugar and white sugar until the mixture turns light and fluffy, creating a smooth base for your cookies.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree. Mix thoroughly after each addition until fully incorporated.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Slowly stir in the flour spice mixture into the wet ingredients until the cookie dough is fully combined and uniform.
- Shape Cookies: Drop the cookie dough by tablespoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them adequately to allow for slight spreading during baking.
- Bake: Place the baking sheet in the oven’s center rack and bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are firm yet not browned, indicating they are just done.
- Create Thumbprints: Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, press a thumbprint into the center of each cookie using the back of a spoon or similar utensil to create a well for the filling. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Prepare Filling: While the cookies cool, combine the softened butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Beat them together until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Fill Cookies: Once fully cooled, use a piping bag fitted with a star tip (or a small plastic bag with the corner cut off) to fill each thumbprint with the cream cheese icing, applying gently to create a swirl effect if desired.
- Add Toppings: Optionally, sprinkle any desired add-on toppings over the icing before it sets to enhance flavor and presentation.
Notes
- If you don’t have a piping bag, fill a small plastic bag with icing, twist the top to remove air, cut a tiny corner off the bottom, and gently squeeze to pipe and fill the cookies.
- Moving the piping bag in a quick circular motion while filling creates a pretty swirl effect on each cookie’s icing.
- For best results, ensure cookies are completely cooled before filling to prevent melting of the cream cheese icing.
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
