Cheesecake Cookies

These cute little cookies seemed to be hit or miss with those who tried them...

Scott didn't particularly care for these. He only really likes chocolate chip cookies. When it comes to treats, such as these, I take his opinion with a grain of salt. My neighbors thought they were ok. My folks, who were in town for a quick visit, both enjoyed these, and were happy to take a few off my hands. And, I thought they were pretty darned good.

I'd make these again, if for no one else but myself. I mean, what says breakfast like one of these with a piping hot cup of coffee in the morning?! =)

Cheesecake Cookies

3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 - 8oz - packages cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 cans pie filling, your choice (I went for the strawberry)

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl - set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, on medium speed, beat cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth and creamy (about 2 minutes).
Add eggs and vanilla into cream cheese mix, until incorporated.
Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour and mix until combined.
Refrigerate about 30 minutes, or until dough is firm - I left my dough in the fridge for a couple hours and it probably could have stood to be in there a bit longer.

Preheat oven to 350.
Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
Pour graham cracker crumbs into a shallow bowl.
Take dough out of fridge and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls.
*Then roll balls into Graham cracker crumbs.
Place each ball on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
Using a Tablespoon measure, make an indentation in the center of each ball.
Place a dollop of pie filling in each indentation.
Bake 12-14 minutes.
Cool on sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to finish completely cooling.

As you can see, some cookies were sans graham cracker crumbs. I may have forgotten to roll the dough in the crumbs a few times, oopsies. Honestly though, my mom and I agreed we enjoyed them better without the graham crackers.

*If you choose to opt out of the graham crackers, roll your dough into balls and be sure to dip your tablespoon in a bit of flour, or the dough will stick to your tablespoon and leave you with not-so-pretty cookies.

These would be cute for the 4th of July; some centers filled with blueberries, some with strawberries (or cherries), and some filled with a cream cheese, or coconut, or almond bark, or white chocolate chips... It would make for a cute American flag arrangement, don't you think? 

Source: Slight adaptation from Monster Mama