There is something special about the combination of warm cinnamon and tangy cream cheese. These cookies are designed to give you the best of both worlds: a golden, crisp edge with a perfectly soft, chewy centre.
Instead of a traditional filled centre, this recipe uses frozen chunks of cream cheese folded directly into the spiced dough. As they bake, these chunks melt slightly to create pockets of velvety richness that perfectly complement the aromatic cinnamon.
They are straightforward to make but feel incredibly indulgent, offering a sophisticated twist on a classic flavour profile. If you are looking for a cookie that is as textured as it is flavourful, this is the one for you.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
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Beurre Noisette (Browned Butter): Toasted to perfection, this adds a rich, nutty depth and a toasted aroma that elevates the entire flavour profile.
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Light Brown Sugar: Provides a soft, fudge-like moisture and deep caramel notes that pair beautifully with the cinnamon spice.
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Caster Sugar: The key to achieving those signature crisp edges while ensuring a delicate, fine-crumbed texture.
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Whole Eggs: Essential for binding the dough together and providing the structure needed to support the cream cheese chunks.
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Plain Flour (9-11% Protein): A specific protein count ensures the cookies remain tender and soft without becoming tough or bread-like.
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Baking Powder: Gives the cookies a gentle lift, contributing to a light and airy internal texture.
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Bicarbonate Of Soda: Works with the brown sugar to create a perfectly chewy bite and encourages beautiful, even browning.
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Salt: A crucial addition to sharpen the flavours and perfectly balance the richness of the sugars and fats.
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Ground Cinnamon: The aromatic star of the show, providing a warm, comforting spice in every mouthful.
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Vanilla Paste: Offers an intense, high-quality vanilla flavour with beautiful visible seeds for a professional finish.
Cheesecake Filling
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Cream Cheese: The essential base of the filling, providing a dense, tangy richness that holds its shape beautifully when frozen.
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Caster Sugar: Dissolves effortlessly into the cheese to provide a clean, refined sweetness without any graininess.
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Vanilla Paste: Adds a sophisticated depth and those signature flecks of vanilla bean for a truly premium finish.
- Whipping Cream (35-40%): Carefully selected to control the density of the filling. While double cream or higher-fat options can make the cheesecake too heavy, this specific fat content allows us to lighten the cream cheese for a perfectly smooth, airy finish.
All The Equipment You Need
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Ice Cream Scoop
Storage
For the Baked Cookies Due to the fresh cream cheese chunks, these cookies must be stored in an airtight container within the fridge. They will remain delicious for up to 4 days. For the best experience, you can enjoy them chilled for a firmer, fudge-like bite, or allow them to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to soften the spiced dough and bring out the full aroma of the cinnamon.
For the Raw Dough If you wish to bake at a later date, the raw dough freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. You have two professional options for preparation:
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Individual Portions: Scoop the dough into balls and freeze them on a tray before transferring them to an airtight freezer bag. This allows you to bake a single, fresh cookie whenever the craving strikes.
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The Dough Log: Shape the dough into a uniform log and wrap it tightly in a double layer of cling film. This is ideal for slicing off neat, even discs for a more uniform appearance.
The Ultimate Cinnamon Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with an electric whisk, cream together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla paste. Start on a low speed until the ingredients have come together before gradually turning up to a high speed and beating until smooth and sugar has dissolved. after 2 minutes scrape the side and bottom of the bowl and continue mixing for another 2 minutes.
- Once the cream cheese has smoothened, with the mixer off add in the whipping cream, start mixing on low and once the cream is incorporated turn the mixer up to a medium-high speed and mix until the mix thickens, around 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared baking tray. Using a palette knife, work the mixture into the edges and corners, levelling it off to achieve an even thickness.Place the tray into the freezer for 2-4 hours, or overnight.
- Start by taking the cheesecake filling out of the freezer and chopping into large chunks, 3-4cm in width and length and set bake in the freezer to stay firm until it needs to be added to the cookie dough.
- Then sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and ground cinnamon into a mixing bowl and set aside for later.
- Either with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or an electric whisk, cream together brown butter, light brown sugar, caster sugar and vanilla paste.After 1-2 minutes scrape the sides of the bowl and continue mixing until light, pale ad fluffy. This should take around 5 minutes total.
- Next incorporate the eggs, one at a time, allowing the egg to completely emulsify before adding the next.
- Gently fold in the dry ingredients in 2-3 parts. Allow each part to completely combine before adding the next.
- Lastly that the chunks of cheesecake mix out of the freezer and using a spatula fold into the cookie dough until evenly distributed.Using a ice cream scoop, portion out the dough onto a pre-lined 40x30 cm baking tray and roll between your hands to smoothen the surface. Place into the fridge for 60 minutes to set firm.
- Preheat the oven to 170℃ (338℉) and line a second 40x30 cm baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Into a mixing bowl add caster sugar and ground cinnamon, whisk together until all the cinnamon is dispersed and the are no lumps of sugar.
- Take the chilled cookie from the fridge and individually coat each dough ball the the cinnamon sugar, placing onto the tray leaving enough space between them (6 per tray)
- Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are firm but the centre is still soft. Leave to cool in the tray for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
- You can cut the cheesecake mix into any size you like, however I recommend keeping them fairly large as some pieces will break into smaller pieces when folded through the cookie dough.
- I highly recommend folding the cheesecake mix in by hand, using a stand mixer is going to break the pieces down completely and the heat will cause the cream cheese to melt into the cookie dough. If you wish to use a stand mixer to do this, cut the mix into larger chunks.
- I have used browned butter for this recipe but you can simply substitute an equal weight of room temperature unsalted butter cut into 1cm cubes.
- My ice cream scoop portions the cookie dough into 90g pieces. You can portion them smaller to get more out of the recipe but keep in mind baking times will vary.
- This cookie dough doesn't take long to set firm since the inclusion is already frozen. Though I still recommend a minimum of 45 minutes but the longer you leave it, up to 48 hours in the fridge, the better the flavour will develop. You can also freezer the cookie dough for up to 3 months.