Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies

bite through a cascade of sweet flavors in this raspberry cheesecake cookie reveals its soft center.

5 from 5 votes

These Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies taste like a no-bake raspberry cheesecake! The cheesecake cookie base is creamy and soft with a little tang. They're then topped with a luscious raspberry cream cheese frosting and a raspberry icing! Add a fresh raspberry if desired and voilà... the most gorgeous and delicious dye-free cookies you've ever seen! But don't let their beauty fool you, they're so simple to make! No mixer is needed for the cookie dough so clean-up is a breeze! Best yet, these cheesecake cookies are gluten free, egg free, nut free and can easily be made vegan!

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Freeze Time30

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Servings: large cookies

Calories: 370kcal

Author: Lee

Ingredients

For the Cheesecake Cookies

¼ cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick
2 ounces cream cheese , full fat
1 ¾ cups multi purpose gluten free flour (I use a gluten free multipurpose flour with xanthan gum already in it)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 rounded tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

For the Raspberry Syrup

1 cup frozen raspberries 4.58 ounces or 130 grams
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

For the Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

¼ cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick
2 ounces cream cheese , full fat
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons raspberry syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Raspberry Icing

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon raspberry syrup
1 teaspoon water , room temperature

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Cheesecake Cookies

Place the ¼ cup unsalted butter and 2 ounces cream cheese in a heat safe bowl. Place a paper towel on top of the bowl so the butter doesn't splatter.
Microwave in 11 second increments until halfway melted. Then whisk until fully melted; the residual heat will melt the rest. Set aside to cool. Do not microwave until it bubbles or browns.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 ¾ cups multipurpose gluten free flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, using a spoon, mix together the 2 rounded tablespoons of cornstarch (26 grams) and the 3 tablespoons of water until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first.
Whisk the cooled butter and cream cheese until a creamy liquid. It may be thick from sitting out.
Into the cooled and creamy melted butter and cream cheese, whisk in the 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, the cornstarch water and the 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract until fully emulsified.
Starting and ending with the flour mixture, whisk half the flour mixture into the melted butter mixture. Then add the ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk and whisk to combine.
Add in the second half of the flour mixture gently with a spatula. Do not over mix or the dough will become shiny and too sticky.
The dough will be very sticky. Add it to a freezer safe bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap and pop the entire bowl of dough in the freezer for 30 min.
When the dough is almost done chilling, preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Do not grease.
After 30 min, using a large cookie scoop, make 12 scoops with the dough. (I use a 2 ounce cookie scoop).
If the dough is sticking to the cookie scoop, wash the scoop half way through to get off any stuck on dough.
Flatten each scoop into a thick disc versus a ball. If you don't do this step, the cookies will remain in the ball shape when baking.
Place the discs about 3-4 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
I only bake 6 at a time. Pop the rest of the dough discs in the fridge while the first batch is baking.
Immediately reshape the cookies when they come out of the oven. Use a spatula to push them into a circle and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 min before transferring to a cooling rack.
If any cookies have puffed up, gently push them down with the back of a cookie spatula.
If you don't let them cool on the pan, the cookies will break apart into a giant mess when you try to lift them up.
Let the cookies cool completely before adding the buttercream, otherwise the frosting will turn into a liquid mess.
Repeat this with the remaining dough discs.

Make the Raspberry Syrup

In a medium microwave safe bowl, heat 1 cup of raspberries and 2 teaspoons granulated sugar in 20 second increments, stirring after each time, smashing with the back of a fork, until they are broken apart and liquidy. This took me about a minute.
Strain through a mesh colander or sieve. You should end up with 4 tablespoons of raspberry syrup.

Make the Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the ¼ unsalted butter and 2 ounces cream cheese until smooth; about 2 minutes.
Slowly add in the 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons raspberry syrup and the ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
Beat until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
Using an icing spatula or a butter knife, frost the tops of the completely cooled cookies. Don't go all the way to the edge of the cookie. Make sure you can see the cookie on the edges.

Make the Raspberry Icing

In a small bowl, whisk together the 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon of the raspberry syrup and the 1 teaspoon water until combined and smooth.
Spoon 1 teaspoon icing on top of each cookie. Make sure you leave the raspberry frosting visible.
Immediately press a washed raspberry into the wet icing. Enjoy!
Let the icing harden prior to eating or it will have a strong confectioners' super flavor.

Video

Notes

For smaller cookies: Use a small cookie scoop and bake at same temperature for 12 min. Make sure to keep dough in the fridge in-between baking the batches. Should make 24 cookies.

Vegan: Use a dairy-free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks, vegan cream cheese and a non-dairy milk.

All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 1 ¾ cup packed cups of flour (294 grams) and 3 tablespoons of milk. Still chill the dough.

Storing: Keep extra cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days in a single layer. Do not stack.

Freezing Baked Cookies: To freeze already baked cookies, place cookies without the raspberry icing and without the fresh raspberry (not stacked) on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer uncovered. Freeze for 10-15 minutes or until the cookies are completely frozen. Once frozen, you can store them in a zip top bag in the freezer for up to 1 month. To defrost, take the container out and leave at room temperature until soft. 1-2 hours. Then top with the icing and fresh raspberry.

You can freeze frosted cookies but do not freeze with the icing. The icing gets very wet when defrosting.

Freezing: Form the dough into the 12 discs. Place dough discs (not stacked) on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer uncovered. Freeze for 10-15 minutes or until hard. Once frozen, store the dough discs in a zip top bag for 1 month. When ready to use, bake at the same temperature for 17 minutes instead of 15.

Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Nutrition