It isn’t fair to the other Sugar Rush goodies to say I’ve saved the best for last. So I won’t say it.
But I will say that 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
Printable Version
Printable Version with Picture
*Makes about 2 dozen cookies
INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 cans (20-ounce) cherry pie filling
DIRECTIONS:
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.
Recipe Source: adapted from Cook’s Country
{ 61 comments… read them below or add one }
I have to tell you that you pulling out the stops didn’t go unnoticed. Nice work over these last 12 days. So many good ideas and you really went past the typical chocolate chip cookie.
Now relax and take a breather!
I’ve never heard of such a great cookie idea!! I think this sounds like a show stopper. Can’t wait to make these
Where do you come up with all these delicious recipes?! Guess I am going to have to add these ingredients to my shopping list this week.
Thank you for your gift of 12 wonderful recipes – appreciate the time and effort you have made. Your web site has become one of my favorite to “go to”. Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas filled with sweet memories and treats.
I’ve been drooling over these in the magazine and now I’m drooling over them on your blog. I’m thinking I really need to make these now.
O-M-G! Those look so good!!! I want them!!!!
I guess I’ll have to make some myself.
Wow. Wow. Wow. You have such a wondeful job these past 12 days. Thank you. I can tell you put a lot of work into all of these recipes. Now my only problem is I can’t decide what dessert to make for a church party on Tuesday night. I think it is a toss up between these cookies and the chocolate gingerbread cake. I know which ever one I choose it will be fantastic. Thanks again! -Liz K.
These sound amazing and the cherries make them look pretty festive as well! Thanks for the recipes over the last several days! I’ve got way too many Christmas treats to make now
Wow. These look wonderful! I’m going to give them a try this week. I have had a lot of people try your banana bread I posted…they loved it as much as I did. Thanks for all of your hard work! You deserve a break! Merry Christmas!
I have never heard of these before but they sound delicious! I have go to try this. I love cherries with anything!
I’ve really enjoyed your blog since I found it recently, especially the last 12 days:) Thank you for putting that together! I’ve already bought what I need to make a few of them. Great work!
so pretty! this reminds me a little bit of the “cherries in the snow” dessert that i know and love. very nice work, melanie!
My husband loves cherry cheescake, so I will definitely have to make these for him… maybe for his bday coming up this week.
The only problem is, I hate cherries! Any suggestions of a different topping I could put on some of them for me?
canuck-grad – actually, any topping that would work on a cheesecake woudl be good here, I think…raspberries or blueberries would be wonderful!
I made these today for the ladies I visit teach, and they turned out amazing! I was worried that I wouldn’t have any left for the poor ladies after my husband discovered what I was doing in the kitchen. He raved and raved over them after he sneaked two cookies. Made me give him a plateful to take to work to “show off” today. Wow. There’s not one single cookie left, and it’s been 6 hours. You’re the best. I love coming to your blog! Made your Ultimate Beef Stroganoff last night, too. Husband couldn’t get enough of it and took all the leftovers to work today! You’re my inspiration!
Thanks again so much, and have a wonderful Christmas!!
Thank you! We just made some, although had to make some changed because of what we had on hand. Here’s what we did: we rolled them in ginger snap crumbs and put 3 frozen blueberries for the filling. Also, I added the zest of a lemon to the dough to complement the flavors. Not so Christmas-y as the red cherries, but still yummy! Thanks again!
Heather and Devin – that makes me laugh that your husband almost proved the ruin of your visiting teaching treats. Sounds familiar in my world/kitchen, too. I’m so glad you liked this recipe and the beef stroganoff! Thanks for letting me know. Your comment really made my day, thank you.
Susan – wow, your adaptations to the cookies sound delicious! I may have to try it that way…I love the idea of ginger snap crumbs and blueberries and lemon zest. Awesome. Thanks for sharing!
I just made this recipe last night it is very tasty. If you like cherries I just found a free cherry recipe book from Traverse Bay farms. It even has cherry juice recipes too.
Thanks for posting these! I made them today with strawberry filling instead of cherry. They were soo good! I had to post about them on the food blog that my friends and I have. Thanks again!
Another recipe that did not disappoint… I used cherry and raspberry filling … I am hitting the gym for sure after the quantities I consumed. Thanks!!
Forget cheese balls for the neighbors this year! They are gonna get some of these!! That is… if I feel like sharing!
I made these last night. I think I didn’t make mine big enough because I couldn’t get three cherries in. They are so good even with just the two cherries.
Also, since my husband isn’t a huge fan of cherries, I used strawberry freezer jam in some.
About how many cookies does this recipe make?
HK – I’m glad these were delicious with the strawberry filling! Thanks for letting me know.
Amanda – another success story with strawberry in the middle! I’m glad you liked these…thanks for letting me know.
anissa – I’m loving how so many are adapting the filling – raspberry sounds equally delicious. Run some calories off for me, too, while you are at it!
Deanne – it depends on how big you make the ball but when I made them I got around 24 cookies.
I haven’t been checking blogs for awhile so when I looked at yours today I got to see all the Sugar Rush posts together. And WOW! EVERYthing looks so delicious – but these are my favorite!
Hi Melanie! I just got done making these cookies. Oh my, they are delicious! The cookie is soft and tender. The flavors are so good. I will make this again soon! Thank you!
Melanie,
I am making these right now and I am not sure what I did wrong but the batter is very very soft, even after I refrigerated it for over an hour. When I baked them they spread out and don’t look very nice at all. Even after letting them cool, they are so soft I can hardly pick them up without breaking.
I know I added the amount of flour called for, but do you think I could have mixed it too much? I am really baffled right now. I have made many recipes from your site and they all come out great!
I guess I am hoping you have made these enough times that you might have an idea what could have gone wrong. The one saving grace is that they still taste great.
Thanks for your help!
Jennifer – thanks for commenting about this recipe. I’m really glad that you liked the cookies!
Brandy – I’m sorry these cookies didn’t work out like you hoped! That’s a huge bummer. I’m not sure what could have happened – maybe for whatever reason the dough needed to be chilled for longer than an hour to reach a firmer consistency. That would be my main guess. Was the butter that you used overly soft or at room temperature? Sometimes overly soft/melted butter can make a cookie dough too soft. I hope if you try them again they work out!
Melanie,
I think the butter issue is what went wrong! Thanks for mentioning that. My husband did love the taste so I will for sure try them again.
One other question, do you refrigerate leftovers? If you do, how do you keep the graham cracker from getting soggy?
Thanks for all your help, I know these have huge potential and I am hoping to submit them for our cookie contest next Christmas!
Merry Christmas!!
Brandy – I didn’t have leftovers so I didn’t have to worry about refrigeration but yes, I probably would refrigerate them well covered and hopefully that would help the graham crackers stay crisp…although they probably will soften up a bit.
Merry Christmas!
I made these cookies for a baby shower this last weekend. They turned out beautiful and tasted great. A bunch of the ladies want the recipe, so be prepared for more visitors to your blog. What a pretty cookie for Valentine’s Day, thanks again!
Heidi – I hadn’t had that thought, but I bet these would be lovely cookies for a baby shower! Thanks for the referrals – I’m so glad the cookies were a hit!
I just made these for a Valentine’s Day get together with some girlfriends tomorrow. Wow, they are fantastic. I’ve eaten 3 already…oops!
Jessica – well, you had to try them out to see if they tasted ok, right? I think the three you consumed was your payment for making them! Glad they were a hit!
so so good. Thanks for sharing!
Anonymous – glad you liked these cookies!
Mel,
Made these for the (zillionth) time for the new sis-in-law’s bridal shower last weekend and of course they were a HUGE hit. I wanted to do the cherry, but also another flavor, and I found plum pie filling at the store. Oh my! They were divine!
Joey – wow, the plum filling sounds divine! I’ve never even seen it but I love that variation.
I love your blog! Everything I have made from here so far has been AMAZING! Thank you! Have you tried this cookie recipe with raspberry filling yet? I prefer raspberries over cherries and wondered if it would work?
Thanks, Julie! I haven’t made these with raspberries but I believe someone else commented that they had used raspberries and it worked great. I think they would be delicious with any fruit type filling – I’m trying them this week with blueberries. I’d say go ahead and use the raspberries – I bet the tart sweetness will be delicious.
A-MAZ-ING. Love these cookies!!!
YUM! I’m making these for Thanksgiving, I know they’ll be a big hit!
These are a great cookie to make with the dimple in it BLANK! Provide small bowls with multiple toppings and guests can choose their own toppings! Chocolate chips, cherries, strawberries, lots of YUM!
I made these for Thanksgiving & they were a huge hit! Creative idea, not too sweet. It’s already on the request list for Christmas…
I’m going to add this blog post to our newsletter. I own a cherry products store in Traverse City, Michigan, the cherry capital of the world. We have a to-die-for Cherry Pie Filling. I can’t wait to try these!
I made these for a Christmas party and they were fantastic. They were A LOT of work, but worth it. However, I followed the directions exactly, and my dough ended up making 45 cookies! And some of them were HUGE!
Looking forward to making these this year – can you tell me if these can be frozen?
Bridget – I’m not sure since I’ve never frozen them. Sorry! It’s worth a try but I can’t vouch for how they will defrost.
Another winner Mel. I made my own blueberry jam to fill these and I added a tiny bit of lemon zest to the dough, then I drizzled white chocolate over them to make them pretty
they were delicious. Using this dough as a base, you can create so many delicious cookies, I’m doing lemon filling next 
. Also, for some reason, my batch made almost 4 dozen! I don’t think mine were very much smaller? Oh well, the more the merrier!
Do you store them in a ziplock? refrigerator? air tight container? These cookies are amazing! My family loves them!
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!
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???
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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