The filling is made and frozen first. Cream cheese beaten with powdered sugar and vanilla is portioned into twelve mounds and firmed in the freezer for twenty minutes, which is what makes it possible to wrap dough around it.
Each dough portion is flattened, sealed around a frozen mound and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Twelve to fourteen minutes at 350°F sets the edges while the centres stay soft.
How to Make It
Filling portioned and frozen
Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla until smooth. Portion into 12 small mounds on parchment and freeze 20 minutes.
Oven and sheets ready
Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment.
Dough creamed
Beat the butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy, then beat in the egg and dough vanilla.
Dry ingredients folded in
Mix in the flour, baking soda and salt just until a soft dough forms.
Filling enclosed
Combine the coating sugar and cinnamon. Divide the dough into 12 portions, flatten each, enclose one chilled cream cheese mound and seal completely.
Rolled and baked
Roll each filled cookie in the cinnamon sugar and bake 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are set and the centres remain soft. Cool fully before storing.
Ingredient Notes
- Cream cheese
- Six ounces beaten with powdered sugar and vanilla, then frozen in twelve mounds.
- Vanilla, twice
- A teaspoon in the filling and another in the cookie dough.
- Cinnamon sugar coating
- A third of a cup of granulated sugar with a teaspoon and a half of cinnamon.
Success Tips
- Work with a few frozen filling mounds at a time and leave the rest in the freezer until needed.
- Pinch the dough seams firmly closed; any gap lets the filling escape onto the sheet.
- Roll in cinnamon sugar right before baking so the coating clings to the soft dough.
Why This Recipe Works
- Freezing the filling keeps it from leaking out as the dough spreads.
- Sealing the dough completely around the mound traps the filling in the middle.
- Brown sugar in the dough keeps the cookie chewy under its crisp sugar coat.
- Pulling them while the centres look soft leaves the filling creamy once cooled.
Serving Ideas
Stack them on a plate and break one open so the pale filling shows against the cinnamon crust.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Cool completely, then refrigerate leftovers at 40°F or below because of the cream cheese centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I stop the filling leaking?
Freeze the mounds for 20 minutes and seal the dough completely around each one.
They look underbaked in the middle.
That is intended: the edges set at 12 to 14 minutes while the centres stay soft, and they firm as they cool.
