Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies are a chewy chocolate base with smooth cheesecake frosting and cherries on top, just like a crumbl cookie!
If you've ever had a Crumbl cookie before, you know that these are the real deal.
This was inspired by my Crumbl copycat recipe for New York Cherry Cheesecake Cookies that are AMAZING. These are the dark and handsome cousins.
🥣 Ingredients
These cherry chocolate cheesecake cookies have a pretty simple list of ingredients. I'll walk you through a few substitutions later in the post.
- Butter - salted
- Brown Sugar - light
- White Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Chocolate Pudding Mix
- Hershey's Dark Cocoa Powder
- All Purpose Flour
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
- Cherry Pie Filling
- Chocolate curls (can be found in the cake decoration isle) or mini chocolate chips
🥣 Instructions
Start by creaming together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on high speed for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture turns light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in the eggs and vanilla, beating until well mixed and fluffy again.
Next add in the salt, baking soda, chocolate pudding mix, and cocoa powder and mix well. I add the flour last so that I can adjust the amount if needed without impacting the amount of the other dry ingredients.
Mix well until there are no flour pockets left and the dough is a soft play dough consistency.
Secret Ingredient For Soft Chocolate Cookies
There's an ingredient that I use for almost every cookie recipe I make, and it makes them all soft and lovely!
Use chocolate pudding mix to make these chocolate chesecake cookies extra chewy and delicious. Once you've tried it, you won't go back!
Once the dough is made, scoop it in ⅓ cup portions onto a baking sheet, 8 to a sheet. I do this in rows of 2, then 1, 2, 1, and 2 staggered on the pan instead of straight rows.
Shape the chocolate cookie dough balls into a hockey puck shape by flattening them slightly. Bake the cookies at 350 F. Cool completely before frosting.
Make The Frosting
Make the frosting by mixing together softened cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium/high speed. This helps make it fluffy and smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix well.
Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe using a large round frosting tip onto the cookies, starting on the outside edge of the cookie and working inwards in a spiral shape.
How To Tell When Cookies Are Done Baking
When baking chocolate cookies, it can be difficult to tell when they're exactly done because the color is dark. How can you tell if chocolate cookies are burnt?
These cookies start to puff up and get little cracks on the edges and tops when they are finished baking. If the cracks are very large, it can mean that they're starting to overbake and won't be as soft and fudgy.
Underbaked cookies will be shiny, with no cracks on top.
⏲ Cooking Time
These cookies are larger Crumbl bakery style cookies, which means that the baking time is longer than for medium sized chocolate pudding cookies or small cookies.
These cookies typically bake for 12-14 minutes on a middle rack of the oven. There are 8 cookies on a pan in this recipe.
Add The Cherry Topping
Last, add a spoonful of cherry pie filling to the tops of each cookie and a sprinkle of chocolate curls or mini chocolate chips. You can use my easy homemade cherry pie filling, or storebought.
Do You Need To Refrigerate Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies?
Yes, these cookies should be refrigerated within 2-3 hours after making if not consumed due to the cream cheese frosting.
To make ahead: Store baked cookies at room temperature unfrosted for up to 3 days (or freeze for up to 3 months) in an airtight container and refrigerate the frosting for up to 5 days until ready to assemble.
Freezing the frosting is not recommended as the cream cheese may change texture after freezing and thawing and become clumpy. Instead, make it fresh so it stays smooth!
✏️ Variations
- Try using different kinds of pie filling for a cookie topping! For a chocolate cookie, strawberry or raspberry pie filling would be amazing.
- You can use different flavorings for the cheesecake frosting besides vanilla. Add a little almond extract for an extra delicious boost.
- You can use chocolate curls, found in the cake decorating isle of grocery stores, or mini chocolate chips to sprinkle over the tops of these cookies.
- Use vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean caviar in the frosting to make the most amazing vanilla flavor!
Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) salted butter, softened
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ cup Hershey's special dark cocoa powder
- 1 (3.9 oz) box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 3½ cups all purpose flour
For the Frosting & Topping
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup butter
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 (20 oz) can cherry pie filling or homemade https://eatdessertsnack.com/homemade-cherry-pie-filling/
- Optional: mini chocolate chips or chocolate curls for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare baking sheet(s) with silicon baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add in the baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and pudding mix and mix well. Last add in the flour 1 cup at a time and mix on low speed until combined.
- Use a ⅓ cup scoop to measure dough into balls. Shape into a hockey puck shape and place 8 at a time on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until small cracks form on the edges and top. Let cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting:
- In a mixing bowl cream gether the cream cheese and butter 1-2 minutes on high speed, until fluffy and smooth with no lumps. Add in vanilla extract and powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until combined. Refrigerate if needed to firm up.
- Transfer to a piping bag and use a large round tip to pipe onto cooled cookies in a flat spiral shape.
- Spoon desired amount of cherry pie filling on top of each cookie and top with mini chocolate curls or chocolate chips for garnish.
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