Description
Delight in these Cheesecake Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies, featuring a rich and creamy cheesecake center enveloped in soft, red velvet cookie dough studded with white chocolate chips. Perfectly balanced with a hint of cocoa and red food coloring, these cookies bake to perfection with a slightly underbaked center for a luscious texture.
Ingredients
Scale
Red Velvet Cookies:
- 1 cup Butter (barely softened)
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 teaspoons Red Food Coloring or Gel
- 1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 3 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Salt (use 1/2 teaspoon if using salted butter)
- 1 3/4 to 2 cups White Chocolate Chips
Cheesecake Filling:
- 1 (8-ounce) pkg. Cream Cheese (barely softened)
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste
Instructions
- Prepare Cheesecake Filling: In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Scoop small portions (16 portions) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until firm.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add Eggs and Flavorings: Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and red food coloring.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Fold together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix Dry Ingredients into Wet: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Add White Chocolate Chips: Fold in the white chocolate chips thoroughly.
- Form Cookie Dough Balls: Scoop the red velvet dough into 16 balls and flatten each into a disc using your hands.
- Encase Cheesecake Filling: Place a frozen cheesecake ball in the center of each disc. Wrap the dough fully around the cheesecake, pinching seams and rolling gently into a smooth ball to ensure filling is enclosed without leaks.
- Arrange on Baking Sheet: Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake Cookies: Bake for 13 minutes, or until edges are set but centers still look soft to achieve slightly underbaked texture.
- Shape Cookies Immediately: Remove from oven and immediately use a round spatula, the rim of a glass, or a spoon to shape cookies into perfect circles.
- Cool Cookies: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Optional Decoration: Drizzle with melted white chocolate, extra white chocolate chips, or sprinkle with festive sprinkles for a decorative finish.
Notes
- For thinner cookies, flatten the dough balls more before baking or reduce flour to 2 3/4 cups; for thicker cookies, use 3 cups of flour.
- You can use only 1 cup of white chocolate chips in the dough and reserve the other cup for drizzling after baking.
- To melt white chocolate for drizzling, place in a microwave-safe bowl with 1 teaspoon of oil and microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring well after each until smooth.
- Make sure the cheesecake filling is frozen firm before encasing it in dough to prevent stickiness and leakage during baking.
- Underbaking is key for a soft, creamy center, so do not overbake the cookies.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 25 g
- Sodium: 200 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg
