Pumpkin Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies are the proper fall deal with! Tender and chewy pumpkin spice cookies function the bottom. The cookie dough is filled with actual pumpkin and pumpkin spice, making certain that each chew has an autumn vibe. Earlier than baking, every cookie is rolled in a pumpkin spice sugar combination for an additional layer of fall goodness. After baking they get indented within the center, like a thumbprint pressed down on it. The middle is then crammed with a easy cream cheese filling. It’s all of the flavors of fall in a single cookie!

Catch much more fall vibes by making our super moist pumpkin bread or our overnight pumpkin French toast casserole.

These melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin cookies are a little bit piece of heaven and are additionally surprisingly easy to make. The dough comes collectively shortly, and the thumbprint approach provides a enjoyable, hands-on step that’s excellent for getting the household concerned. Whether or not you’re baking for a fall get-together, a vacation occasion, or simply since you’re craving one thing seasonal, these Pumpkin Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies are certain to be a success.

Ingredient Notes

• Unsalted Butter: Be sure that your butter is softened to room temperature for simple mixing. If you happen to solely have salted, cut back the salt within the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon.
• Pumpkin Purée: Use pure pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling incorporates added sugars and spices, which might alter the recipe.
• All-Objective Flour: Keep on with common all-purpose flour right here for the suitable texture.
• Baking Powder: This helps the cookies rise simply barely, giving them a pleasant gentle texture.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice: You should utilize a store-bought mix or make your personal with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
• Cream Cheese: Be certain your cream cheese is absolutely softened earlier than mixing to get a clean, creamy filling. Chilly produces lumps.

Chilling the Dough

Chilling your dough is a vital step to making sure the proper cookie, and you do not need to skip it! Chilling will quiet down the butter which can assist forestall the cookies from spreading out too quick within the oven. In the event that they unfold too quick, there gained’t be something to indent.

The Good Indent

The identify “thumbprint cookies” comes from the basic technique of utilizing your thumb to press an indentation into the middle of the dough. Whereas that works simply nice, listed below are just a few different instruments and methods you should use to create a constant and even form each time:

Spherical Teaspoon: That is our most popular technique! Use the again of a spherical teaspoon (1/2 or 1 tablespoon dimension works effectively) to softly press down into the nice and cozy cookies, making a wonderfully spherical indent.

Knuckle: If you happen to’d wish to preserve it conventional however need one thing sturdier than your thumb, strive utilizing your knuckle to make the indent. It offers you extra management and reduces the danger of cracks.

Wine Cork: For a bigger, extra uniform indent, a clear wine cork works fantastically. Simply press it into the middle of the cookies whereas they’re nonetheless heat for a pleasant, spherical cavity.