Why This Recipe
Who doesn’t love the warm, comforting flavors of pumpkin spice? Imagine that dreamy combination packed into soft, chewy cookies with a surprise cheesecake center. Yeah, that’s right! These cookies are like a hug from your oven. Perfect for fall or, let’s be real, any time you need a taste of cozy comfort.
These cookies aren’t just delicious; they’re super easy to make. Plus, they’ll make your kitchen smell like a pumpkin patch exploded with spice! Trust me, you’ll want to whip these up as soon as possible.
How to Make Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cheesecake Center
Get ready to impress your friends (or just yourself) with these delightful treats. Here’s a simple breakdown of how to bring these cookies to life:
- Gather your ingredients: It’s always easier to get your stuff together first.
- Mix the magic: Combine those luscious pumpkin flavors with your dry ingredients.
- Bake like a pro: Form the cookies on a baking sheet and watch them become golden.
- Cool & fill: After they cool, stuff them with that dreamy cheesecake filling. Easy peasy!
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to create these delicious Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cheesecake Center:
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Channel your inner baker and follow these steps:
- Preheat that oven to 350°F (175°C). While it’s heating up, grab a large bowl and cream together the softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in the pumpkin puree and egg until well combined. Maybe do a little dance while you mix? 🎶
- In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt. Gradually add this to your pumpkin mixture until just combined. Don’t overmix – you want to keep that fluffiness!
- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Your nose will tell you when it’s close!
- Let those cookies cool completely on a wire rack. Patience is a virtue, my friend!
- For the cream cheese filling, beat together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Resist the urge to eat it all right now.
- Once your cookies are cool, fill the centers with the cheesecake mixture using a piping bag or just a spoon. No judgment here!
- Chill the filled cookies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving. This step is crucial; you want everything to blend beautifully!
How to Serve Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cheesecake Center
Serving these cookies can feel like a special occasion, even if you just made them for yourself! You can serve them on a cute platter, alongside a hot cup of apple cider or a pumpkin spice latte. Want to take it up a notch? Dust a little extra powdered sugar on top right before serving. A little fancy never hurt anyone! 😉
How to Store Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cheesecake Center
If you somehow have any cookies left (seriously, how?!) you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll stay fresh for about 3-5 days. Just make sure not to stack them too high; nobody wants a cheesecake mush pile.
Tips to Make Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cheesecake Center
- Room temperature ingredients: Make sure your butter and cream cheese are softened. It really makes a difference in texture.
- Don’t overbake: For those super soft cookies, you want to take them out when the edges look golden but the centers are still soft.
- Experiment with spices: If you’re feeling adventurous, you can mix in other spices like nutmeg or cinnamon for extra warmth.
Variation
Feeling creative? You could add chocolate chips or walnuts to the cookie dough for a twist! Just imagine biting into a soft cookie and hitting a delightful chocolate nugget. Yum!
FAQs
1. Can I use canned pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin puree?
Nope! You want pure pumpkin puree for this recipe. The spiced pie filling will throw off the flavor.
2. How do I know when the cookies are done baking?
Check for lightly golden edges but soft centers. They’ll firm up as they cool, so don’t be fooled!
3. Can I freeze these cookies?
Absolutely! Bake, cool, and then freeze. Just remember to wrap them well so they don’t get freezer burn. Enjoy them later! ❄️
Now, go make those Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cheesecake Center! You know you want to! 🍪🎃
Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cheesecake Center
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in the pumpkin puree and egg until well combined.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture until just combined.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
- Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack.
- In a bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Once your cookies are cool, fill the centers with the cheesecake mixture using a piping bag or a spoon.
- Chill the filled cookies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving.