Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

I have posted before about having a great, unique, and individual idea, only to have my ego crushed by a Google search that shows several hundreds of other people have had this idea before.  Sometimes, some of those ideas are even a little better than mine.

Well, this is not the case this time.  For once, I did a Google search and it did not crush my creative spirit.  I could not find another recipe, blog entry, or even a thought bubble that mentioned my idea.  After talking myself off the ledge that there was nothing out there because the idea would not work, I decided to try it.  And not only did it work, it worked without any hiccups.

So, I am really geeking out about this recipe: Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies!  These cookies contain a Strawberry Cheesecake Filling baked inside of a graham cracker crumb cookie.  I know it does not sound genius, but look at the picture!  It. Is. Genius.  And Good.

For all the genius that this recipe is worth, it is really quite simple to achieve.  The cheesecake filling is frozen to allow for it to be surrounded by the graham cracker crumb cookie.  That way, as it bakes, the cookie and filling spread out evenly and the filling stays just that, a filling, only on the inside of the cookie.  

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie

By Baker at Law

Filling:

1-8oz package of Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Powdered Sugar (more or less to taste)

Splash of Cream or Milk

1/4 cup Strawberry Pie Filling (more or less to taste)

* I had a lot of filling leftover.  You may want to half the recipe.

Cookie:

2 sticks (1 cup) Butter, room temperature

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

3/4 cup White Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla

1 Large Egg, room temperature

1 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour

1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

Method:

1. Stir room temperature cream cheese until soft with rubber spatula.  Add in powdered sugar and a splash of milk.  Stir.  Add in strawberry pie filling and stir until well combined.  Mixture should be soft, yet easily retain its shape.  (Do not over do the cream.)

2. Using a tablespoon sized cookie scope, scope up a spoonful of filling and release it onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Continue until all filling is gone.  Place the filling cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before starting the cookie dough recipe.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. Cream together the butter and both sugars.  Next add in the egg and vanilla, mixing until fully incorporated.  Set aside.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, and baking powder.

6. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture.  Make sure everything is mixed well.

7. Remove frozen cheesecake filling balls from the freezer.

8. Using a 3TBS cookie scope (or an Ice cream cookie scope for larger cookie) scope up one ball of dough.  Eject the dough into your hand.  Press into the center of the dough with your fingers creating a well.  Place a frozen cheesecake-filling ball in the dented area.  Continue to work the cookie dough around the filing cover the top.

9. Place the cookie ball on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Place the cookies a good distance apart as they will spread.  Continue making dough/filling balls until the cookie sheet is filled.  Place any remaining filling in the freezer if you are baking cookies in batches to keep them frozen.

10. Bake the cookies for 16-19 minutes, until they  are brown around the edges.

11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before moving as the center is very soft when warm.  Enjoy at room temperature, but store any uneaten cookies (after a day or two) in the fridge.