I'm back with another bite-sized dessert: Cheesecake Cookie Cups! These are perfect for the dessert table at a party because they're individual little treats that everyone can grab and enjoy!
They're made with an easy homemade sugar cookie cup and filled with delicious strawberry jam and a no-bake cheesecake filling. Such a great combination!
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Cheesecake cookie cups treats
Here's why I absolutely love these little desserts:
- The combination of chewy sugar cookies with creamy cheesecake filling and strawberry jam is just the best!
- They're so adorable, perfect for ANY holiday party or special homemade dessert.
- They're made from scratch (bragging rights!!), but are quite easy to make. But of course, if you want to use store-bought sugar cookie dough, you can do that.
- They're totally customizable for any occasion—just use different color sprinkles for different holidays, or add a few drops of food coloring to the cream cheese filling.
More bite-sized desserts: Lemon Blueberry Cream Puffs
Sugar cookie dessert cups
This recipe starts with baking small sugar cookie cups, which need to cool down before you fill them with toppings. You can pre-bake the cookie cups up to a day in advance and store them in a sealed container.
The cookie cups themselves are neutral enough to go with any toppings! They have a slight vanilla flavor and are chewy on the inside with a slight crisp around the edges. In other words, perfect!
Make sure to read the "shortcuts" section below if you don't want to bake cookie cups from scratch!
More bite-sized cup desserts: Apple Pie Cups
No-bake cheesecake filling
The cheesecake filling for these cookie cups is made in just a few minutes with a homemade whipped cream that is folded with room temperature cream cheese to give it that characteristically cheesy flavor.
The filling is then piped onto the cookie cups (which already have some strawberry jam added to them).
For a shortcut, you can use pre-made no-bake cheesecake from Philadelphia and pipe that right into your cookie cups! Either way, it's delicious.
More no-bake cheesecake desserts: Key Lime Pie Cheesecake Dip
Ingredients
For the cookie cups:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup caster sugar (or use granulated sugar)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Non-stick baking spray
For the cheesecake and filling:
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, cold from the fridge
- 4 oz cream cheese (½ block)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup confectioner’s sugar (aka powdered sugar)
- ½ cup strawberry jam - or see below for lots of filling ideas!
- Sprinkles of any color
More tiny desserts to try: Bourbon Pecan Pie Bites
Equipment
In addition to all the usual baking equipment, such as measuring cups and spoons, you'll need:
- 2 large bowls
- 2 medium bowls
- An electric mixer (hand-held is fine if you don't have a standup mixer)
- Standard 12-cup muffin tin
- Cookie scoop or squeeze-release ice cream scoop
- Small shot glass (to flatten cookie dough), or a small spoon
- Piping bag and tip of your choice
More bite-sized desserts to try: Red Velvet Mug Cakes
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin pan with baking spray.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step 3: In another large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla extract until totally combined.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.
Step 5: Using a cookie scoop, add one scoop of cookie dough into each hole in the muffin pan. Spray the back of a spoon or the back of the cookie scoop with non-stick baking spray and flatten the dough lightly so it fills the bottom of the muffin pan. You do not have to form the cup shape yet.
Step 6: Bake for about 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the cookie is mostly set (do not overbake it or it will be too hard to shape into a cup). Hint: Make the cheesecake filling while the cookies bake.
Step 7: Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 7 minutes. Loosen each cookie cup slightly by twisting it in the pan. Remove the cookie cups from the pan. Use a shot glass, spoon, or your thumb to press firmly down in the center, creating a cup shape.
Step 8: In a clean large bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
Step 9: In a separate medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until smooth.
Step 10: Fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream until fully combined. (Hint: Folding means scooping up the stuff from the bottom and folding it over on top gently, as opposed to stirring in a circle. This prevents the whipped cream from deflating.)
Step 11: Place 1 teaspoon strawberry jam on every cookie cup.
Step 12: Transfer the cheesecake filling into a piping bag with a piping tip. Pipe the filling over the strawberry jam, then top with sprinkles. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or until set. Enjoy!!
More no-bake cheesecake desserts: Blueberry Delight
Cookie cup topping and filling ideas
- Try drizzling the cheesecake cups with chocolate sauce (such as magic shell!) or caramel syrup (try this bourbon caramel sauce!)
- Top the cheesecake filling with fresh blueberries, raspberries, or sliced strawberries.
- Use different jams instead of strawberry jam (raspberry preserves are divine here!!).
- Try blueberry pie filling or cherry pie filling instead of strawberry jam. Blueberry pie filling and cheesecake is DELICIOUS, as you'll see in my blueberry delight recipe and my blueberry cheesecake ice cream!
- Add a bit of cocoa powder (or hot chocolate powder) to the whipped cream and top the chocolate cheesecake cups with mini chocolate chips.
More bite-sized desserts in a cup: Easter Egg Nests
Recipe shortcuts
If you don't want to bake sugar cookie cups from scratch, you can use:
- Store-bought sugar cookie dough.
- Puff pastry cups. No, they're not cookies, but they're equally delicious! These are available in the baking aisle of most large grocery stores.
- Phyllo dough cups, also available in most large grocery stores.
- Pre-made mini tart or pie crusts.
If you don't want to make the cheesecake filling, you can get the Philadelphia brand no-bake cheesecake filling. And as a bonus, it will not need to chill in the fridge after piping. Just pipe and enjoy!
More from-scratch baking recipes: 3-Ingredient Pie Crust
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Cheesecake Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter - (1 stick), softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup caster sugar - (or use granulated sugar)
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- non-stick baking spray
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream - cold from the fridge
- 4 oz cream cheese - (½ block)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup confectioner’s sugar - (aka powdered sugar)
- ½ cup strawberry jam
- sprinkles of any color
Special equipment
- 2 Large bowls
- 2 Medium bowls
- Electric mixer (hand-held is fine if you don't have a standup mixer)
- Muffin pan (standard 12 cup)
- Cookie scoop or squeeze release ice cream scoop
- Small shot glass (to flatten cookie dough), or a small spoon
- Piping bag and piping tip of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin pan with baking spray.non-stick baking spray
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In another large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla extract.½ cup unsalted butter, 1 large egg, ¾ cup caster sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.
- Using a cookie scoop, add one scoop of cookie dough into each hole in the muffin pan. Spray the back of a spoon or the back of the cookie scoop with non-stick baking spray and flatten the dough lightly so it fills the bottom of the muffin pan. You do not have to form the cup shape yet.
- Bake for about 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the cookie is mostly set (do not overbake it or it will be too hard to shape into a cup). Tip: Make the cheesecake filling while the cookies bake.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 7 minutes. Loosen each cookie cup slightly by twisting it in the pan. Remove the cookie cups from the pan. Use a shot glass, spoon, or your thumb to press firmly down in the center, creating a cup shape.
- In a clean large bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.½ cup heavy whipping cream
- In a separate medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until smooth.4 oz cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅓ cup confectioner’s sugar
- Fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream until fully combined. (Scoop the stuff from the bottom and fold it over on top gently, as opposed to stirring in a circle.)
- Place 1 teaspoon strawberry jam on every cookie cup.½ cup strawberry jam
- Transfer the cheesecake filling into a piping bag with a piping tip. Pipe the filling over the strawberry jam, then top with sprinkles. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or until set. Enjoy!!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.