Easy Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

These Easy Cherry Cheesecake Cookies are delicious, buttery cheesecake cookies rolled in graham cracker crumbs, filled with cherry pie filling, and drizzled with white chocolate. These cherry thumbprint cookies are decadent, beautiful, and will be your new favorite cookie recipe to make for Christmas and the holidays! 

Easy Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

It’s Week 3 of Cara’s Christmas Cookie Countdown and today’s cookie is the epitome of a beautiful, delicious, and festive cookie in one!

Today I’m so excited to share the recipe for my Easy Cherry Cheesecake Cookies with you, and they’re simply perfect for making for Christmas.

If you’re a cheesecake lover and love cherries, then you’ll love these cookies!

These Cherry Cheesecake Cookies are a simple thumbprint cookie, taste just like a yummy slice of cherry cheesecake, and best of all are super easy to make.

Buttery cheesecake cookies are rolled in balls and coated in graham cracker crumbs, filled with cherry pie filling, baked until they are a light golden brown, and topped with a sweet white chocolate drizzle to make them extra pretty and extra delicious.

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Cherry Thumbprint Cookies

These Cherry Cheesecake Cookies are incredibly delicious and super simple to make, but unlike a lot of cookie recipes, these cherry thumbprint cookies MUST be chilled before baking.

Chilling the dough really helps make it easier to roll into balls and helps the cookies maintain their shape when baking.

I know it’s hard to wait, but trust me, the chill time is well worth it once you taste how delicious they are!

I recommend letting the dough chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1-3 hours or you can chill them up to 24 hours.

Tips for Making Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

Graham Crackers – You can use store-bought graham cracker crumbs or quickly make your own using either a food processor or crush them in a Ziploc bag.

Cream Cheese – Use either full-fat cream cheese or reduced fat cream cheese for the best flavor. I would avoid using fat-free.

Thumbprint – Use a 1/2 tbsp sized measuring spoon to create the perfect, deep thumbprint in your cookie.

Top with White Chocolate – Although these cherry cheesecake cookies are delish on their own, I went a step further and added a drizzle of white chocolate on top and OMG they are amazing. Try it – you will LOVE it!

Eat Them Cold – Unlike most cookies out there, these cookies taste amazing cold straight out of the fridge. However, if you like warm cookies, simply heat these in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, or until warm.

RECOMMENDED KITCHEN TOOLS:

• Mixing Bowls
• Rubber Spatulas
• Electric Hand Mixer
• Measuring Cups & Spoons
• Cookie Scoops
• Cookie Sheets
• Pre-Cut Parchment Paper
• Pastry Bag
• Cooling Rack
• Cookie Airtight Storage Containers

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More Delicious Cookies You’ll Love:

• The Best Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies
• Homemade Cinnamon Roll Cookies
• Easy White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

How to Make Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

Below you’ll find a helpful step-by-step guide on how to make these Delicious Cherry Cheesecake Cookies, with a little help from my cute baking sidekick! 🙂

Ingredients Needed:

• unsalted butter
• cream cheese
• granulated sugar
• large egg
• vanilla extract
• self-rising flour
• graham crackers
• cherry pie filling
• white chocolate chips

Step 1:

To make your cherry cheesecake cookies, start by preheating your oven and lining a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

You will also need to crush up your graham cracker crumbs and place them in a bowl (or you can always buy the pre-crushed kind).

Using a medium 1 1/2 tablespoon size cookie scoop, scoop the dough out and roll into balls.

Step 2:

Next, roll each cheesecake ball in the graham cracker crumbs and place on a prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced apart.

If you have kids, let them help with this step! It’s so easy and they’ll have fun with it.

Step 3: 

Using a 1/2 tablespoon size measuring spoon, gently press on the top of each cookie to create a hollow “or thumbprint”.

I definitely recommend using a measuring spoon as opposed to a regular spoon, because you want the scoop in the cookie to be deep, not wide.

See the photos below for how they should look once pressed.

Step 4:

Fill each hollow with cherry pie filling. I recommend filling with 1-3 cherries, depending on how much filling you want in each.

Place cookies in the oven to bake for 8-12 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Aren’t they just gorgeous?!

Step 5: 

This last step is completely optional, but I ended up LOVING how it tasted.

If you want to be extra like me, melt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips and drizzle on top of your cooled cookies using either a pastry or Ziploc bag or just a spoon.

Not only does this make them look pretty and fancy, but the white chocolate combined with the cherry and cheesecake flavors are to die for!

Can you say YUM?!

How to Store Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

In the Fridge – As these cookies are essentially like cheesecake, they should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

They will remain fresh for up to 5 days.

In the Freezer – If you would like to freeze these cookies, I recommend freezing unbaked without the pie filling.

Prepare cookies all the way to the thumbprint step and freeze cookies in an airtight container or freezer safe bag for up to 3 months.

Once ready to eat, thaw in the fridge, top with cherry pie filling, and bake as directed.

Easy Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

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These Easy Cherry Cheesecake Cookies are delicious, buttery cheesecake cookies rolled in graham cracker crumbs, filled with cherry pie filling, and drizzled with white chocolate. These cherry thumbprint cookies are decadent, beautiful, and will be your new favorite cookie to make for Christmas and the holidays! 

• Author: Kindly Unspoken
• Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 28 cookies 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
• 8 oz full fat or reduced fat cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
• 4–6 graham cracker sheets, finely crushed into crumbs
• 21 oz can cherry pie filling
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted

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Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Next add in your egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
• Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, begin folding in the flour 1/2 cup at a time until just incorporated.
• Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate dough for 1-3 hours or up to 24 hours.*
• Once ready to bake, remove dough from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Using a medium 1 1/2 tablespoon size cookie scoop, scoop the dough out and roll into balls.
• Roll each ball in graham cracker crumbs and place on a prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced apart.
• Next, using a 1/2 tablespoon size measuring spoon, gently press on the top of each cookie to create a hollow “or thumbprint”.  Fill each hollow with cherry pie filling. I recommend filling with 1-3 cherries, depending on how much filling you want in each.
• Place cookies in the oven to bake for 8-12 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• If desired, melt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips and drizzle on top of your cooled cookies with a spoon or pastry bag.

Notes

How to Store Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

• In the Fridge – As these cookies are essentially like cheesecake, they should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. They will remain fresh for up to 5 days.
• In the Freezer – If you would like to freeze these cookies, I recommend freezing unbaked without the pie filling. Prepare cookies all the way to the thumbprint step and freeze cookies in an airtight container or freezer safe bag for up to 3 months. Once ready to eat, thaw in the fridge, top with cherry pie filling, and bake as directed.

Other Cookie Recipes You’ll Love

• Mom’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Delicious Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies
• The Best Iced Oatmeal Cookies
• Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
• Easy Christmas Butter Cookies
• Easy M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

Check out my best self rising flour recipes here!

Hope you enjoyed today’s recipe for my Easy Cherry Cheesecake Cookies! Are you a cherry cheesecake lover too? Would someone you know love these for the holidays? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by! – Cara

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