These raspberry cheesecake cookies are pillowy soft, light, and creamy. Filled with a silky-smooth cream cheese frosting and raspberry jam, these cookies just can’t be beaten!
Recently I’ve been absolutely obsessed with cheesecakes and berries. There’s nothing better in summer than a refreshing and light desert that’s also naturally sweet.
These cream cheese cookies taste exactly like a raspberry cheesecake, but in a small bite. The extremely light cookie together with the silky cream cheese frosting and tart raspberry jam make for one special cookie.
Not only are these cookies extremely delicious, but they’re also easy to make. You can also have a lot of fun with these cookies and replace the raspberry jam with any other jam or curd. Did I also mention they are incredibly cute? Seriously though, these cookies will definitely make you come back for more!
In my view the perfect desert must be three things: delicious, balanced and easy to make. These raspberry cheesecake cookies are all of this plus more. I just can’t get enough of these cream cheese cookies because they are:
- Pillowy soft with a cream cheese cookie
- Silky smooth, filled with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Sweet and tart form the raspberry jam
- Perfectly balanced in flavour and texture
- Easy to make, with very little effort
- Fun to put together
- Versatile, and can be made with virtually any type of jam
The raspberry cheesecake cookies have three components, that work really well together. Each element of this cookie adds flavour and texture, making these cream cheese cookies an absolute treat!
- Cream Cheese Cookie – this type of cookie is pillowy soft and pretty much melts in your mouth. They are sweet and creamy and can also be eaten without any filling. These cookies are also perfect to serve with a cup of tea.
- White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting – this is my all-time favourite frosting that I use on my most popular desserts and cheesecakes. This frosting is creamy, rich and not overly sweet. Made with white chocolate, this cream cheese frosting smooth and has a wonderful flavour.
- Raspberry preserve – added in the middle of the cookie to bring sweetness with a hint of tartness. You can use either homemade or store-bought preserve.
The raspberry cream cheese cookies are then decorated with melted white or ruby chocolate. You can also use royal icing, sprinkles, edible flowers, or dried fruit.
Ingredient round-up
All the ingredients in this recipe work together to create a tasty, balanced, and soft cookie. As always, I like to bring flavour and sweetness from real fruits. No artificial flavour enhancers or colouring have been used in this recipe.
Cream cheese – used in the cookies and the frosting. I recommend using full fat cream cheese, as low fat contains more water. Try to get a cream cheese with at least 30-33% fat (check the nutritional label).
White chocolate – used in the cream cheese frosting. Use a high-quality white chocolate, the type you also like to eat. Preferably go for a chocolate with at least 26% cocoa solids.
Vanilla – extract is used in the cookie, and vanilla bean paste in the frosting. The latter can be replaced with vanilla extract as well.
Raspberry preserve – used to fill the inside of the cookies. I recommend making homemade raspberry preserve, as it’s easier to control the level of sugar added. Alternatively, you can also use store-bought raspberry preserve. Ensure it’s a slightly runnier preserve, not jelly.
Sugar – used in the cookies and raspberry preserve. As these cookies are very delicate, it’s essential we use a high-quality sugar (such as Dixie Crystals).
Making these raspberry cheesecake cookies is really easy and only takes a few minutes. Before you begin prepping the cookie dough, ensure the butter, cream cheese and egg are at room temperature. Gather the remaining ingredients and weigh them.
First, we need to prepare the cream cheese cookies.
- Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and cream cheese, then mix again to incorporate. You may need to scrape the bottom of your bowl if using a stand mixer. Finally, add the egg and combine well.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough just about comes together. We shouldn’t over-work the dough, as this will make the cookies dense and tough. Once the dough comes together, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Chilling will make the dough much easier to handle later.
- Once chilled, divide the dough into 24 pieces (roughly 2 tablespoon of dough or about 25g). Damp your hands with water, then roll each individual piece of dough into a ball by rolling it in your palms. If the dough starts sticking, wash your hands and repeat the process with clean, slightly wet hands.
- Press down on each ball of dough to flatten it to around 6mm or ¼ inch. These cookies don’t spread a lot, so they need to be flattened down before baking. Once ready, bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will appear soft freshly out of the oven. Once done, the underside of the cookie should be light brown in colour.
Preparing the fillings
These cookies have two types of fillings: cream cheese frosting and raspberry preserve. Combined, these two fillings work beautifully together and make for a creamy, sweet and tart bite.
Cream cheese frosting – I always use my tried and tested White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, which makes the silkiest frosting ever. This frosting is ideal for the cream cheese cookies because it pipes well, holds its shape, and tastes delicious.
Follow my step-by-step method for making the best White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.
Raspberry preserve – I like to use homemade preserve, but store-bought works too. For homemade preserve, all you need is 1 cup of raspberries and ½ cup of sugar. Cook the mixture until boiling, then simmer until it thickens into a gel (about 10-15 minutes).
Other types of fruit preserve you can use are strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, peach, apricot, or orange.
Once again, we have arrived at my favourite part, putting everything together! First, we will need to prepare the cookies for assembling.
- Start by melting some chocolate in the microwave, then placing it in a piping bag fitted with a thin nozzle. Pipe the chocolate in a zigzag or criss-cross pattern over half of the cookies. These cookies will become the top, so ensure you choose the best-looking ones.
- Place the cream cheese frosting in a piping bag fitted with a 5mm (¼ inch) nozzle. Pipe a ring of frosting on the bottom cookie, leaving space in the middle for the preserve.
- Fill the middle with raspberry preserve, without overfilling. I used a small teaspoon to fill, but you can also use a piping bag for more accuracy.
- Sandwich the bottom half with the top cookie with chocolate. Chill the cookies for at least 1 hour before serving, so the frosting can firm up.
How to store
These raspberry cheesecake cookies contain dairy, so they need to be stored in the fridge. To store, place the filled cookies in an airtight container and store for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze these cream cheese cookies. I recommend freezing the cookies before filling them with cream cheese and raspberry preserve. To freeze, cover the cookies in plastic wrap, then place in an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
These raspberry cream cheese cookies contain dairy, so they cannot be left out for too long. To avoid the cream cheese frosting from spoiling or melting from the heat, store the cookies in the fridge instead.
The recipe as it stands is not gluten free. However, these cookies can be made gluten-free by replacing the all-purpose flour with gluten-free variety. Please note that you may need to adjust the wet to dry ingredients ratio and that baking times can vary slightly.
Yes, absolutely! You can have fun with these cookies and replace the raspberry preserve with any other type. I recommend strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, apricot, peach, or orange.
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Recipe
Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- hand mixer
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- ½ cup butter, room temperature (100 grams)
- ½ cup sugar (100 grams)
- ½ cup cream cheese (100 grams)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg, large
- 1 ⅔ cups all purpose flour (200 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Cheesecake filling
- ¼ cup butter (50 grams)
- ¼ cup icing sugar (30 grams)
- ½ g cream cheese (100 grams)
- ⅔ cup white chocolate chips, melted (100 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- ¼ cup raspberry preserve* (80 grams)
Extra
- white or ruby chocolate, melted
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat with a hand mixer until light and pale. Add the vanilla extract and the egg, mixing to combine well.
- Separately, combine the flour and baking powder, whisking well to mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing on low speed until the dough just about sticks together. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) then divide the dough into 24 pieces. The dough will be quite sticky, so damped your hands before handling it. Roll the pieces into round balls, then flatten them slightly.
- Place on a lined baking sheet, leaving enough space between all the dough balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they start turning golden in colour. Let the cookies cool down completely on a cooling rack.
- Once cooled, pipe some melted chocolate over half of the cookies in a crisscross pattern. Place them in the fridge to set for 10 minutes.
- Separately, prepare the cheesecake filling following my trusted White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm (½ inch) round nozzle.
- Pipe a ring of cheesecake frosting on the bottom of the cookies without chocolate. Place a small dollop of raspberry preserve in the middle, then sandwich with the top cookie with chocolate.
Notes
- I recommend using a kitchen scale in grams for more accuracy. The cups used for the conversion are standard US customary cups (1 cup flour = 136g). There are many different types of cups across the globe, which is why I strongly recommend using grams instead.
- Raspberry preserve - you can use homemade or store-bought. You can also use any other types of preserves or jams.
- Storing - store in fridge inside an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Pin this recipe for later!
Other amazing summer recipes:
- Butter Pecan Ice Cream from Big Bear’s Wife
- Chocolate Banana Pudding Pops from Semi Homemade Recipes
- Banana Pudding Popsicles from 4 Sons ‘R’ Us
- Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Mug Cake from Our Good Life
- Lemon Icebox Pie from Sweet Beginnings
- Swig Cookies from Devour Dinner
- Strawberry Quik Pudding Shots from Sweet ReciPEAs
- Watermelon Mint Sorbet from Cookaholic Wife
- Blueberry Cheesecake Bars from Num's the Word
Emily says
The perfect cookies to dip in your champagne glass 🤩
Hanelore Dumitrache says
I love how you think, yes absolutely!
Boris says
Would it be possible to make this recipe gluten-free?
Hanelore Dumitrache says
Hi Boris, I've covered this in the post FAQs. These cookies can be made gluten-free by replacing the all-purpose flour with gluten-free variety. Please note that you may need to adjust the wet to dry ingredients ratio and that baking times can vary slightly.
Terri Steffes says
My mom adores all things raspberry and cheesecake, so I know these will be a hit with her. I think I should make her some, don't you?
Hanelore Dumitrache says
In that case I think your mom will fall in love with these cookies!
Rebecca says
These cookies look mouth watering! I loved this recipe for white chocolate cream cheese frosting! It was so good but not overpowering like some frostings can be. What a great little treat that you can't get enough of!
Hanelore Dumitrache says
So glad you like it, Rebecca! This cream cheese frosting has surely become my absolute favourite. It's not too sweet, silky smooth and super tasty!
Beckyy says
I almost didn’t try this recipe when I saw the cups measurement for the flour. I am a Yank, but prefer measuring by weight. Anyway, I knew something was off with the flour which made me wonder about the whole recipe. But I decided to try it straight up just using my scale. Turned out great, but for those relying on just their measuring cups, you might want to make a correction.
Hanelore Dumitrache says
Hi Becky, yes you are absolutely right, that was a big typo! I forgot the 1 in front of the 2/3 cup. So the conversion is 1 2/3 cups - thank you so much for pointing that out and I apologise about the confusion. I've fixed it now and double-checked all the conversions.
I'm glad the recipe turned out okay though, I really hope you enjoyed the cookies!
Han 🙂