Ginger Cheesecake Cookies
Updated Oct. 16, 2025
- Total Time
- About 2 hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- About 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 6ounces/170 grams cream cheese, chilled
- ½ cup/62 grams powdered sugar
- 1large egg yolk
- 2teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2½ cups/320 grams all-purpose flour
- 1tablespoon ground ginger
- 2teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1teaspoon baking soda
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 10tablespoons/141 grams salted butter, at room temperature
- 1cup/200 grams granulated sugar
- 1large egg
- ½cup/62 grams crystallized ginger, finely chopped
- ⅓cup/113 milliliters unsulphured molasses
- 2tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (no need to peel)
- White sanding sugar or granulated sugar, for rolling (optional)
For the Filling
For the Dough
Nutritional analysis per serving (18 servings)
261 calories; 10 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 25 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 162 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the filling: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth. Transfer mixture to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag.
- Step 2
Set a sheet of parchment on a rimmed baking sheet. Snip off a ¼-inch opening from the bottom corner of the bag. Pipe equal-size dollops of the filling — you should have at least 18 — onto the prepared sheet. Using a spoon, smooth down any sharp edges. Freeze until completely firm, at least 1 hour. Line 2 more rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
- Step 3
Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, pepper and salt. In a second large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in egg, crystallized ginger, molasses and fresh ginger, scraping the sides as you go. With the mixer on low, beat in the flour mixture until well combined.
- Step 4
Scoop dough into 2-inch/45-gram balls. (To portion the dough without a cookie scoop, form it into a rectangle, then use a sharp knife to cut the block into 18 equal pieces.) Working with one at a time, flatten a dough ball in the palm of your hand, then add a piece of frozen filling to the center. (Keep the rest of the filling in the freezer as you work.) Bring the dough up and around the filling, encasing it completely. Roll the dough ball between your hands to form it into a smooth sphere. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. If the dough feels very soft, chill it for about 15 minutes.
- Step 5
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll each chilled ball in sanding sugar to coat, if you like, then place on the prepared sheets, at least 3 inches apart (they will spread). Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the center of each cookie is just set, 15 to 17 minutes. Repeat with any remaining cookies. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies will keep, stored in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
Private Notes
Comments
A simple alternative to dollop thing the cream cheese would be to put them in a Ziploc baggie and let them freeze into a log, then cut the log into slices similar to how you cut a roll of cookie dough. Just portion it so that your log is going to freeze in a similar diameter to the dollop, you may need to do more than one bag.
Dear lord, you’ve finally added the metric system to the recipes!
These cookies are delicious. Lovely, strong ginger taste that counterbalances the sweetness of the filling. Filling them was tedious, and it would have been helpful to have the weight of the filling. I made a test cookie and went with 8 grams. After my first batch went into the oven, I put the remaining dough and filling in a baking dish and made bars. Equally delicious! The cookies are large, and you could downsize them by half for a holiday cookie plate. The gingerbread dough is a winner!
Can I put some lemon zest or fresh lemon juice in the cream cheese filling
Quite a special and delicious cookie! With all the ginger, it is a nice spicy cookie with a creamy, mildly tart filling counterpoint. I made exactly to recipe using a scale for weight. I didn’t measure, but wasn’t shy with the cracked black pepper. It is time-consuming to prepare, so I think I’ll try a bar cookie next time and cut them while warm. When you freeze the cream cheese, make sure it is a dollop not a disc. I also refrigerated the dough for a short bit before molding around the filling and still needed to dampen my fingers a few times to prevent sticking. I worried that the cream cheese would leak through if the cookie wasn’t molded perfectly, but had no problems with that. I got twenty 45 gm cookies out of this batch, and they are good sized cookies. I rolled in Demerara sugar and they came out beautifully with a crackled top.
Now look, I’ve made cookies before and nothing is more disappointing than handing them out and being able to tell absolutely everyone hated them. But these cookies… Made everyone obsessed!! I should have made triple the amount! I’m not an avid baker, quite honestly i’m pretty bad at it. My cookies typically turn out weird and one ever asks for seconds. But everyone LOVED LOVED LOVED these. They’re an absolute staple, easy (but certainly not quick.) I omitted the fresh ginger, I felt they had enough with ground and crystallized. The average person is used to store bought gingerbread cookies which are typically about medium on ginger taste. I substituted fresh with a dash more ground. I used purple decorating sugar sprinkles because they’re easier to get at the store and added this beautiful color to them. For pepper I did about 2/3 cracks along with sea salt kosher salt instead of standard. I figured since they are gingerbread cookies that sea salt taste wouldn’t override anything.