Yield: 8 gingerbread cheesecake cookies // Total Time: 1 hr. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. // This post is sponsored by Florida Crystals®. All opinions are my own.

Soft, delicious gingerbread spiced cookies topped with a cheesecake frosting and mini gingerbread men.

gingerbread cheesecake cookies

December and cold weather means it’s the *perfect* time for all the warm spices and gingerbread! These gingerbread cheesecake cookies start with a DELICIOUS soft, thick and chewy gingerbread spiced brown sugar cookie. They’re then topped with a super creamy vanilla cheesecake frosting, and mini gingerbread men to make them extra adorable. They’re easy, delicious, and sure to impress this holiday season!

Florida Crystals®

I’m super excited to partner with Florida Crystals® for these amazingly delicious gingerbread cheesecake cookies! Florida Crystals® crafts their sugars with respect for our planet, are certified vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO and are Regenerative Organic Certified®, meaning they go beyond just being organic. We’re using a combination of their Raw Cane Sugar, Light Brown Sugar, and Powdered Sugar to make a super delicious and festive cookie with ingredients that are kind to you and to the planet! Also- their packaging is eco-friendly and made from recyclable material. Check them out here by clicking this link, to find Florida Crystals® near you!

recipe tips

weigh your ingredients

Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient. In a small batch recipe it is especially important to get those correct measurements because there is less room for error. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!

room temperature ingredients

It is important for the ingredients to be at room temperature so that they properly incorporate with each other. If you have ever had your batter look curdled, it is most likely due to the ingredients separating from being at different temperatures. Take out the eggs, butter, and cream cheese at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr 30 min. before starting the recipe. To get an egg to room temperature quickly, you can run it under hot water for 1 minute. To get butter and cream cheese to room temperature quickly, you can slice them and lay them flat on a plate, then microwave in 5 second intervals until they are soft to the touch.

mix the dough carefully

When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Overmixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies super tough and chewy.

under bake for perfect cookies

Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, the cookies are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

cookie scooting

Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!

ingredients and substitutions

For the gingerbread sugar cookies:

All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.

Baking powder: for helping the cookies rise.

Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies

Ground cinnamon, ground ginger & ground cloves: for flavor.

Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies.

Florida Crystals® Regenerative Organic Certified® Light Brown Sugar: for sweetness, moisture, and flavor.

Florida Crystals® Regenerative Organic Certified® Raw Cane Sugar: for sweetness and helps retain moisture in the cookies to keep them soft and chewy.

Egg: for binding and for moisture.

Vanilla: for flavor.

For the cheesecake frosting:

Cream cheese: the base of the cheesecake frosting! The tanginess from the cream cheese compliments the sweetness of the frosting and cookies so well.

Unsalted butter: a little bit of butter helps thicken up the frosting.

Salt: a little bit of salt helps balance the sweetness and bring out the flavor of the frosting.

Vanilla & heavy cream: for flavor and for thinning out the frosting.

Florida Crystals® Regenerative Organic Certified® Powdered Sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the frosting.

how to make gingerbread cheesecake cookies

• Beat together the butter, Florida Crystals® Regenerative Organic Certified® Light Brown Sugar, and Florida Crystals® Regenerative Organic Certified® Raw Cane Sugar
• Followed by the egg and vanilla.

• Fold in the dry ingredients, chill the dough, then bake the cookies.
• Beat together the cheesecake frosting ingredients. Frost the chilled cookies, and enjoy!

gingerbread cheesecake cookies q&a

can I double this recipe?

Of course! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.

can I make these gingerbread cheesecake cookies ahead of time?

There are a few options for prepping these cookies in advance!

• Option 1: Make the cookie dough days in advance. Once you’ve made the cookie dough, you can wrap it up tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking it off. Be sure to let the cookie dough sit out for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking, so that it’s soft enough to scoop.
• Option 2: Make the cookies days in advance. 2-3 days before you want to serve the cookies, you can bake and create all the components. Bake the cookies and keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Make the frosting and keep it stored airtight in the fridge. Remove the frosting from the fridge 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to frost the cookies so that it gets soft again, then whip it back up with a hand mixer or by hand. Frost, serve, and enjoy!
• Option 3: Make the cookies months in advance. The cookies can be baked and then frozen for up to three months before using. When you want to make and serve them, simply let the cookies defrost to room temperature, whip up the cheesecake frosting, frost them, and enjoy! Alternatively, you can freeze balls of the cookie dough for up to three months, then bake them and frost them.

how to store gingerbread cheesecake cookies

Because the frosting is made with cream cheese, these cookies do need to be stored in the fridge once they are frosted. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you’re not a fan of cold cookies, you can let them sit out for 30 minutes before eating them!

a note on oven temperature

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.

tools and ingredients

You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!