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.

What is a Blondie?

Until this point, I have developed a few different takes on a blondie.  At first, I thought it was a brownie, without chocolate.  I thought it would be fudge-like and dense.  Then, I thought a blondie was really just a chocolate chip cookie in bar form.  It seemed like a blondie was a different dessert, with different textures, to different bakers.  So, what would my desired blondie texture be?

I thought blondies should take the crusty/crispy top of a brownie, the slightly softer center of a chocolate chip cookie, the fluffiness of a cake, the chewy edges of a brownie, and be its own dessert—not an ill comparison to other desserts.  Can all this exist in one humble dessert?  SPOILER ALERT—keep reading!

I earmarked a Browned Butter Blondie recipe weeks ago, but it was not on the top of my to-bake list.  I really just love almost anything with brown butter!  Sunday afternoon I wanted to bake a treat to take into the office the following morning.  I initially planned on making cookies, but with a kitchen at 88F before I even cut on the oven, I just did not feel like being stuck in the kitchen in and out of the oven every 13-15minutes!  I still wanted to bake though and thought making a bar would be the perfect solution.

I went through a few cookbooks and internet recipe prints outs before I remembered the earmarked recipe and my curiosity was re-peaked.  Best of all, I kind of had all the ingredients, or at least substitute ingredients that went well together, on hand.  I created Brown Butter Toffee Almond Coconut Blondies.  The toasted coconut really gives these blondies a little something extra flavor and texture wise.  It started as a filler because I did not have enough almonds, but after tasting it all together, it is a requirement (unless you are allergic or do not like it).  I used extra fine shredded unsweetened coconut; using of the normal sweetened shredded stuff might yield a less pleasing texture and the sweetness would be way too much.

These blondies were Oh, My Goodness, Awesome!  The texture was not like anything I have had before.  It was not brownie without chocolate; it was not a cookie in a bar form; it was a Blondie—a remarkable dessert in its own right.  The taste is subtle of brown butter and brown sugar.  You get a nice crunch from the almonds and a sweet little burst from the toffee bits.  Lastly, the coconut is almost undetectable, but it added a lusciousness and secret flavor.

Brown Butter Toffee Almond Coconut Blondies

Adapted from Recipe Girl

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) Butter

2 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 1/2 tsp Salt

4 Large Eggs

2 cups Brown Sugar

1 TBS Vanilla Extract

1 cup Toffee Bits

1 cup Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

1 cup Almonds, sliced

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Spray a 9x9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper so that it covers the bottom and comes up the sides of the pan. Spray the parchment paper with nonstick spray as well.

2. Browning the butter: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to heat the butter until it turns a deep golden brown.  You will notice foam on the top, brown golden particle on the bottom of the pan, and a nutty smell.  It will go from melted to browned butter quite quickly.  Keep an eye on it, so it does not burn.  Burnt browned butter is bitter.  Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla and browned butter, scraping the sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the ingredients, as needed.  

5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined.  Lastly, fold in the toffee bits, coconut, and almonds. Scrape/pour the batter into the prepared pan.

6. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let the bars cool to room temperature before removing from the pan and cutting.