Cheesecake Cookies
Makes 12 cookies I fell in love with baking far before it occurred to me that I could make it a profession.
My earliest baking memories were standing side by side with my grandmother, great-aunt, and mother in the kitchen, wide-eyed, sneaking a bite of dough every chance I got.
From there I moved on to a more…independent study, centered heavily around Jell-O No Bake Cheesecake kits.
I would toss the poor excuse for a graham cracker crust aside and devote all my attention to the otherworldly creation that manifested when I spooned together the powdered cheesecake mixture and milk.
Wonderfully gooey, this not-at-all-actual cheesecake filling was somehow “baked” enough to safely eat by the spoonful, which I did happily.
A lifetime obsession with questionably underbaked cream cheese desserts was born
The citric acid in this recipe rounds out the flavor of the cheesecake. Most of our favorite desserts include secret weapon ingredients we don’t even know exist, like this one. Remember, a little goes a long way.
This recipe asks you to bake your cookies on parchment paper or a silicone baking mat so the tasty little graham crumbs hugged around your cookie have a place to latch on during baking. It also makes releasing the cookies after baking and cooling a cinch.
For the jam swirl, I recommend raspberry or cherry.
Ingredients:
270g sugar 1⅓ cups
113g unsalted butter, softened 1 stick (8 T)
113g cream cheese, softened 4 oz
1 large egg yolk
6g vanilla extract 1½ tsp
155g flour 1 cup + 2 T
20g cornstarch 2 T
6g milk powder 1 T
4g kosher salt 1 tsp
1g baking powder ¼ tsp
0.5g baking soda ⅛ tsp
0.5g citric acid ⅛ tsp
1 recipe Graham Crumbs (recipe follows)
240g jam ¾ cup
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 350°F. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butter on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the cream cheese, and mix to combine. Scrape the bowl, add the egg yolk and vanilla, and mix for 2 more minutes.
Add the flour, cornstarch, milk powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and citric acid and paddle on low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.
Put the bowl of dough in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.
Scoop 1 tablespoon of the graham crumbs onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, then scoop a little less than ¼ cup of cheesecake cookie dough on top.
Repeat with the remaining crumbs and cookie dough. Scoop 1 tablespoon jam atop each and swirl the dough and jam together with a fork.
Bake at 350°F until lightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool completely on the pans before serving. Transfer the cookies to a plate or an airtight container for storage.
At room temperature, the cookies will keep fresh for 3 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month
Graham Crumbs Recipe
Makes about ½ cup
100g graham crackers 4 full crackers
25g sugar 2 T
3g milk powder 2 tsp
28g unsalted butter, melted 2 T
Instructions:
In a blender or food processor (or in a plastic bag with a rolling pin), pulverize the graham crackers. Measure out ½ cup of crumbs and transfer to a small bowl.
Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the sugar and milk powder to combine.
Stir in the melted butter until small clusters form evenly across the mixture.
Use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
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