Stuffed Cream Cheese Cookies — Big, soft, buttery cookies with sweet and tangy cream cheese in the middle!! Perfect for cookie exchanges or whenever a cream cheese hankering hits!
Table of Contents
Easy Cream Cheese Cookies
I’ve made cream cheese cookies, twice. But not like these. If you like tangy cream cheese frosting and soft buttery cookies, you’re going to be in heaven.
The cream cheese stays slightly soft, gooey, and tastes much more like cream cheese frosting than it does like cheesecake because there’s no egg. There’s also no slightly dry, crumbly texture that cheesecake can have.
In addition to flour, I also used graham cracker crumbs in the cookie dough. Graham crackers and cream cheese just go hand in hand. The crumbs add another subtle layer of flavor and provide a tiny bit of texture.
I loved the cookies. The contrast of the tangy cream cheese frosting with the uber-soft caramely dough is ridiculously good. I hoarded these.
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Cookies
To make these cream cheese-filled cookies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cream cheese
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Cream Cheese Cookies
The filled cream cheese cookies come together much like your average cookie recipe. Let’s review the basic recipe steps:
- For the cookie dough, Cream together the wet ingredients, then mix in the dry.
- Form the cookie dough into balls, then hollow out the center of each ball as if you were making thumbprint cookies.
- To make the cream cheese filling, cream together the sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
- Distribute the filling among the cookies, then chill for at least 2 hours before baking.
- Once the dough’s had time to chill, bake until the edges have set and the cream cheese is just set.
- The cookies need to cool for 15 minutes before they can be eaten!
A Note About the Batch Size
The cream cheese cookie recipe only makes nine cookies and each cookie is fairly large. While you could make the cookies smaller, by the ninth cookie you’ll be sick of smooshing the dough into thumbprint shapes and carefully adding the filling, so keep it easy on yourself and just make nine.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, lite or low-fat cream cheese will work so long as it’s still brick-style cream cheese.
Yes, cookies made with cream cheese can be frozen for up to 4 months (either the baked cookies or the raw cookie dough balls).
This cookie recipe features a cream cheese filling. Normally, when I use cream cheese IN the cookie dough, it acts as a partial butter replacement. It adds a richness and creaminess to the dough that’s amazing.
As a happy accident, I used a combo of light and dark brown sugar in this recipe. I was scraping the bottom of my light brown sugar canister for the last one-quarter cup and so I used some dark brown, too.
Best decision ever because the cream cheese cookies have a caramely, buttery, rich depth of flavor that’ll keep you coming back for more. Dark brown sugar has more moisture than light brown because it has more molasses, creating cookies are supremely soft, tender, and moist.
However, you can use just one type of brown sugar in these cookies and you’ll still get fantastic results!
Tips for Making Cream Cheese-Filled Cookies
When hollowing out the cookies for the filling, make sure not to go too deeply and punch through the bottom. Go just deep enough that each cookie will be able to hold 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling.
Make sure you use brick-style cream cheese for the filling and NOT the whipped kind in a tub.
You can purchase pre-made graham cracker crumbs or you can pulverize whole graham crackers to make them. If possible, use a food processor so the crumbs are very fine.
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Cream Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed (I used 1/4 cup of light and 1/4 cup dark)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 teaspoon cornstach
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 ounces brick-style cream cheese, softened (lite is okay)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Cookies:
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the butter, sugars (highly recommend using some dark brown sugar), egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, graham cracker crumbs, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form 9 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and using your fingers, hollow out the center of each ball as if you were making thumbprint cookies. In doing so, the cookies will naturally flatten. Make sure not to go too deeply and punch through the bottom but go deep enough that each cookie will be able to hold 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling.
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray and place in the freezer while you wash the mixing bowl and make the cream cheese filling.
- Cream Cheese Filling:
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the cream cheese, sugar, and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and creamed, about 4 minutes.
- Using a small spoon, equally distribute filling among dough mounds, smoothing the tops lightly with the back of the spoon or a spatula.
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 3 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 6 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for about 12 minutes, or until edges have set and cream cheese is just set; don’t overbake for soft cookies (bake a few minutes longer for firmer cookies). Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 15 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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After they’re baked and cooled down, can they be stacked up without the top cookies sticking to the cream cheese at the bottom?
I would say use a sheet of parchment in between them if you want to be EXTRA safe.
Hello Averie, the recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups flour, do I need to sift the flour?
No.
I love the cream cheese filling, these look incredible!
I made these in time to watch Scandal last night;lets just sat these cookies plus a cold glass of milk and Scandal = a perfect night. I’ve tried many recipes from this website and they’ve al turned out great!!!! Can’t wait to try more.
Glad all the recipes you’ve tried from my site have come out great! Thanks for trying these cookies and glad they hit the spot during tv time :)
I just made these and they were lovely! I love dark brown sugar so I made it all dark brown sugar. I noticed that mine stayed pretty much uniform in surface texture, whereas yours were more craggy which I love in cookies. Do you think it was because of that? I also baked them straight from the fridge.
Thanks for trying these and the crinkly/craggly factor…you know, that is a bit of an unknown to me why that happens in certain recipes more than others. It’s a function of the sugar type and amount, in relation to the flour, in relation to the leaveners, eggs, etc. Every single ingredient matters and it’s SUCH a delicate baking science balance. But I often do think about this phenomenon, in general. But I can’t really say what exactly to do or not do, to create it! I will say that some of mine were more crinkly than others, don’t ask me how that happened either! Glad you enjoyed them!
I love these! I’ve made cream cheese cookies before with it mixed in but I really need to try these with it concentrated in the middle.
I’ve done the cream cheese in the dough thing too but like you, hadn’t done anything like this. What was I waiting for :)
You’re killing me. These look delectable!
“If you like tangy cream cheese frosting and soft buttery cookies, you’re going to be in heaven.” That’s me!!!!
That’s me too :)
I basically believe there should be cream cheese in EVERY recipe, so yeah… gonna need to make these. :)
Amen to that!
Oh yum! I’m pretty sure I would gobble these up in a split-second!!
And thank you for pinning :)
These sound fantastic!!! I bet adding a little melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture could make them like chocolate cheescake thumbprint cookies…
Sounds like it could work!
CREAM CHEESE and cookies?! Really? Yum. I love the way you think ;)
Hi Averie! :) I’ve been a huge fan of your blog for about 2 years now, and have finally started up my own blog (thanks to the inspiration of incredibly talented bloggers like yourself! :) ) I love this recipe! After a long week at work, I could definitely indulge in some cream cheese cookies… good for the soul :)
As always, looking forward to your posts :)
Hope you had a lovely weekend!
Thanks for following my blog for a few years and for your support and congrats on your new blog! Best of luck in all your endeavors!
Love the addition of graham cracker crumbs. I also love when kitchen substitutions end up working better than the intended ingredient.
Isn’t that the truth. Love those happy accidents :)
Craving cookies right now!
Okay, I saw this yesterday and my phone wouldn’t let me comment, so I had to come back because OMG you are a genius Averie! What an amazing idea! Love them, pinned!
Commenting from phones is about the worst thing in the world…period! Thanks for pinning and these were so.good.omg. I hoarded these :)