Cherry Cheesecake Cookies
These cherry cheesecake cookies are absolutely phenomenal. Basically, the easy description is cherry cheesecake in cookie form. Yum!
I just have to say, these cherry cheesecake cookies are absolutely phenomenal.
Basically, the easy description is cherry cheesecake in cookie form.
The sweet cream cheese dough is encased in a layer of crushed graham crackers and the center is filled with tart cherries. The combination is spectacular.
Talk about a crowd-pleaser, these cookies have been raved and raved and raved about everytime I have made them.
If you don’t have the time and energy to fuss with a cheesecake, these cookies are the answer!
Cherry Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups (497 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 packages (8-ounces each) (454 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 ¼ cups (283 g) butter (2 1/2 sticks), softened
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (100 g) graham cracker crumbs
- 2 cans (20-ounces each) cherry pie filling
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners. Place graham cracker crumbs in a shallow dish.
- Roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, then roll the balls in graham cracker crumbs. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using a tablespoon measure, make an indentation in the center of each ball. Place 3 cherries in the dimple.
- Bake until golden brown around the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool for five minutes on the sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serving: 1 Cookie, Calories: 306kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 52mg, Sodium: 282mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 14g
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Recipe Source: adapted from Cook’s Country
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this is America’s test kitchen recipe, please give credit where credit is due
Yes, I did give credit below the recipe (I got this recipe from Cook’s Country which is a subsidiary of America’s Test Kitchen).
Hi! These cookies look delicious and I want to make them for my daughter’s wedding. Can they be frozen for a couple of weeks?
Thank you for your quick response!
Linda
Hi Linda, the base of these cookies freeze ok, but I’d wait to add the cherries until after the cookies have thawed and you are ready to serve.
I’ll made this recipe and it turned out awesome.My boyfriend ate all of them and left me none.
Recipe shows 3/4 cup butter but in parenthesis it shows 2 1/2 sticks butter. That is 1 1/2 cups. Making these for a baby shower right now. Is it 3/4 cup butter it 1 1/2 cups butter?
Sorry about that – the recipe got skewed with an update, but it is 2 1/2 sticks butter (1 1/4 cups). I fixed the recipe.
Would plain maraschino cherries work in this recipe? I don’t know how important the sauce is from the cherry pie filling. Thank you!
The maraschino cherries have much thinner liquid so I think they’ll make the cookies soggy.
Yum! In Wisconsin tonight, we have tornado, thunderstorm and high wind warnings, so we are baking cookies to take our mind off of it. These were the perfect distraction and they were delicious. I did not have cherry pie filling, so I used blueberry and raspberry. I ended up with nearly 4 dozen cookies and used a little over 1 can of filling.
We all thought these would be good with lemon zest mixed in the cookie.
Do you need to refrigerate these after they are cool. Or just put them in airtight container?
Yes, I refrigerate these cookies if not serving them right away.
These were simple and delicious! Yum.
Salted or unsalted butter? Margarine or real butter?
I use salted butter in all my recipes calling for butter. 🙂
Hi Mel! Love your recipes! What brand of cherry filling do you recommend? I trust your opinion!
My favorite is the Trader Joe’s brand…but I know that’s not always the easiest brand to find.
Made these for Christmas, but was disappointed. The cookies had good texture and looked great, but the taste was just bland. Nothing about them stood out. Maybe a little bit more sugar or vanilla in the dough would help.
Hey Mel! So I was wondering would Ibe able to make the cookie dough in the evening, store it in the fridge overnight till the next evening (about 24 hours)? would they be any different regarding taste or texture? I’dfinish them and bake them that next night?
I think that would work just fine.
Hi Mel :), does the 2 cans mean two 10 oz cans of cherry pie filling (20 oz combined), or 2 cans 20 oz each of filling?
2 (20-ounce) cans of cherry pie filling, so 40 ounces total.
I made blueberry, rolled the cookie dough balls in crushed graham cracker crumbs, and drizzled with a cream cheese glaze. It was delicious!
These look so pretty…they’re in the ven right now and I am taking to friends’ tonight. I also cannot bear the thought of pie filling,,, so I’m just using frozen mixed berries. Didn’t see this last comment about sweetening the fruit until too late. The frozen berries make their own slurry but of course I’m short on time so the berries are still darn cold. Anyways,, I will let you know how they turn out… May not be sweet enough????
Cornstarch mixed with water, or flour and water, but for this recipe, use cornstarch or tapioca starch.
Oh Thank you for your help! I guess you can tell I’m new at this…
Just get cherries, mix with sweetener of choice, cook with a little liquid, or none at all if using frozen cherries, and thicken with a slurry. Done.
Thank you! Lien and Mel….but….what is a slurry?
Hi Cat – a good rule of thumb for a cornstarch slurry is 1 part cornstarch to 2 parts cold water/liquid. Cornstarch is activated to thicken when it is dissolved in a cool liquid and then heated to a simmer.
Is there a way to make these cookies without using the disgusting cans of fruit?
Cat – it’s been several years since I’ve made these cookies (they were posted a long time ago), but I agree with Lien’s comment – good, simple instructions on making your own cherry filling.
Is there a way to make these with REAL cherries? The crap that comes in those cans is really disgusting, loaded with sugar and very tasteless as far as fruit goes. I’d like to serve GOOD cookies….any suggestions? Thank you.
Love your recipes but when I click print they will not print out. Bummer
Hi Nancy – Unfortunately if you are using Internet Explorer, the print function isn’t working right now. I am working to get it fixed but in the meantime, I am encouraging those who are having issues to switch to a different browser like Chrome, Safari or Firefox. Internet Explorer has issues with many website functions and one of those other browsers will be much better (not just for the print function). If you don’t want to switch browsers, know that I am working on it. I’m sorry for any inconvenience!
I made these smaller like a thumbprint cookie with only one cherry. It was one of the many cookies I made for a wedding. They were gone within minutes! This is a keeper!!
I have small heart shaped cut outs for making fondant decorations, I’m thinking about putting the rolled dough in the center and when I make the indentation it will also take the shape of the heart… just add the cherries (or whatever fruit you choose) to the center of the heart <3
That looks great
I have extra dough after making some cookies, do you think I could keep it in the fridge for a week or should I freeze the dough?
Tracy – I’m not completely sure, but if it is a full week, I’d probably freeze it. That seems like the longer end (2 or so days and I think the fridge would be fine).
These were awesome! I couldn’t fit 3 cherries on all my cookies, and I was worried about some of the cherry filling dripping along the sides, but they firmed up so well during baking.
They were SUCH a hit! A perfect treat for those that like a little sweet with a little tart!
Hi Carolyn – yes, that is how the cherries look (at least when I make them) after they are baked. Good luck!
I just have a quick question – do the cherries actually get baked or put on afterwards? The cherries in the picture look fresh out of the can, so I just want to be sure before I make these lovelies. On another note – I LOVE your website & have used several recipes that have turned out great!! Keep up the great work!
packaging suggestions anyone?…i’m so excited to mkae these to give away for christmas…how did you guys package them up?
Made these last night and I am hooked. Great flavor and so pretty. I will be adding these to my Christmas cookie list. To whomever said theirs were too soft, do not over mix these. You almost just want to stir last of flour in. They came out perfect.
I made these last night and they tasted so bland. 🙁 Could barely taste the cream cheese and without the cherry topping I wouldn’t want to eat them at all!
These are fabulous. I made them for a cookie exchange, and they were a huge hit. This cookie exchange was in its 6th year this past December, and there are some serious cookie bakers. Displays and recipes are insanely amazing. I was going to be a judge this year because I’d won a prize the previous four years, so I wanted to make something fun. It turned out to be a favorite. Everyone loved them, and even friends who don’t eat cherry pie filling liked the cherries. I found that they freeze well, too. Thanks so much for this yummy cookie.
Yum! This looks divine and perfect for a dinner party. I think I will try this with blackberry pie filling, my favorite! The lemon zest suggestion would probably go well with it.
Loni – the 3 1/2 cups flour is correct. I’ve made these cookies a dozen times and I know that amount is correct. Perhaps I just make my cookies overly large since it sounds like many of you are getting more co0kies out of the batch. Not a bad thing! Just all depends on the size of the cookie.
Micki – if you are having trouble getting three cherries on top, your cookies might be on the smaller side but that’s ok! These cookie are delicious no matter how big they are.
Sandra – sorry you hate the taste. To each his own, I guess, because I love the flavor of the cheesecake dough and tart cherries.
These cookies are BEAUTIFUL! Everyone rants about how they are going to try them not how they taste. PERFECT appearance ….TERRIBLE taste. Yup.. terrible flavor.
There’s no way this recipe makes just 24 cookies! I’ve made 3 dozen so far and I’m only about halfway through the dough. Maybe I’m making them too small. I can’t seem to get 3 cherries on them. That’s ok. My hubby keeps sneaking them, so smaller cookies mean he can sneak and I still have enough! found the recipe on pinterest 🙂
I made these tonight for a family party and I believe there is too much flour??? I made 24 cookies and had a bunch of dough left. They were pretty flavorless, doughwise, but I dumped on more cherries and some whipped cream. I just wonder about 3.5 cups of flour….seems like too much???
Tawny – I store mine in a long, flat tupperware-type container with a lid but any type of airtight container or bag would work fine. I keep them in the refrigerator if they are going to last longer than 24 hours. Hope that helps!
Do you store them in a ziplock? refrigerator? air tight container? These cookies are amazing! My family loves them!