Red Velvet Cheesecake Stuffed NYC Cookies

What makes these Chewy Red Velvet Cheesecake Stuffed NYC Cookies stand out is the fluffy, creamy cheesecake filling that has a slight tang. Pair that with a lightly cocoa flavored vanilla cookie and you have an irresistibly satisfying cookie to bit into that delivers everything you love about red velvet cake in each bite. I mean seriously, this cookie delivers on flavor and texture.

Hey team! Have I ever told you that Red Velvet Cupcakes are one of my favorite desserts ever? For me it’s all about that soft moist vanilla and cocoa cake that pairs so dreamily with lightly tangy Cream Cheese Frosting. You’re going to get all of those things in these cookies. All the same delicious flavors but in cookie form!

This recipe makes 8 hefty NYC bakery style cookies. Rich ,chewy cookie inside with a strong vanilla flavor and a light hint of cocoa. The center is loaded with the creamiest cheesecake filling so that way you get every single thing that makes red velvet desserts amazing in each bite. Naturally, the color makes these perfect for Valentines Day or Christmas.

They’re just so satisfying to bite into too because of how thick they are. I mean, I love pretty much any cookie, that’s why I have so many cookie recipes on the blog, but lately I’ve really pivoted into these thicker style cookies. I’ve got a chocolate chip version of these and a triple chocolate version with a chocolate base on the blog which I think you’ll love as much as these.

The Red Velvet Experience… In Cookie Form.

Frankly, it’s a guarantee that you’ll love these cookies for pretty much the same reason I do!

• Crispy bottom and edges – I have an easy hack to getting this!
• Classic vanilla and light cocoa flavor
• Fluffy cheesecake filling – super easy to make!
• Fudgy cookie center (but not raw!)

Chilling Your Cookie Dough Is Cookie Law

Ok, it’s not technically the law, but it should be. I used to skip this step too, but after countless cookie experiments, I’ve learned chilling your cookie dough is a non-negotiable.

• Taller, thicker cookies – Chilling firms up the dough, so that when it hits the oven, the butter melts slowly. This lets the outside set and develop that nice crisp crust before the inside fully spreads, keeping your cookies nice and tall. No flat puddles here!
• The cookies develop their flavor – Resting the dough gives time for the flavors to deepen as the ingredients mingle. It’s a bakery trick that really makes a difference.
• It makes stuffing them easier – Chilled cookie dough is firmer and easier to handle which means it won’t be a sticky mess as you shape it to stuff it with the cheesecake filling.

TIP – Let your cookie dough chill overnight before measuring out and shaping. The flavors intensify. Just like eating a bakery level cookie!

Why You Should Use Kitchen Scales

I’ve spent the last year converting my recipes to grams. And the single biggest reason is accuracy! I tested these cookies 5 times. The difference between 20g of flour between batches is astounding, see the batch testing photo below.

I decided to start including gram measurements when dividing the dough balls up. Sure, you could eye ball it and you’d be fine, but if you want every single cookie the exact same size, why wouldn’t you measure with scales when you already have them out? If you want to learn more about measuring with kitchen scales, I have a full guide on how easy it is to use kitchen scales that you should check out!

TIP – You don’t need fancy, expensive kitchen scales. They all basically do the same job. I’d just say avoid the ones with touch buttons, you want buttons that give you tactile feedback when you press the zero button so you know its ready for the next ingredient.

How I got That Big Bold Red Color

I’ve dialed back on using food coloring in my desserts now that I’ve moved away from my over the top desserts. In this recipe though, there’s no way to get that bright vivid red color without it. Let’s dive into a few of the key ingredients to get your cookies to come out perfect!

• Red food dye – I used liquid food dye which is different to food gel or food paste coloring. For some reason those wouldn’t give me the same bold red as the liquid kind. I used 14g of it which is about 2 tsp. You can dial it back a little if you like but it will give you a slightly muted color.
• Cocoa powder – I used Dutch processed cocoa powder in this recipe because of it’s rich chocolate flavor. It’s also what give these cookies a deep red color. Less of it will give you a much brighter red.
• Butter – For this recipe, make sure your butter is fridge cold. It’ll ensure your dough starts firm, giving you nice tall cookies. If you’re using a hand mixer to beat your butter, start on medium speed. It’ll feel like the mixer is going to break, but hold it firm with one hand and the bowl with the other and keep beating until it eventually becomes creamy in texture.
• Vanilla extract – Don’t skimp on quality here. You want to use the best vanilla extract you have access to here. Lower qualities are less strong which means you need to use more of them and that can muck about with the end result of your cookies being nice and thick.
• Cream cheese – To get a creamy, velvety smooth cheesecake filling you need to begin with softened cream cheese. You can do this by leaving your cream cheese at room temp to soften on its own for about an hour or cut it into cubes and microwave it for about 15 seconds. Smoothen it out with a spatula before mixing it with all the other ingredients.
• Chocolate chips – Sorry, but it isn’t cookies without chocolate chips ok? I wernt with white chocolate purely for the aesthetics, but let me tell you, milk or dark chocolate would also work well!
• Corn starch – Sometimes known as corn flour. This helps your cream cheese filling set nicely without eggs.

Making The Fluffy Cream Cheese Filling

Let’s start with the cream cheese filling because it needs time to freeze. You can make it just 2 hours before shaping the cookies, but if you’re prepping the dough the day before, it’s easier to make the filling ahead too. That way, it freezes fully which is only going to make stuffing the cookies easier!

• Add the softened cream cheese to a mixing bowl and give it a stir until it it’s creamy. I like doing this with a spatula. Then stir in the sugar and vanilla extract and finally the corn starch and cream. Once it’s all smooth and lump free it’s done!

• Divide it into 35g portions onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. I did this with an ice cream scoop, but you can use two spoons if you like. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours.

TIP – Make sure your cream cheese is nice and soft before you begin this step so that it mixes in properly and lump free. You can leave it out at room temperature for an hour or cut it into cubes and microwave it for 10-15 seconds.

The Secret To Bakery Level Cookie Dough

Making the cookie dough is easy. Just keep in mind, rest time is super important to give the dough time to firm up. It also helps it develop its flavor too. 2 hours is the minimum but overnight is best. Up to 48 hours for God level flavor!

• Add the flour, cocoa powder, corn flour/starch, baking powder and salt to a medium sized mixing bowl and mix to combine.

• To a separate bowl, add the cold butter and beat on medium speed until well combined. It’ll be hard to mix at first because it’s so cold, keep at it, just beat the top of the butter to begin with until that softens and work the beaters down toward the bottom of the bowl. It’s important for the butter to be cold so your dough can be stiff enough to portion before you chill it.

• Add the caster sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract and red food dye and beat for 2 minutes on medium high speed until it’s well combined.
• Scrape the bowl down and add half the dry ingredients and all the white chocolate chips. Use either your mixer or a spatula to mix until a paste like consistency forms, before adding the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until a dough forms and no dry ingredients are showing.

TIP – If your dough is really soft after mixing, pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes before portioning.

• Portion the dough into 140g pieces and roll into balls. Pop them on a tray lined with baking paper and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for a minimum of 2 hours. Overnight is best so the flavors can develop.

Let’s Shape And Fill These Cookies

You’ll want to work quickly here and keep the rest of the dough balls in the fridge as you fill each one with the cheesecake filling.

• Working with one dough ball at a time, use your thumbs to indent a hole into the dough but not all the way to the bottom. Use your thumbs to keep stretching the hold into a bowl shape that’s a little smaller than the size of your palm. You want the cheese filling disc to fit inside the hole you’ve create with enough excess dough to be able to go over the cheese filling.
• Pop the frozen cheese filling inside.

• Cover with the dough. That part you used to cover the disc, that’s going to be the top of your cookie. It’ll be slightly thinner than the bottom and it’ll prevent the cheesecake filling seeping out the bottom as the cookies bake.

The Secret To Crispy Bottoms!

The secret is preheating your baking tray! Get it piping hot in the oven as you preheat it. It’ll get the bottom of your cookies cooking before they even enter the which will crisp them up and stop the cookie from spreading too much.

• Carefully line your baking tray with baking paper. Place four cookie balls on top of your baking tray and space 4 chilled cookie balls apart to give them room to spread. Bake for 8 minutes, then turn the tray around and bake for a final 8 minutes.

TIP – Bake with the fan off if you can! Your cookies bake up better, especially on the outside. During my testing I found baking with the fan on burns the chocolate chips before the inside has even had a chance to bake up properly.

How to Get perfectly Round Cookies!

I like using a cookie cutter slightly larger than the baking tray to shuffle around the soft cookies as soon as they come out of the oven to get them round. You can also use a spatula or spoon to shape into a round shape while they’re warm and soft.

Let them completely cool on the baking tray. It’ll help the inside finish setting. Once they’ve called, let them cool completely.

It Took Me 5 Batches To Get This Cookie Right

Yeah, you read right. I wanted a tall cookie, and that’s all fine and good, but that filling was causing issues with the inside cooking properly, so I wanted to show you guys something.

My oven doesn’t run as hot as it used to so I’ve switched to using an internal oven thermometer to make sure the temperature is exactly accurate. For this cookie, that’s really important. Because it makes the difference between a cookie that spreads way too much and a cookie that bakes up nice and tall and bakes properly in the middle.

In short, a higher temperature is what was needed for these cookies and a much longer bake time to make up for that added moisture in the center from cheesecake filling.

How To Store Your Cookies

These cookies are good for a total of 3 days before the cheesecake filling starts making the cookies soft. Store them in the fridge and they’ll last 4-5 days.

Freezing Your Cookies

You can freeze the filled cookie dough balls before you bake them. Simply lay them out on a baking tray and freeze completely. Then transfer to a baking tray. Let the cookies thaw for 15-20 minutes at room temperature before baking as normal.

Why is this recipe in grams and not cups?

The short answer is accuracy! It is far easier, more accurate and you get more consistency results when you measure ingredients by weight, especially in dessert and bread baking! I wrote all about this in my post about using digital kitchen scales!

Tried this recipe and loved it? Awesome! Drop me a comment below and tell me about it! Can’t wait to hear how it turned out for you! You can also keep up to date with me during the week by joining me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!