Ginger Cheesecake Cookies
Updated October 16, 2025
Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.
- Total Time
- About 2 hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- About 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING
6 ounces/170 grams cream cheese, chilled
½ cup/62 grams powdered sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
FOR THE DOUGH
2 ½ cups/320 grams all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
10 tablespoons/141 grams salted butter, at room temperature
1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ cup/62 grams crystallized ginger, finely chopped
⅓ cup/113 milliliters unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (no need to peel)
White sanding sugar or granulated sugar, for rolling (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving
40 grams carbs; 47 milligrams cholesterol; 261 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 10 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 162 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 25 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the filling: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth. Transfer mixture to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag.
- Step 2
Set a sheet of parchment on a rimmed baking sheet. Snip off a ¼-inch opening from the bottom corner of the bag. Pipe equal-size dollops of the filling — you should have at least 18 — onto the prepared sheet. Using a spoon, smooth down any sharp edges. Freeze until completely firm, at least 1 hour. Line 2 more rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
- Step 3
Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, pepper and salt. In a second large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in egg, crystallized ginger, molasses and fresh ginger, scraping the sides as you go. With the mixer on low, beat in the flour mixture until well combined.
- Step 4
Scoop dough into 2-inch/45-gram balls. (To portion the dough without a cookie scoop, form it into a rectangle, then use a sharp knife to cut the block into 18 equal pieces.) Working with one at a time, flatten a dough ball in the palm of your hand, then add a piece of frozen filling to the center. (Keep the rest of the filling in the freezer as you work.) Bring the dough up and around the filling, encasing it completely. Roll the dough ball between your hands to form it into a smooth sphere. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. If the dough feels very soft, chill it for about 15 minutes.
- Step 5
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll each chilled ball in sanding sugar to coat, if you like, then place on the prepared sheets, at least 3 inches apart (they will spread). Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the center of each cookie is just set, 15 to 17 minutes. Repeat with any remaining cookies. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies will keep, stored in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
Private Notes
Comments
A simple alternative to dollop thing the cream cheese would be to put them in a Ziploc baggie and let them freeze into a log, then cut the log into slices similar to how you cut a roll of cookie dough. Just portion it so that your log is going to freeze in a similar diameter to the dollop, you may need to do more than one bag.
Dear lord, you’ve finally added the metric system to the recipes!
These cookies are delicious. Lovely, strong ginger taste that counterbalances the sweetness of the filling. Filling them was tedious, and it would have been helpful to have the weight of the filling. I made a test cookie and went with 8 grams. After my first batch went into the oven, I put the remaining dough and filling in a baking dish and made bars. Equally delicious! The cookies are large, and you could downsize them by half for a holiday cookie plate. The gingerbread dough is a winner!
I've made this several times and it always turns out great! I personally don't like using crystallized ginger and I never seem to have ground ginger, so I substituted more fresh ginger than the recipe calls for plus ginger powder from a ginger juice mix, which we had on hand. It turned out very well! I also make sure to flatten the cookies down with a spoon partway through baking, once the cheesecake inside has thawed a bit. It helps it get the circular shape instead of being spherical.
these were so good which is unfortunate cause they took work to make but fortunate cause again they were so good. i piped out the cream cheese dollops on one day and then mixed the dough, rolled out balls, and baked on another day. i chilled the cookie dough before rolling which helped with stickiness. the cookies softened on days two and three and the texture was nice. it was fun to make these with my bf and doing it together made the process go faster. all three forms of ginger are a must imo
Has anyone tried rolling them in powdered sugar like crinkle cookies?