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If you’ve ever wished you could eat cheesecake with your hands, these cheesecake cookies are the answer to your dessert dreams! Picture soft, buttery cookies with just the right touch of vanilla, cradling a rich and creamy cheesecake filling that’s impossible to resist. They’re like mini handheld cheesecakes—perfect for parties, sharing (or not), and quick to make when a dessert craving strikes. With simple ingredients and big flavor, these cheesecake thumbprint cookies prove that sometimes the best things come in bite-sized packages.

Close-up of cheesecake thumbprint cookies topped and sprinkled with crumbs. These light brown delights are displayed in a tempting pile, perfect for any dessert lover.

Indulge your sweet tooth with these decadent cheesecake thumbprint cookies. They’re soft and sweet with a creamy filling and one is never enough.

You might also enjoy pineapple upside down cheesecake, this unusual Japanese cheesecake, or these irresistible strawberry cheesecake cookies.

A stack of Cheesecake Cookies with creamy filling, one split in half revealing the luscious interior texture.

Why You’ll Love It

Easy to make: This is about as simple as cookie recipes get. You simply combine the cookie ingredients and shape it into cookie dough balls. While they’re in the oven you whisk the filling together and then simply fill the cookies – that’s it!
A quick recipe: Craving something sweet but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen? These cream cheese cheesecake cookies can be ready to serve in under half an hour.
So delicious: The vanilla flavor is simple but exquisite. The cookies taste so sweet and good and their soft texture and creamy filling makes them almost too tasty!

A close-up of Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies, topped with creamy white frosting and crumbled pieces, stacked in front of a glass of milk.

A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Salted butter: Make sure it’s at room temperature for easier mixing.
Sugar: Brown sugar goes into the cookies for a rich molasses flavor while powdered sugar is to achieve a non-grainy cheesecake filling.
Baking powder: For a light and fluffy texture.
Vanilla extract: Use 100% pure vanilla extract for the best result.
Cream cheese: I recommend full-fat cream cheese, as it’s richer-tasting. I used the block style cream cheese.

A delightful spread of baking ingredients on a marble surface sets the stage for making Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies: egg, salt, butter, vanilla extract, cream cheese, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and flour.

How to Make Cheesecake Thumbprints

For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.

Prepare the cookie dough: Cream the butter with the brown sugar in a medium bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Add the egg and vanilla and whisk some more. Add the flour and baking powder and then whisk until the dry ingredients are well combined with the wet ones.
Shape and bake the cookies: Divide the dough into 12 equal-sized dough balls and flatten them into thick disks. Bake the cookies on prepared baking sheets. Let the cookies cool completely.
Make the cheesecake filling: Whisk the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to make the cheesecake filling.
Add the filling to the cookies: Use a small dish or glass (or a large thumb!) to make an indentation in each cookie and then pipe in the cheesecake filling. Finish with a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs.

Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies with white icing and crumb topping arranged in rows on a white surface.

Substitutions and Variations

Gluten-free option: If you want a gluten-free version, use gluten-free flour.
A different flavor: You can swap the vanilla extract for any other extract you like, perhaps hazelnut, coconut, almond, or orange.
Salted butter: Sub unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt.
Light brown sugar: You can use dark brown sugar for a richer molasses flavor or white sugar for a lighter flavor. Also feel free to adjust the amount of sugar used.
Add strawberries: If you want to make strawberry cream cheese cookies or strawberry cheesecake cookies, add some strawberry jam or jelly to the filling and/or spoon some on top of the cheesecake filling. You can try this with other flavors of jam too – sweet raspberry jam would be good as well.

Close-up of Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies topped withcrumbly topping. These light brown delights appear freshly baked, inviting your taste buds to a creamy cheesecake-inspired treat.

Serving Suggestions

Appetizers: Start your meal with ground turkey vegetable soup or an antipasto salad.
Main dishes:
Enjoy lemon rosemary chicken thighs or pistachio crusted salmon with crispy smashed potato salad.
Desserts:
Bring out these gorgeous cheesecake cookies for dessert.

Close-up of cheesecake thumbprint cookies topped with cream cheese and sprinkled crumbs.

How to Store Cheesecake Cookies

Store: Store your cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze: You can freeze these in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Thaw:
 Defrost them it in the refrigerator overnight.

Close-up of beige cheesecake thumbprint cookies topped with white cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with crumbs, arranged on a white surface.

Top Tips

Softened dairy products: Make sure you use room temperature butter and cream cheese. Cold dairy products are going to be much harder to work with and might clump when mixed with the powdered sugar.
Use parchment paper: A sheet of parchment paper on the cookie sheet stops the cookies from sticking to the metal.
No piping bag? If you don’t have a piping bag then you can use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off or just use a spoon to fill each cookie with the cheesecake mixture.

A baking tray with eight cheesecake thumbprint cookies topped with white frosting and crumbs. A spatula and crumbs are on the surface beside the tray.
What type of sugar tastes best in cheesecake cookies?

Using brown sugar instead of a combination of brown and white granulated sugar gives these cookies a chewier texture. The molasses in the brown sugar adds a little extra moisture to the cookies. However, it’s completely up to you what kind of sugar to use, as any kind will make them sweet.

How many cookies will my baking sheet hold?

If you are using a 9 x 13-inch cookie sheet, you can bake up to 8 cookies on there. You need to account for how much the cookie will spread while baking and how much they will spread when you create an indent in the middle, so it’s best to use a pair of baking sheets or cookie sheets.

A stack of cheesecake thumbprint cookies with cream filling, some broken to reveal their luscious interior, rests invitingly on a light background.

Best Cheesecake Cookies Recipe

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Cheesecake Cookies

Indulge your sweet tooth with these decadent cheesecake cookies. They’re soft and sweet with a creamy filling and so good that one is never enough.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 27 minutes
Servings: 12 cookies

Equipment

Ingredients 

For the Cookies:

For the Cheesecake Filling:

For the Optional Topping:

  • graham crumbs

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Make the Cookies:

  • Use an electric hand mixer to cream the softened butter together with the brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix at a medium speed until the sugar is completely dissolved.
  • Keep your hand mixer on a medium speed and add in the egg and vanilla.
  • Whisk the mixture for a few more minutes. Your cookie dough should become lighter in color and have a fluffy consistency.
  • Add the flour and baking powder. Reduce the speed of your mixer and gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  • Divide the cookie dough into 12 evenly sized balls and flatten them slightly into disks.
  • Space them 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

Make the Cheesecake Filling:

  • While your cookies are baking, use the hand mixer to whisk the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.
  • Remove your cookies from the oven and use a small dish or glass to press into the center of each cookie, creating a small indentation.

Fill the Cookies:

  • Transfer your cheesecake mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large open tip and fill the center of each cookie.
  • Sprinkle graham crumbs on the top of each cookie to finish them off.

Notes

Room temperature dairy: Make sure you use room temperature butter and cream cheese. Cold dairy products are going to be much harder to work with and might clump when mixed with the powdered sugar.
Use parchment paper: A sheet of parchment paper on the cookie sheet stops the cookies from sticking to the metal.
No piping bag? If you don’t have a piping bag then you can use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off or just use a spoon to fill each cookie with the cheesecake mixture.

Nutrition

Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 74mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 510IU | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

These soft, tender cookies have a delicious vanilla cream cheese filling and you can make and bake them in as little as half an hour, or even less. You’ll find the cookie dough easy to prepare and the cookies almost too easy to eat! Their soft texture, sweet flavor and creamy cheesecake filling makes them irresistible.

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Bella Bucchiotti

Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.

 

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