Lemon Cheesecake Cookies (Soft-Baked)

Lemon Cheesecake Cookies are thick, soft, and chewy with a cheesecake-like texture and a simple lemon glaze.

Lemon Cheesecake Cookies

These aren’t your average cookies, and they might just become your new favorite dessert! If you’re a fan of cheesecake, lemon, and thick, chewy cookies, you’ll be ecstatic about Lemon Cheesecake Cookies!

They offer the taste of a mini cheesecake in a cookie format, setting them apart from traditional Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies or Peanut Butter Cookies.

While I firmly believe the effort put into these cookies is worthwhile, they do require more time than your usual cookie recipe. It’s crucial to allow the cream cheese and butter to reach room temperature before beginning. Additionally, these cookies need to be chilled before baking. Expect to spend around three hours from start to finish on these treats, although most of this time is passive.

Lemon Cheesecake Cookies Ingredients

1. Sugar: Provides sweetness and helps to create a light and fluffy texture when creamed with butter.
2. Unsalted Butter: Adds richness and flavor; it also helps in creating a tender crumb when creamed with sugar.
3. Cream Cheese: Contributes to the creamy texture and distinct cheesecake flavor of the cookies. 
4. Egg: Acts as a binder, helping to hold the cookie together, and contributes to their richness.
5. Vanilla and Lemon Extracts, Lemon Juice, and Lemon Zest: These ingredients infuse the cookies with a bright, citrusy flavor, with the zest adding a hint of texture.
6. Flour: The main structure of the cookie, providing the necessary gluten to hold the cookie together.
7. Baking Powder: A leavening agent that helps the cookies rise and become light.
8. Salt: Enhances the overall flavor of the lemon cheesecake cookies.
9. Cornstarch: Contributes to the soft texture, making the cookies tender.
10. Instant Lemon-Flavored Pudding and Pie Filling Mix: Adds additional lemon flavor and helps in creating a moist and chewy texture.

How To Make Lemon Cheesecake Cookies

• Prep: Bring butter, cream cheese, and egg to room temperature.
• Cream: Mix sugar and butter until fluffy. Add cream cheese, egg, vanilla, lemon extract, juice, and zest.
• Dry Ingredients: Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cornstarch, and pudding mix. Blend into the wet mixture.
• Chill: Refrigerate Lemon Cheesecake Cookies dough for 45 minutes.
• Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Form dough into 1 tablespoon balls, bake for 9-11 minutes.
• Glaze: Cool cookies, then drizzle with a mixture of powdered sugar and lemon juice.

More Cookie Recipes

• Cookie Brownie Bars
• Lemon Curd Cookies
• Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Cookies
• Caramel Snickerdoodles

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5 from 4 votes

Lemon Cheesecake Cookies

By Chelsea Lords

Lemon Cheesecake Cookies are thick, soft, and chewy with a creamy texture and a sweet-tart lemon glaze.

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

chilling time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 cookies

Equipment

• Hand mixer or stand mixer
• Sheet pan

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Cookies

• ▢ 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup
• ▢ 4 ounces cream cheese full-fat; I don’t recommend reduced-fat or Neufchâtel
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
• ▢ 1 lemon
• ▢ 1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• ▢ 2 tablespoons instant lemon-flavored pudding and pie filling mix see note 1

Glaze

• ▢ 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 lemon or more lemon juice from the other lemon

Instructions 

• 1 hour in advance: Set out the butter, cream cheese, and egg to get to room temperature. Make sure these ingredients are all at room temperature before starting. Don’t melt any of these ingredients in the microwave or the texture will be off (see note 2).
• In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter with an hand mixer until light and fluffy. (Or use a stand mixer.)
• Add in cream cheese and continue to beat until the batter is completely smooth. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, lemon extract, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. When zesting the lemon, be careful to avoid the white pith of the lemon, which is very bitter; just get the outside yellow part.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cornstarch, and pudding mix. Stir together, then add to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, being careful to not overmix (to avoid dense cookies).
• Cover the dough tightly and chill for 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon, measure the cookie dough to just fill the measuring spoon (not heaping; these are small cookie balls). Place cookies 2 inches apart on a parchment or silicone-lined sheet pan. I bake 8–10 at a time.
• Bake for 9–11 minutes (10 minutes is perfect in my oven), then remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Be very careful to not overbake these cookies as they go from a thick, soft cheesecake texture to a biscuit-like texture very quickly.
• Glaze: Once cooled, prepare the glaze by whisking together the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Add 2–3 teaspoons lemon juice just until a thick glaze can come together. Spoon the glaze over the cookies and allow to set.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: If you aren’t familiar with lemon pudding mix, here’s a picture of the box. Not lemon Jell-O® and not vanilla pudding mix, these lemon cheesecake cookies need the lemon instant pudding and pie filling mix. Do not prepare the pudding mix; just use the dry powder.

Note 2: Don’t have time for these ingredients to get to room temperature? Use some of these tricks to bring them to room temperature quicker.

Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–5 days. These cookies don’t freeze or thaw very well.

Nutrition

Serving: 24cookies | Calories: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 76IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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