These Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies are chewy yet soft, and filled with a creamy pumpkin cheesecake then topped with crunchy brown sugar spiced pecans! These cozy cookies are indulgent and perfect for pumpkin season which means they're a great fall dessert and can be added to your secret stash of Thanksgiving cookie recipes!
Make them for your Thanksgiving dessert table or a cozy fall night in. These holiday showstoppers are all the goodness of pumpkin cheesecake with no fuss! Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars are another easy, no water bath, fall cheesecake recipe!
A Quick Glance At The Recipe
- ✅Done in: 30 minutes
- 🛒Ingredients: 15, including salt and vanilla
- 🍽️Serves:16 fluffy cookies
- 💪Difficulty: Medium - A few extra steps to make each part of the cookie.
- 👩🍳Cook Method: Bake
- ⏰Make Ahead Friendly: Yes! Feel free to freeze the baked cookies for later.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- These top rated cookies have a great soft texture mixed with crunchy pecans, and all the warm cozy fall flavors.
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies are an easy way to get your cheesecake fix without all the extra work that goes into a traditional cheesecake.
- Indulge in the flavors of fall and enjoy these mini pumpkin cheesecakes in cookie form or Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting with a cup of coffee or chai latte.
- We all have our favorite Thanksgiving pie recipes but do you have Thanksgiving cookie recipes? Make these your new Thanksgiving dessert tradition!
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Recipe Ingredients
- Cream Cheese: Philadelphia Full-fat cream cheese is best. The same I use in the frosting for Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies.
- Pumpkin Puree: Pumpkin puree not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling. I use Libby's Pumpkin Puree for all my pumpkin desserts. It has great consistency and only one ingredient...pumpkin. It's used in my pumpkin pie recipe with graham cracker crust too!
- Graham Cracker Crumbs: A little graham cracker crumbs in the cookie to give it the taste of a cheesecake crust. Buy the crumbs in the store or blend your own graham crackers.
- Butter: Using unsalted butter allows you to control the salt level of the pumpkin cookies.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar helps give that chewy cookie texture.
- Pumpkin Spice: My favorite is The Spice House Pumpkin Spice. Also called pumpkin pie spice.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Pecans are optional, leave them off or add them. You can also substitute walnuts in place of pecans on the cookies.
- Swap out pumpkin flavor for strawberry and make my strawberry cheesecake cookies. They are to die for!
- Try making a pumpkin spice sugar by adding ⅓ cups granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice in a small bowl. Use the cookie dough from my Cinnamon Toast Crunch cookies, roll them in the pumpkin spice sugar and bake according to directions for a pumpkin snickerdoodle.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
Step 1: Mix cookie dough and portion out. Gently press a hole for filling.
Step 2: Beat cream cheese and blend in remaining filling ingredients.
Step 3: Add a dollop of filling to each cookie "crust".
Step 4: Add brown sugar pecan mixture to each cookie and bake until set.
Expert Baking Tips
- Room temperature ingredients are best for baking cookies. Particularly the eggs and butter in this pumpkin cookie recipe. This goes for the cream cheese and pumpkin puree in the pumpkin cheesecake filling as well.
- Chill the cookie dough before filling and baking. It allows the dough to absorb the moisture and helps the pumpkin cookies not to spread.
- Let cookies cool completely before eating. Cool for 2 minutes on the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way. You can also place the cookies in the fridge.
- "Scoot" the cookies to get that perfectly round shape. You do this by scooting a biscuit cutter around each cookie as soon as it's out of the oven. It's key to do this immediately while cookies are still hot otherwise it will not work. I use this trick with my hot chocolate cookies recipe too! This makes them picture perfect for holiday cookie trays!
- Use a light colored cookie sheet to bake cookies rather than a dark cookie sheet. Darker cookie sheets will burn the bottom of your cookies.
- On that same note, something I've learned over the years is not to use non-stick cooking spray. Line your pan with parchment paper and that's it! Non-stick cooking spray can contribute to burnt cookie bottoms as well.
Recipe FAQs
I would advise against homemade pumpkin puree in most recipes because of the watery consistency. Libby's pumpkin puree is a tried and true pumpkin puree that has great consistency and contains only 1 ingredient...pumpkin.
This can happen if you don't chill the cookie dough for the specified amount of time before filling and baking. Another reason your cookies may spread too much is if your baking soda, baking powder or corn starch is out of date or measured incorrectly.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies are best kept in the fridge because of the cheesecake filling. Dairy product doesn't keep well outside of the refrigerator in most cases. Store these pumpkin cookies in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap inside of your fridge.
Store pumpkin cheesecake cookies in the fridge for up to 3 days. They can be stored in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Pumpkin cookies can also be frozen for up to 1 month. Freeze the cookies in a resealable freezer bag, I like to double my bags up, then store the bags inside an airtight container. To defrost, let them come to room temperature on the counter or you can leave them in the refrigerator overnight. They make the perfect bake ahead Thanksgiving cookie recipe! Try my mini cheesecake recipe for another easy cheesecake recipe without all the hassle!
🧁Krista's Food Truck & Mom POV
I like to bake these cookies in September or October after apple picking that way I can serve them up with the apple cider that I buy at the orchard. After mulling the cider with fall spices, it's the perfect warm cozy addition to the cookies.
The other nice thing about baking these cookies early in the fall is we all know how busy it gets with school and the food truck during the holiday season. Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies freeze beautifully and can be thawed on the counter or overnight in the fridge and served during your holiday party with ease! Handheld desserts are the best with kids & customers!
My kids think these cookies are 'so cool' due to the aesthetics and these babies fly off the food truck. Who doesn't love a good pumpkin dessert during the fall season?!
More Pumpkin Recipes You'll Love
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📖Recipe
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
Equipment
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 whisk
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 3oz scoop
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1½ tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temp
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 egg yolk room temp
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese room temp
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 egg room temp
- ⅓ cup pumpkin puree room temp, I use Libbys
- ¾ tsp pumpkin spice
Pecan Topping (optional)
- ½ cup pecans
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
Instructions
Making Cookie Dough
- Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium sized mixing bowl
- Cream butter and both sugars together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy
- Add egg and yolk then mix on low-medium until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula
- Mix in vanilla
- Mix in the dry ingredients until just a streak or two of flour is visible. Do not overmix
- Scoop cookie dough with a 3oz scoop and place on parchment lined sheet tray. Chill cookies for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight
Making Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- Beat room temperature cream cheese on medium speed for 1 minute. Add brown sugar then continue mixing for an additional minute
- Mix in vanilla, salt and 1 egg on low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides and continue mixing for another 20 seconds
- Blend pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice into cheesecake mixture
Filling Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Use the back of a 3oz scoop and press down on top of each cookie to make an indent. You'll want it to be about ¼ inch thick in the center
- Add 2-3 teaspoon of pumpkin cream cheese filling to each indent
- Mix pecan, brown sugar and pumpkin spice in a small dish then sprinkle over top of each cookie
- Bake 12-15 minutes until cheesecake is set but slightly jiggly. Cool completely before eating
Notes
- Room temperature ingredients are best for baking cookies. Particularly the eggs and butter in this pumpkin cookie recipe. This goes for the cream cheese and pumpkin puree in the pumpkin cheesecake filling as well.
- Chill the cookie dough before filling and baking. It allows the dough to absorb the moisture and helps the pumpkin cookies not to spread.
- Let cookies cool completely before eating. Cool for 2 minutes on the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way. You can also place the cookies in the fridge.
- Pumpkin puree and canned pumpkin pie filling are not the same thing. Make sure you're using pumpkin puree
- Use a light colored cookie sheet to bake cookies rather than a dark cookie sheet. Darker cookie sheets will burn the bottom of your cookies.
Krista
These are packed with fall flavor! A cozy cookie that goes perfectly with a cup of coffee.
Sophia M
These cookies were absolutely delicious. My mom and my dad both ate one and said they loved it. The cookie is rich and not overly sweet. It’s like your own mini pumpkin pie!
Krista Stechman
Thank you so much for the feedback. So glad you loved the cookies!