Cinnamon Cheesecake Cookies

I was panicked by the end of last week, because I hadn't spent any time cooking and as a result, I had nothing to blog about. It's Christmastime and I got nothing in the pipeline, nothing waiting to be written or pictures waiting to be reviewed and cropped. I was so ready for fall, so what happened to Christmas? ...the most wonderful time of the year...*sigh*
So...last weekend was catch up time. I made one of my easy dinners on Sunday and in addition to the easy main dish, I wanted to make something sweet and festive, like cookies. I perused my Pinterest pins, but nothing really jumped out at me. Then, I remembered the Cinnamon Cheesecake Cookies, I made last year for my neighbor's annual cookie exchange. My neighbor, Lily and her daughters host a cookie exchange each year and there are three categories to win, best presentation, most creative and best tasting. Last year, I was so excited that I won 'best tasting" for these little Cinnamon Cheesecake Cookies.  

The basic recipe came from from Heat Oven to 350 but I made a few changes to get to these delicious cookies. I omitted the fruit topping and added a cinnamon glaze, I also added cinnamon to the cookie dough and also added cinnamon graham crackers to the outside coating. They are so delicious, you won't believe all that yumminess comes from such a simple looking cookie. If you like cheesecake and sugar cookies and Snicker doodles, you'll love these soft, decadent cookies with a little bit of icing. Merry Christmas!

Cinnamon Cheesecake Cookies 
makes ~5 dozen

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 t vanilla extract
1 cup cinnamon graham cracker crumbs

1 T Hershey's Cinnamon Chips 
1 1/2 T milk
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. 
In another bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. 
Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. 
Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Place one package of cinnamon graham crackers in a Ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to roll along the bag, crushing the crackers until they are uniform in size. Pour crumbs into a shallow dish. 

Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Using a small cookie scoop, drop 1-inch rounds of the dough into the graham cracker crumbs and then roll the balls until covered with graham cracker crumbs. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using the back of the spoon, slightly flatten the balls to ensure even cooking. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool for five minutes on the sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

While cookies are cooling, prepare the icing. Placing the tablespoon of cinnamon chips and the 1 1/2 tablespoon of milk in a small microwavable bowl. Heat the milk and chips for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and let sit for 1 minute and stir to melt the chips. Return to the microwave and repeat until chips are completely melted and smooth.  

Once melted, add the cinnamon chip and milk mixture to the cup of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. The mixture will not be runny. It will be the consistency of thick caramel. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of more milk if needed, but take care not to add too much milk. You don't want a runny icing that will melt and soak in to the cookie. 

Once the icing is prepared, use a spoon to drizzle icing in long strokes onto the cookies. Let icing set and then store cookies in an air tight container.
 

For other Christmas Cookie recipes see:
Gingerbread Biscotti 
Red Velvet Brownies with Cookie Crumble Frosting