When it comes to fall, there is no shortage of pumpkin-inspired recipes. From spiced lattes to hummus, humans can’t seem to get enough of the gourd! Pumpkin has found itself in everything from cookies to bread, and sometimes it can be difficult to decide just what to do with the season’s favorite vegetable. If you’re having trouble choosing, say, between cookies and cheesecake, you’re going to be so pleased you read this…
Ingredients:
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 ounces cold cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- Combine the cream cheese, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla in a bowl, and mix on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.
- Scoop the filling into 16 2-teaspoon-sized portions and transfer the baking sheet to the freezer. Leave the cheesecake balls in the freezer until frozen and very firm.
- Whisk the ¼ cup of sugar and ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Spread the pumpkin on a plate. Place paper towels on top and lightly press down to absorb the liquid in the pumpkin. Repeat this step four times to reduce the pumpkin down from ½ cup to about ¼ cup, removing the extra liquid.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, remaining pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy, then mix in the pumpkin.
- Mix in the dry ingredients mixture on low speed until combined.
- Using a 2-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, portion and roll the dough into 16 balls. Slightly flatten each ball and place a frozen cheesecake ball in the center. Close the cheesecake ball within the cookie dough, making sure it’s completely covered. Roll it into a ball again. Only remove the cheesecake balls from the freezer once they’re ready to be used for each batch of cookies. Then, roll each filled ball of cookie dough in pumpkin spice sugar.
- Place each prepared cookie dough ball on the lined baking sheet. Bake 6 cookies at a time for 12-13 minutes. Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
