Cheesecake-Stuffed Snickerdoodles

Friends I’ve landed most certainly on my favorite snickerdoodle recipe! These are fancy pants doods! We’re stuffing them with cheesecake and not making a single apology about it.  Essentially the very best sugar cookie is made even better with a surprise filling.

There are few things I love more than the thick cream cheese portion of store-bought coffee cake (or store-bought King Cakes during Mardi Gras!).  Where the dough meets the cream cheese – everything is soft, cheesy, and right with the world.  IYKYK. Cream cheese and pastry might actually be one of the reasons I became a baker in the first place. These cookies embody that gooey spirit, with a crisp, cinnamon spiced exterior.

Here’s how!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this snickerdoodle recipe:

•  unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.  If you’re curious, here’s why we use unsalted butter.

•  brown sugar and granulated sugar – 1 cup sugar total.

•  baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, and kosher salt. Cream of tartar is an important ingredient in snickerdoodles.  Cream of tartar is a dry acid and when combined with baking soda, we essentially have baking powder which works to keep these cookies soft and chewy.

•  vanilla or butterscotch instant pudding (!!) A bit of an odd ingredient for cookies but the pudding keeps the cookies soft, tender, and chewy- intensifying the taste and improving the texture of these cookies!

•  1 large egg for the cookie dough and 1 large egg yolk for the cheesecake filling. Here’s why we use large eggs in baking.

•  powdered sugar

•  vanilla extract

•  all-purpose flour (whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl first!)

•  cinnamon-sugar mixture in a small bowl for coating the cookie dough.

Let’s start by making the cheesecake filling for the center of our cookies:

Whisk together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, an egg yolk, a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla.  The mixture will be soft and stretchy.

The cream cheese filling needs to chill before it goes into the center of the cookies.  There are a few ways to do this. You can scoop teaspoon sized potions onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate them. (That’s what’s pictured above.) OR you can just refrigerate the entire bowl of filling and scoop it into the cookies after the entire mixture has chilled through.  We just don’t want any of the cheesecake filling to ooze out while we’re shaping the dough balls.

While the cheesecake filling chills, make the cookie dough for this snickerdoodle recipe.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, whip together softened butter, granulated, and brown sugar.  Cream until well combined and fluffy.  Beat in an egg and vanilla extract until thick and glossy.

Whisk together the dry ingredients (including that pudding!) and add all at once to the butter and sugar mixture.

Use a hand mixer to incorporate the wet and dry ingredients though I usually just reach for a rubber spatula to fold everything together.

The dough of this snickerdoodle recipe is a caramel colors, firm but soft. Let’s shape dough!

We’ll assemble the dough balls before we chill them.  Use a cookie scoop to spoon a tablespoon of dough into the palm of your hand and spread it into 1/4-inch thick dough disk.  Add a teaspoon of chilled cheesecake filling.  Portion another tablespoon of dough into a similar disk and place over the cheesecake filling, pinching the edges to seal.

Roll each filled cookie between your palms into a ball and place on a small parchment lined baking sheet to chill.

Can this snickerdoodle recipe be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen?

YES ABSOLUTELY!

• Snickerdoodle cookie dough can be refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for up to a month.  Thaw the dough before creating disks and filling the cookies.
• Cheesecake filling will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator though I don’t recommend freezing it.
• Chill the assembled cookie dough balls for at least an hour in the refrigerator, or overnight, before baking.  I don’t recommend freezing the assembled cookie dough balls.

Place the wire rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat the oven and roll dough balls in cinnamon sugar just before baking.

Just out of the oven, allow the cookies to rest on the baking pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to come to room temperature. Store these cookies in an airtight container (or freezer bag) and keep them chilled in the fridge if you have leftovers.

These thick and tender cookies are also equally delicious without the cheesecake center but… well, I think we should have cheesecake at every opportunity.

You might also like Cranberry Cream Cheese Danish Cookies. Add any jam you’d like if you’re outside of cranberry season!

These cookies are always in season.  They’re classic – but I especially love to share them at Christmas.

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Photos of this snickerdoodle recipe with my friend Jon Melendez.