Gluten Free Cheesecake Stuffed Cookies

Gluten Free cheesecake stuffed chocolate cookies are the ultimate dessert mash-up. A chocolate-ey gluten free double chocolate cookies filled with a creamy cheesecake center - it's almost like you are getting two desserts in one. And of course, there are plenty of chocolate chips in this cookie (even in the cream cheese filling).

If you love a good chocolate cookie, make sure to check out my Gluten Free Levain Style Double Chocolate Cookie. If you are more in the mood for Peanut Butter, check out my Peanut Butter stuffed chocolate cookies.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten Free Flour: I have tested this recipe for Cheesecake stuffed Chocolate Cookies with my own GF Flour Blend, Bob’s Red Mill and Cup4Cup. While all 3 flour blends worked perfectly fine in this recipe, the cookie made with Cup4Cup did spread the most. The cookies were made with my own gluten free flour blend and Bob’s Red Mill stayed more compact. If you choose to make this recipe with Cup4Cup, I recommend adding an additional 10 grams of flour to this recipe. (ONLY IF YOU USE CUP4CUP!)

Cream Cheese: I use full-fat, blocks of cream cheese in my baking. My favorite brand is Philadelphia Cream Cheese which is considered gluten-free according to the Kraft Heinz website. The ingredients for the original Philadelphia Cream Cheese are pasteurized milk and cream, carob bean gum, cheese culture (Contains: MILK). The product itself is not labeled as gluten-free. As always I recommend checking the ingredients or the manufactures website when questioning if a product is safe for celiacs.

Chocolate Chips: I use Mini Chocolate Chips in this recipe for – dark or milk or a mix would work great. You can also use regular-sized chocolate chips. I would recommend giving them a quick chop before adding them to the batter. The smaller-sized cookies make the filling and shaping of the cookie dough a lot easier.

Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder: I highly recommend using dutch processed cocoa in this recipe for Cheesecake Chocolate cookies. Dutch-processed cocoa produces richer, fudgier flavors. My go-to brands are Cacao Barry Extra Brute and Valrhona Pure Cocoa Powder. If you are looking for a better price point cocoa powder I recommend Hershey’s Dutched Cocoa, Special Dark, 100% Cacao. Be aware if you use Natural Cocoa Powder in this recipe, the cookies may be dry and lighter in color.

Note about the Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

The dough for Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies is very straightforward. Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature and your dry ingredients are sifted. This cookie dough must rest for at least 2-4hrs. It will be very soft when you first make it so don’t be tempted to add more flour. While the dough for the Cheesecake stuffed chocolate cookies rests, the gluten free flour hydrates and the dough will firm up.

How to make Gluten Free Cheesecake Stuffed Cookies

I highly recommend using two cookie scoops to make this recipe. Using those two scoops I get 12 cookies out of one batch of dough.

• #20 large scoop (3 tablespoons) – for the chocolate cookie dough
• #40 small scoop (1.5-2 teaspoons) – for the cream cheese filling.

Make the Cheesecake Filling: To make the cream cheese filling, combine the room temperature cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Starting at a low speed, mix the ingredients together until fully combined and smooth. With a flexible spatula, fold in 50 grams of Mini Chocolate Chips. Line a small sheet tray or plate with parchment paper and divide the cream cheese filling into 12 equal portions. Place the filling in the freezer until ready to use.

Preheat your oven: When you are ready to bake your Cheesecake Stuffed Cookies, preheat your oven to 350F. It will take a while for the oven to be fully preheated.

Portion out Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: Once your dough has rested for at least 2-4 hrs, line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Using a large scoop, such as a #20 scoop, divide the dough into 12 equal portions.

Flatten the Cookie Dough: This works the best if your cookie dough is very cold. Flatten the chocolate dough into a flat disk and top with a frozen scoop of cream cheese.

Wrap the dough: Roll the gluten-free chocolate cookie dough up and around the filling. Roll into a ball. If your cookie dough becomes too warm and soft, just pop it back into your fridge or freezer for a few minutes.

Top with additional chocolate chips: Top each gluten free cheesecake stuffed cookie dough ball with additional mini chocolate chips and carefully press down the cookie dough. You want to turn the cookie dough into small disks, about ¾ inch thick.

Bake the Cookies: Arrange SIX cookies on a parchment-lined sheet tray and bake at 350F for 11-13 minutes. Your cookies are done when they are puffy and still look slightly underbaked. Remove the cookies from the oven, and with a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie scoot them into a round shape. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough or freeze the unbaked dough for future use.

Enjoy! Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes before digging in.

Tips & Tricks to make the perfect stuffed cookies

• Use chilled dough. Because you’ll be using your hands to shape your stuffed cookies, make sure that it sits in the fridge before shaping. The colder the dough, the easier it will be to portion and shape. If your dough gets sticky, you may lightly wet your hands. Make sure to also use a clean cookie scoop.
• Pre-portion your filling. This is a big one. Use a small cookie scooper or spoons to pre-portion out your filling. Stick it in the freezer until ready to use. This will make rolling the cookies so much easier. The cold filling will help to keep the chocolate cookie dough cold as well when you try to shape it.
• Don’t overbake them! No one likes an overbaked, dried-out cookie anyways.

Frequently Asked Questions about Gluten Free Cheesecake Stuffed Cookies

Can I make the gluten free double chocolate cookie dough ahead of time?
Yes! You can make the cookie dough ahead of time, up to 3-5 days. Make sure to store it in the fridge, in an airtight container.

How long can cream cheese sit outside?'
Food safety experts recommend that 2 hours is the maximum amount of time that cream cheese should sit at room temperature. Other experts recommend no longer than 4 hours. Since it can take some time to get the cream cheese to room temperature, I recommend placing the unwrapped block of cream cheese on a microwave-safe plate and carefully nuke it at 50-70% of power for 10 seconds. Turn the block over and nuke for an additional 10 seconds. This should help speed up getting the cream cheese to room temperature.

Can I freeze the unbaked cream cheese stuffed cookies?
Yes! Arrange your stuffed cookies on a parchment-lined sheet tray and place them in the freezer until frozen. Once frozen, transfer them to an airtight container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, I like to arrange the frozen cookie dough on a sheet tray and allow for it to sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. This will not thaw the cookie dough, it just allows for them to slowly come to room temperature. Add 1-2 minutes of baking time if baked from frozen.Can I make this recipe vegan?
While it should be no issue to make this recipe with dairy-free butter, I have not tested this recipe without eggs or any egg substitutes.

I don’t have celiac, can I make this recipe with “all-purpose flour”?
To make this recipe with “regular” all purpose flour, please substitute the gluten free flour blend with 205 grams of AP Flour.

How should I store my Gluten Free Cheesecake Stuffed Cookies?
Technically, since the cookies contain cream cheese in the middle, they should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. But to be honest, I don't store mine in the fridge. They also never last longer than 1 to 2 days around here so I am not to worried. If you store them in the fridge, you can nuke them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up.