Twin Cities Live - Cheesecake Cookie

Day #2 of Twin Cities Live's - 12 Days of Cookies Segment has the perfect recipe for those of you who LOVE cheesecake! Elizabeth stopped by the home of Sarah Kieffer (author of the Vanilla Bean Blog) to learn how to make her delicious Cheesecake Cookies! She has chosen to pair them with our Praline Pecan ice cream. YUM!

Click here to see the full video and recipe.

Cheesecake Cookies

1 ¼ cup [125g] graham cracker crumbs
1 cup [142g] all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup [100g] granulated sugar
1 egg

Cream cheese filling

6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup [65g] granulated sugar
Pinch salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter for one minute until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the graham cracker mixture and mix until combined.

Make the cream cheese filling: in the bowl of a (clean) stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and salt and beat again until creamy and perfectly smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough into 1 oz balls, and use your thumb or a teaspoon and indent each dough ball, about ½ inch. Scoop a heaping teaspoon of the cream cheese into the center of each cookie.

Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes, until light golden brown and fragrant. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool. Serve slightly warm or cooled.