Pecan Pie Cheesecake Cookies

Tray of pecan pie cookies topped with pecans

Get ready for the holiday season with these pecan pie cookies! These cookies are a combination of pecan pie cheesecake and cookies - they are stuffed with a spiced cheesecake filling and topped with pecan pie filling!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Low Lactose, Vegetarian

Prep Time 30

Bake Time 11

Total Time 41

Servings cookies

Calories 300

Author Gabby Kislanko

Equipment

Baking Sheets
Mixing Bowls
Small Saucepan

Ingredients

Cheesecake Filling

6 Tablespoons (3 oz) cream cheese, softened regular or vegan
pinch of ground cinnamon
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar) SEE NOTES if using vegan cream cheese

Cookie Dough

¾ cup butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
6 graham crackers, finely crushed SEE NOTES
2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

Pecan Pie Filling

3 Tablespoons milk (regular or vegan)
6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
6 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
6 Tablespoons corn syrup (or honey)
4½ Tablespoons butter (regular or vegan)
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons pecans, roughly chopped
flakey salt, for sprinkling on top

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Line a small baking sheet or plate with parchment paper. In a small bowl, use a whisk or mixer (depending how hard your cream cheese is) to mix the cream cheese with powdered sugar and cinnamon until smooth and combined.
Place 17 teaspoons (roughly level) of cream cheese on the baking sheet or plate. Freeze for at least 30 minutes, or until frozen almost completely solid.
When the cream cheese is frozen almost solid, line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda then set aside.
In the bowl of a handheld mixer or standing mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes). Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Add in the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda, and mix until just combined.
Crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs (some larger pieces are okay as well). I like to put the graham crackers in a ziploc and crush them with a rolling pin. Stir the graham crackers into the dough.
Use a small cookie scoop to scoop balls of dough onto the cookie sheet (1 Tablespoon each). Press the back of a teaspoon slightly into the top of half the balls of dough to create an indent.
Remove the cream cheese filling from the freezer and place one into each of the cookies. Take a second ball of dough and place it over the cream cheese, pinching the sides to seal the cream cheese inside (see picture in post above), but making sure to not squish the cream cheese into the cookie dough.
Refrigerate the prepared cookie dough balls and repeat with the second cookie sheet and remaining dough. Preheat the oven to 350°F and leave the cookie dough in the fridge (for around 15 minutes) while it preheats.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven one sheet at a time for 8-11 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden brown and the tops are set.
While the cookies are in the oven, make the pecan pie filling. Add sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and milk to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar has dissolved, then add in the butter and pecans.
Stir until the mixture has turned pale in color and thickened. It should pull away from the sides of the pan. Scoop spoonfuls of the filling on top of each baked cookie (SEE NOTES). Sprinkle with flakey salt, then place the cookies on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes.
Once the pecan pie filling has set, enjoy!

Video

Notes

Please Note: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your dry ingredients.

Pecan Pie Filling: Don't worry if the pecan pie filling has started to thicken by the time you get to the second batch of cookies. The filling doesn't have to be too soft, as it will softened again enough with the heat from the baked cookies.

Cream Cheese: depending on what kind of cream cheese you use, the amount of time it takes to freeze the filling may vary.

Powdered Sugar: If you are using vegan cream cheese, decrease the powdered sugar to 2 Tbsp (15g). It’s softer than regular cream cheese so less icing sugar will make the filling firmer.

Flour: It is very important that you measure your flour properly! The dough should be slightly more crumbly than a typical cookies dough, but if you use too much flour your dough will be very, very dry. The right way to measure your flour is to weigh it, or use the scoop and level method.

Graham Crackers: If using graham crumbs, use ½ cup

Nutrition