Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookie Cups

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These Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookie Cups are soft, chewy gingerbread cookie cups with a no-bake cinnamon cheesecake filling. Packed with flavor and perfectly shareable, they are a holiday must-make.

Why You’ll Love Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookie Cups

I love making bite-sized cookie cups around the holidays because they are an easy, two-in-one treat that tastes amazing. That means I get to have cookies AND cheesecake with minimal prep. Perfection! And did I mention they’ll feed a crowd?! Double perfection! Here’s a few more reasons to fall in love with these Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookie Cups.

• Easy to make. These cookie cups are super fun for Christmas – and nice and easy to make. They look and feel more special than your average cookie, and really aren’t much extra work.
• Gingerbread. Can you think of anything more perfect for the holidays than gingerbread? The soft, chewy texture and holiday spices taste like Christmas in cookie form.
• Cinnamon brown sugar cheesecake. The cinnamon cheesecake filling is beyond delicious. It’s a no bake cheesecake flavored with brown sugar and cinnamon; it’s the perfect creamy companion for gingerbread.
• Fun-sized. These cookie cups might just be my new kryptonite! They are small enough you won’t feel guilty about eating them, and light enough you’ll want to go back for seconds or even thirds.
• Make ahead. The cheesecake filling keeps the cookies nice and soft, so they are great for making a day or two ahead at this busy time of year.

Ingredient Notes

Time to get baking! Here’s what you need to know about the ingredients before you get started. Check out the recipe card toward the bottom of this post for the full amounts.

Gingerbread Cookie Cups

• Flour. Use all-purpose flour for the cookie base. Use a food scale to properly measure the flour if possible, otherwise use the spoon and level method. Do not pack the flour. Too much flour will give you dense, dry cookies.
• Spices. To get the perfect gingerbread flavor, you’ll need several spices: ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and a pinch of ground cloves.
• Baking soda. Helps the cookies rise and makes them nice and chewy.
• Unsalted butter and salt. I used unsalted butter (softened to room temperature) and added a little bit of salt. If you only have salted butter, you can use it but leave out the additional salt.
• Brown sugar. For sweetness, moisture and flavor. If you don’t have any on hand, regular granulated sugar would be fine.
• Egg. Use a large egg (not medium or extra large).
• Molasses. Be sure to use unsulphered molasses, NOT blackstrap molasses.

Cheesecake Filling

• Cream cheese. Use brick-style, full-fat cream cheese. Other varieties, like low-fat, fat-free and whipped, will not work in a no bake filling because they are too soft. Bring the cream cheese to room temperature to avoid a lumpy filling.
• Powdered sugar. Sweetens and thickens the filling.
• Vanilla extract and Ground cinnamon – Flavor!
• Sprinkles. You can top your cookie cups with any type of sprinkles you’d like, or none at all.

How to Make Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookie Cups

Check out these step-by-step photos for a quick overview of the directions. More comprehensive directions can be found in the recipe card below.

Make the Cookie Dough

• Prepare to bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and spray a cupcake/muffin pan with non-stick spray.
• Mix dry ingredients. Combine the flour, spices, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add the butter and brown sugar to a large mixer bowl and cream until light in color and fluffy. Don’t skimp on the creaming time.
• Finish cookie dough. Mix in the egg and molasses, then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined; don’t over mix.

Make Gingerbread Cookie Cups

• Fill baking cups. Make cookie dough balls (about 2 tablespoons each), and press them into each cupcake cup.
• Bake. Bake until the edges just begin to turn golden (about 8-10 minutes). They should look slightly underdone in the center.
• Reinforce cups and cool. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Make sure each cup has a deep enough indentation to hold the filling. If the indents are too shallow, press down on the bottom and sides of the warm cookie cups with the underside of a tablespoon.
• Cool. Remove cookie cups from pan and place on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Finish the Cookie Cups

• Make cheesecake filling. Make the cheesecake filling once the cups are cool. Mix the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon together until smooth.
• Fill and top cookie cups. Fill the cookie cups with cheesecake filling and top with sprinkles, if desired.

Tips for Success

• Use room temperature ingredients. To avoid over mixing and lumpy dough/filling, use room temperature butter and cream cheese. When these ingredients are room temperature, they blend much more easily with the rest of the ingredients. To test whether or not the butter and cream cheese are softened, press gently on the outside of the wrapper; if your thumb leaves an indent but doesn’t go in too much, they are soft enough to use.
• Fully cream the butter and sugar. The mixture should become significantly lighter in color and take on a fluffy texture from having air incorporated into the mixture.
• Don’t over mix the cookie dough. Too much mixing activates the gluten in the flour and can make the cookies too dense.
• Chill the dough. If you’re having trouble working with the cookie dough, chill it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to make it less sticky and easier to work with.
• Undercook the cookie cups. You’ll want to slightly underbake the cookie cups because they will continue to cook and firm up in the pan as they cool. Cooking them until they look done will end up meaning they are overdone.
• Let the cookies cool completely. Don’t add the cheesecake filling until the cookies are completely cooled to room temperature, otherwise it could melt

Storage Information

• Refrigerate. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Best served cool or close to room temperature, but not super cold. For the best taste and texture, eat within 3-4 days.
• Freezing. You can freeze these cookie cups for up to 3 months. It wouldn’t be ideal to stack them though. Freeze them in an air-tight container and thaw in the fridge before serving.

More Gingerbread Dessert Recipes

• Best Gingerbread Man Cookies
• Gingerbread Layer Cake
• Gingerbread Cheesecake
• Gingerbread Cookies with Eggnog Icing
• Gingerbread Cupcakes
• Gingerbread Cheesecake Trifle

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