Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

Cherry cheesecake cookies have all the flavors of traditional cheesecake – in cookie form. They’ll be a new family favorite for years to come!

A few years ago, Elle and I were picking up some holiday baking essentials at the store while I had a huuuuge craving for cherry cheesecake. But we were right next to a bunch of cookie-baking supplies, and it struck me. 

Cherry cheesecake COOKIES.

You guys know that my family adores cheesecake. We have it for birthdays instead of regular cake, and it’s always on our holiday tables.

 From my nana’s easy cheesecake to lemon cheesecake, my family has a cheesecake for just about every occasion. 

We even turn our cupcakes into cheesecake with cherry cheesecake cupcakes. So of course we would love these cookies, too!

What are cherry cheesecake cookies?

These cherry cheesecake cookies are pretty much a cheesecake version of thumbprint cookies.

You’ll whip up a cookie dough and cheesecake filling separately. Then, mold the cookie dough into a bowl-like shape, with a little indentation. Spoon or pipe the cheesecake filling into each little indentation, and bake ’em up.

The cookie dough has graham cracker crumbs in it, so you get the flavor of a graham cracker crust.

Once they’re baked, you’ll top each one with some cherry pie filling (because what’s cheesecake with out cherries?!), and there you have it. Cherry cheesecake in an adorable cookie form!

How to make my cherry cheesecake cookies

These sweet little bites might look complicated, but they’re actually super easy to make. And the ingredients are pretty basic, so you might just have everything on hand already!

Ingredients you’ll need

To make these sweet little cookies, you’ll need:

• 1 ¼ cups finely crushed graham crackers 
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 12 tablespoons softened unsalted butter 
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg, white and yolk separated
• 4 ounces softened cream cheese 
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• homemade cherry pie filling

Before you start baking, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly. This will help your cherry cheesecake cookies to come out perfect every time.

You can buy graham cracker crumbs from the store or crush whole graham crackers to make your own. You’ll need about 1 sleeve of graham crackers for 1 1/4 cups of crumbs.

Brown sugar adds a richness and chewiness to the cookie dough. If you are out of brown sugar, try making a simple brown sugar substitute.

If your brown sugar hardened in the pantry, check out my tricks for softening brown sugar.

Homemade cherry pie filling is always my go-to for topping these cookies, but feel free to use store-bought if that’s easier for you. I try to buy the “extra fruit” pie fillings so there’s lots of cherries in it.

Making these cookies

Start by making the graham cracker cookie dough. Whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, use a mixer to cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. This will take about 3 minutes. Add the egg white and mix until well combined.

Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just combined.

Now make the cheesecake filling. In another bowl, beat together the cream cheese and granulated sugar until combined. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix until the filling is smooth.

Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) to scoop the cookie dough onto lined baking sheets. Press your thumb or a round measuring spoon until the center of each ball to slightly flatten and create a bowl shape in the center.

Spoon or pipe the cream cheese filling into each indentation. 

Bake the cookies at 350°F for 12 minutes; the filling should be barely set and the cookies will be lightly golden when they’re done.

Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Before serving, top each cookie with a spoonful of cherry pie filling.

Storing these cookies

Store cherry cheesecake cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store the cookies without the cherry pie filling; wait to top them with the filling until just before serving.

You can freeze the cookies in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag for up to a month. Let the cookies thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for a couple of hours.