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Kicking off the New Year right with January’s Cookie of the Month: New York Cheesecake Cookies! A soft graham cracker cookie base topped with decadent cheesecake frosting & any topping you can manifest.
What is the Cookie of the Month Club?
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS! At the end of 2024, we asked what you wanted to see in 2025 and several of you mentioned a Cookie of the Month Club. Obviously I LOVE that idea! So…here’s what you can expect of our brand spanking new cookie club each month:
- A brand new (likely themed, guaranteed delicious) cookie recipe for each month
- A movie to watch while eating said cookie
- An activity to go along with the fun
Our hope is that you’ll grab your favorite people and turn this into a monthly girl’s night, like your book club or cookbook club but ~cookies~. And if you want to share your cute pictures or fun reels and tag me, even better!
January’s Cookie of the Month
The Cookie: New Year’s Eve Cheesecake Cookies
A nod to Times Square’s New Year’s Eve party, these New York Cheesecake style cookies are celebratory and glamorous. It features a graham cracker DROP 😉 cookie base that is topped with luscious cheesecake frosting. Feel free to add any toppings you desire (strawberries + chocolate drizzle, caramel sauce, fresh fruit, preserves, etc) or eat it plain.
The Movie: “New Year’s Eve”
Hi, all-star cast.
The Activity: Creating a 2025 Bingo Card
Print out a blank bingo card, grab some markers and fill each square with goals or experiences you hope to accomplish this year—big or small. The challenge? Complete bingo in any direction and celebrate your progress along the way. It’s the perfect mix of motivation and fun to share with friends!!
EEK! This is going to be so much fun!!!
Ingredients in New York Cheesecake Cookies
- Salted butter, softened – I always use salted butter in my recipes (because who wants to stock 2 types of butter in their kitchen??). You can also use unsalted butter & add an extra pinch of salt to the dough, if desired.
- Brown sugar, packed – I used light brown sugar.
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- All-purpose flour
- Graham crackers, crushed to a powder – I just put the graham crackers in a ziptop bag and crushed it, but you can also pop these in food processor/blender and pulse for a bit.
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
Cheesecake Frosting
- Cream cheese, room temperature – Use a block of cream cheese, not the spreadable tub kind.
- Butter, room temperature – Again, I used salted butter.
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
- Heavy cream, as needed – Milk will also work, you’ll just need a lot less.
- Toppings of your choice
How to Make Cheesecake Cookies
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream together, mixing for 2 minutes.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix in the eggs and vanilla.
- Once mixed well, add the flour, crushed graham crackers, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Use a #24 cookie scoop to portion out the dough into 3 tbsp balls. Arrange on a parchment or silicone lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies spread and just begin turning golden brown on the edges.
- While the cookies cool, make the cheesecake frosting.
- Combine the cream cheese and the butter until smooth using either a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, allowing the mixture to completely combine before adding an additional cup. Repeat until all of the powdered sugar has been added.
- Add the vanilla into the frosting and incorporate. Adjust the thickness of the frosting by adding in a small amount of heavy cream at a time as needed.
- Spread 1 1/2 tbsp of frosting onto each cookie and top with your desired toppings.
- Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!
How should I store Cheesecake Cookies?
Once cooled, store your cookies in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to serve! If you’re planning on serving the cookies in a few days, store the graham cracker cookies on the counter and the frosting in the fridge. When you’re ready, frost, top and serve!
Other Cheesecake Faves
New York Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 sleeve* graham crackers, crushed to a powder, (A sleeve contains 9 full crackers or 36 pieces when broken).
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Cheesecake Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 tbsp butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp heavy cream, as needed
- toppings of your choice
Instructions
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream together, mixing for 2 minutes.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix in the eggs and vanilla.
- Once mixed well, add the flour, crushed graham crackers, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Use a #24 cookie scoop to portion out the dough into 3 tbsp balls. Arrange on a parchment or silicone lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies spread and just begin turning golden brown on the edges.
- While the cookies cool, make the cheesecake frosting.
- Combine the cream cheese and the butter until smooth using either a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, allowing the mixture to completely combine before adding an additional cup. Repeat until all of the powdered sugar has been added.
- Add the vanilla into the frosting and incorporate. Adjust the thickness of the frosting by adding in a small amount of heavy cream at a time as needed.
- Spread 1 1/2 tbsp of frosting onto each cookie and top with your desired toppings.
- Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!
I’m making these tomorrow. How many servings do I get from one cookie? Asking for a friend. lol
One cookie should be one serving!
Love all your recipes that I’ve made so far! If I wanted to make these a bit smaller, would the bake time be the same? Thanks!
Hi Ginny, if you’re making the cookies smaller you will want to decrease the baking time by a couple of minutes. You can always add an extra minute if they need a little more time!
What a fun cookie recipe! I made mine smaller, but they came out beautifully! I also topped with luscious, fat, juicy blueberries (my favorite kind of cheesecake!) My husband liked the strawberries on top as well! I wish I could’ve posted photos of them here, since I was so proud the cookies turned out so beautifully & the cream cheese icing was perfection! Thanks Karli!
Bet this cookie could transform into a s’mores cookie with some marshmallow crème and chocolate chips or chunks.
These cookies are delicious and unique. Everyone has enjoyed them and commented on how much they enjoyed them.
As always, this recipe from Karli blew me out of the park! I subbed the butter and cream cheese for dairy free alternatives and they still tasted amazing!!
I made these tonight and while they were tasty they didn’t turn out like the pictures. The cookies baked up soft and rounded. I pressed them flat with the bottom of a glass after I removed them from the oven and saw they weren’t spread flat like yours. The frosting is tasty – very sweet – more of a cream cheese frosting vibe than cheesecake. Very smooth and creamy – I didn’t need any cream. I also added fresh blueberries on top and it was a very nice treat!
Thanks, Lauren!
WOW! These are amazing! I can’t wait to share with my family…or keep them all for myself! LOL. The January cookie of the month started off strong! I can’t wait for the upcoming months too!
Cookies were a hit with the family! Will definitely make again. And, my daughter and I enjoyed the movie!
Amazing recipe! The nutritional panel does not denote what a serving size is to calculate calories & carbohydrates. Could you provide it?
Hi Dorothy, the nutrition facts are calculated for 12 cookies made from 3Tbsp dough balls.