Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies-STUFFED
An almond and vanilla cookie dough with chopped graham cracker pieces and white chocolate chips is filled with raspberry jam and vanilla bean cheesecake for a decadent holiday dessert.
How can you go wrong with raspberry cheesecake and cookies? Trick question, you can’t. This cookie was my number one seller during the holiday season when I had a home bakery, somehow surpassing snickerdoodles in sales. It is every bit decadent as you can imagine and makes a great Christmas cookie or a celebration cookie for New Year’s.
I am partial to raspberry jam and cheesecake, it’s a wonderful fruity pairing that feels so fancy. The flavor combination reminds me of ordering white chocolate raspberry cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory. My dad would take us for birthdays as young teens and there was a time in the late 90s/early 2000s where the Cheesecake factory was all the rage with endless flavors of cheesecake and a never-ending menu of savory bites. Anyone else go through a Cheesecake Factory phase while also being an emo teen that wanted to tear down the establishment? Because same. What an awkward time in my life full of walking contradictions. I digress…
My raspberry cheesecake cookies combine the simplicity of making a batch of cookies with the flavor of a good tangy fruity cheesecake. They also come together in a pinch and bake for a quarter of the time a cheesecake does. Less baking time in the kitchen during the holidays, yes please!
Do you love cheesecake and cookies? Check out these other cheesecake cookie recipes I have created:
Cookie Butter Cheesecake Cookies
Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookies
Why I Love This Recipe
Flavor-The almond and vanilla extract in the dough create a classic flavor combination with the raspberry jam in the middle. Raspberry and almond pair well together, with raspberry having bright acidic notes and the almond extract creating a smooth and sweet canvas of flavor. The graham cracker pieces in the cookie dough mimic a graham cracker butter crust of a cheesecake while the vanilla bean cheesecake filling is a creamy and luscious inside. The pops of white chocolate chips throughout the dough create sweet and creamy pockets in the cookie.
Texture-This is a soft cookie with a delicate crumb. Using cake flour and cornstarch in the dough help keep the cookie soft with a melt in your mouth texture. The filling is undeniably the highlight of this cookie experience with the creamy texture of the vanilla bean cheesecake and the silky raspberry jam. The white chocolate in the dough is soft and creamy and the graham cracker pieces give the cookie a bit more texture to contrast with the creamy middle and soft baked cookie texture.
Fancy Pants-Raspberry cheesecake often elicits an ‘ooooh’ response whenever it is seen on a menu and these cookies are no different. They combine classic flavors of raspberry, almond, vanilla, and tangy cream cheese in cookie form. It is a wonderful celebratory cookie for any fun occasion.
Ingredients You Need
-Butter- unsalted room temperature butter.
-Brown & Granulated Sugar-
-Eggs
-Almond Extract
-Vanilla Extract
-Salt-for flavor.
-Baking Soda & Powder
-Flour
-Cake Flour-This will give the cookie a soft and tender crumb while also helping the cookie to bake up taller with less spread.
-Cornstarch-this will ensure a soft crumb to the cookie dough as well as keep the dough sturdy enough for keeping the fillings contained snuggled inside the dough.
-Graham Crackers- I used plain graham crackers. You can use cinnamon graham cracker if you would like a warmer flavored cookie.
-White Chocolate Chips
-Raspberry Jam-I used Bonne Maman brand. This is my go-to brand for berry jams since they are always available and have good flavor. If you don’t like raspberry jam, you can use strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry jam as a great substitute. I usually make my own jams to stuff in cookies but am cut for time with less than a week before Christmas. If you have homemade jam, it will work lovely in this recipe as well.
-Cream Cheese-full fat. More fat in cheese equals more flavor. Don’t skimp on this. If you would like to use a whole milk ricotta or mascarpone cheese to substitute for cream cheese, it would be absolutely breathtaking in this cookie.
-Powdered Sugar
-Vanilla Bean Paste- I used McCormick brand of vanilla bean paste in this recipe. It is a nice product that is budget friendly. I did notice some irregularities in vanilla bean flecks in the paste, some seeds were much larger than others, and the paste itself was quite sweet compared to my tried and true Nielsen Massey vanilla bean paste. The flavor was great in the cheesecake filling, and I will continue to use for future recipes.
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Filling
First things first, I make the cheesecake filling prior to making the cookie dough. I like to have all of my fillings ready to go as soon as the cookie dough comes together, it makes for easier transition for stuffing the cookie dough.
In a small bowl I combine the room temperature cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla bean paste until smooth and creamy. Using room temperature cream cheese will help the filling come together quickly and smoothly.
I set the bowl aside while I prepare the cookie dough.
Let’s Cookie
I place the butter and both types of sugars into the bowl of my stand mixer with a paddle attachment. A handheld mixer would work just as well here too. I cream the butter and sugars on medium high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture is pale, fluffy, and creamy.
I scrape down the sides of the bowl then add in the eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, and I turn my mixer on medium high and beat for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is very creamy. I scrape down the bowl once during this time.
I add the dry ingredients, flour, cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt then I mix on low speed. I let it mix just until the dough comes together.
Next, the chopped graham cracker pieces and white chocolate chips get added to the dough and mixed in until evenly incorporated.
I use a 3-ounce cookie scoop and scoop out a level scoop of cookie dough. While the cookie dough is in the scoop, I make a well in the center with either a spoon or my thumb. I make sure the well does not touch the other side of the dough. I do not want the dough to be too thin on the top of the cookie dough as this can lead to top filling leaks during baking. The well should be an inch and a half deep in the cookie scoop.
I scoop a half teaspoon of raspberry jam followed by a half teaspoon of cheesecake filling. I make sure NOT to fill the well to the top, I want a small gap at the top of the well so that I can pinch the dough closed.
**If you have seen the pics in this post, you will notice I have done the opposite. I scooped the cheesecake filling first then the raspberry jam second. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. It was an oversight on my part that I didn’t realize until I baked the cookies. Scooping the raspberry jam last will increase the chance of jam leaks since the jam will loosen as it heats up in the oven while baking. Please, scoop the jam first then follow with the cheesecake filling. The cream cheese will act as a stronger ‘barrier’ to prevent jam leaks.**
After the fillings are added I pinch the dough closed over the fillings making sure to not squeeze any of the fillings out. I will used a small amount of additional dough tapped on top of the pinched closed dough if the fillings have managed to leak out. This will patch up the dough ‘leak.’
I release the dough from the scoop onto a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat this process with the remaining dough.
I let the dough chill for at least an hour in the fridge, the longer the better. The dough can age in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. Dough can also be frozen in a sealed bag for up to 3 months prior to baking. If baking from frozen, add 2-3 minutes to the total bake time.
I bake the dough 4-6 at a time on a parchment lined baking sheet for 12-14 minutes. The edges will look golden brown, and the tops will look dry to the touch and have a golden color as well.
I allow the dough to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
After the cookies are cooled, I decided to add a very simple and elegant decoration to the tops. I melted a ¼ cup of white chocolate in the microwave until it was melted. This took two 30 seconds intervals in the microwave.
I placed the melted chocolate in a small sandwich bag then snipped of the tip of the bag. Using large zig zag motions, I drizzled thin spaced-out lines on the tops of the cookies.
I added edible pearl candies to the tops of the melted white chocolate zigzags, also spacing them out on each alternating white chocolate line. This was simple and didn’t add too much sweetness to an already very rich cookie, plus it was simple!
These cookies are best enjoyed the day of or a day after. Because of the cream cheese filling it is best to refrigerate any cookies after a day. They can be warmed up using an air fryer or in the oven at 350*F for 3-4 minutes.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend spent with family and those you love. Merry Christmas my cookie lovelies!
If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram and Facebook. New posts every Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!
Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter unsalted, room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tspn vanilla extract
- 1 tspn almond extract
- ½ tspn baking powder
- ½ tspn baking soda
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tspn salt
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 package graham crackers roughly chopped.
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup raspberry jam I used Bonne Maman raspberry preserves.
- ⅓ cup white chocolate melted. Optional for decorating cookies.
- sprinkles or edible glitter optional for decorating.
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature.
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tspn vanilla bean paste I used McCormick brand.
Instructions
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Filling
- To make the filing combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla bean paste in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Set aside while making the cookie dough.
Cookie
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and creamy on medium high speed. This will take around 5 minutes.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts and mix to combine eggs thoroughly.
- Sift the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cake flour, and cornstarch until a soft dough forms.
- With the mixer on low add the white chocolate chips and chopped graham crackers.
- Using a 4-ounce cookie scoop, scoop out a portion of dough.
- Create a well in the center of the scoop while the cookie dough is still inside the bowl of the scoop.
- Layer a half teaspoon of jam followed by a half teaspoon of vanilla bean cheesecake filling in the center of the well. DO NOT OVERFILL. It will be very hard to pinch closed if the well is filled to the top. Fill the well 3/4 of the way full with fillings.
- Pinch the dough closed on top of the fillings.
- Release scoop of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Allow dough to chill in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 2 days in the fridge.
- Bake 4-6 cookies at a time at 375*F for 12-14 minutes. The edges will be brown and the tops will be golden.
- Cool on a wire rack for 20-25 minutes.
- Optional: drizzle cooled cookies with melted white chocolate and sprinkles or edible glitter for a festive decoration.
- Enjoy!
