Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

This recipe was forwarded to me by Eli, a nurse in our emergency department. Even though I chilled the dough all day, it was too soft to be able to seal it around the filling and roll into a ball. I had to scoop balls of dough onto a plate covered in plastic wrap. I then covered the balls with another sheet of plastic wrap, flattened them, then put them in the freezer until they were stiff enough to handle. It complicated the process a lot but people really liked them in the emergency department.

Recipe By:

Bakeaholic Mama

Ingredients:

3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly-ground ground nutmeg
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cinnamon-sugar coating:
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Dash of allspice

Directions:

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

2. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together  butter and sugars on medium high speed until fluffy.

3. Blend in pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla.

4. Slowly add dry ingredients on low speed just until combined. Cover and chill dough for an hour.

5. To make the cream cheese filling, blend cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together. Chill for an hour.

6. Heat oven to 350 and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

7. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and spices for the coating and set aside.

8. To make the cookies, take a tablespoon of the cookie dough. Flatten it like a pancake and place a teaspoon of the cream cheese in center.

9. Form another tablespoon of the cookie batter into a flat pancake shape and place on top of the cream cheese. Pinch the edges together sealing in the cream cheese and roll into a ball. Roll in the cinnamon sugar coating and place on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.

10. Repeat until the dough is gone and flatten the cookie dough balls with a heavy bottomed glass or measuring cup.

8. Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes or until the tops start to crack. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.