Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

Picture this: a soft, chewy cookie, filled with velvety vanilla cheesecake with a maple, pumpkin flavor. Pumpkin and cheesecake may seem like an unlikely duo, but they complement each other incredibly well.

The earthiness of pumpkin blends perfectly with rich cheesecake. Add in a twist of maple and boom- fall in a cookie!

I’ve seen a few pumpkin cheesecake cookie recipes around but the first time I made it, I felt like it was missing something. Something that screamed “autumn”. What other way to bring more fall into a cookie than maple syrup?!

I try to find a spot to watch the leaves change every fall that’s outside of my wooded backyard. As a New Englander, I can tell you that there’s no place better to experience autumn than New Hampshire or Vermont! Not only that, but they are KNOWN for their maple syrup. My favorite is this brand of syrup from Vermont.

So let’s get back to it. These maple pumpkin cheesecake cookies are the type of cookie you eat with your coffee or apple cider (or boozy fall cocktail) as the air gets crisp and the leaves go orange. My favorite time of the year!

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 6 oz Cream Cheese – I use Philadelphia. It’s the best!
• 1/2 tbsp Maple Syrup – not the sugary processed stuff. Get pure, grade A maple syrup.
• 3 tbsp sugar – I used vanilla sugar for added flavor but regular will do. You can always just do regular sugar with a dash of vanilla extract.

For the cookies:

• ½ cup Pumpkin Puree – canned or fresh dried out (fresh holds a lot more water and we don’t want that). Libby’s is my favorite.
• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cup butter – I use Kerry Gold
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice – or a blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt

For the sugar coating:

• ¼ cup vanilla sugar – regular sugar is fine too!
• ¼ tbsp pumpkin pie spice

How to Make Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

Now let’s get cozy and make this. To start, we are going to make the cheesecake filling and freeze it otherwise the cheesecake will melt into the cookie batter while it bakes. Use 6 ounces of cream cheese, ½ tbsp of maple syrup and 3 tbsp sugar. You can use any type of sugar – light brown sugar, white sugar or vanilla sugar. The vanilla sugar will leave behind black specs of vanilla.. but I prefer the taste!

Roll these into balls and then squish them down so they are somewhat flat and about 1 inch round. Freeze for a minimum of 30 minutes but an hour would be best. You can make the batter in the meantime.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. While heating, blend the ¾ cups butter (brough to room temperature) with 1 cup of brown sugar until light and creamy. Set aside and mix your dry ingredients in a separate bowl (2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice).

Slowly blend your dry ingredients with the sugary butter mixture and add the ½ cup pumpkin puree (I give the puree a bit of a dab with paper towels to get rid of the excess water).

Once the batter is all set and the cream cheese blend is frozen, roll the batter into small balls (~3 tbsp each) and squish flat.  Place a frozen cream cheese ball in the center and wrap the dough around. Try to flatten it out as much as you can.

Next, roll the cookie balls in a blend of sugar and pumpkin pie spice (¼ cup sugar and ¼ tbsp pumpkin pie spice). Place onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes.

And that’s a wrap! Your cookies are now ready to enjoy at your leisure. Whether it’s a nice breakfast treat to go with your coffee or a nighttime snack to enjoy with the kids, this recipe is one the family is sure to love. One thing is for sure – I know what I’m bringing this Thanksgiving for dessert!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I use all of these products myself and hope you love them as much as I do!

Maple Cheesecake Pumpkin Cookies

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 15 cookies

Ingredients

  

Cheesecake Filling

• 6 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup 100% dark amber
• 3 tbsp sugar add vanilla extract for a flavor boost

Cookie Batter

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree remove excess moisture
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cups butter kerry gold brand works best
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice or a blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Sugar Coating

• 1/2 cup vanilla sugar regular sugar works just fine
• 1/4 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

 

• Blend 6 ounces of cream cheese, ½ tbsp of maple syrup and 3 tbsp sugar. Roll into balls and press down until they are somewhat flat and about 1 inch round. Freeze for 30-60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Blend 3/4 cups butter (room temperature) with 1 cup of light brown sugar until creamy peaks form. Set aside.
• Mix you dry ingredients in a separate bowl – 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice.
• Slowly blend your dry ingredients with the sugary butter mixture. Dab excess moisture from the 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and blend into batter.
• Roll batter into 3 inch balls and flatten.
• Remove cheesecake balls from the freezer and add one ball to the center of each cookie. Wrap the cookie batter around the cheesecake balls and press flat.
• Roll each ball around on a plate of the sugar and pumpkin pie spice blend until coated.
• Place each coated cookie onto a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.
• Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes.
• Let rest and enjoy!

Keyword autumn, cheesecake, cheesecake cookies, cookies, fall, fall dessert, pumpkin cookies, thanksgiving cookies, thanksgiving dessert