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Peppermint Cheesecake Cookies are soft-baked, light & fluffy cheesecake cookies with peppermint! Topped with a simple peppermint glaze and crushed candy cane. These soft and creamy cookies are hard to resist and perfect for Christmas baking.
For more peppermint cookies be sure and try White Chocolate Peppermint Pudding Cookies and Peppermint Cake Mix Cookies.
Peppermint Cheesecake Cookies Recipe (Cream Cheese Peppermint Cookies)
Have you started some holiday baking yet? I always have big plans to make all the things, but then life happens and I quickly realize that I barely have time to make one thing. But thank goodness, that the one thing is usually these peppermint cheesecake cookies, also called cream cheese cookies.
If there is one must-make Christmas cookie that should be on everyone’s list – it’s these little guys. They are so soft, pillowy, fluffy, cloud-like cookies that are irresistible.
If you’re a peppermint lover then you need to make these little beauties. They’re cream cheese peppermint cheesecake cookies, topped with a simple peppermint glaze, and finished off with crushed peppermint candy canes.
Ingredients Needed
Ingredients For Cream Cheese Peppermint Cheesecake Cookies
- Cream Cheese : I highly recommend only using full-fat cream cheese and using a name brand cream cheese (I love Philadelphia). The thick texture of the full fat cream cheese and perfectly creamy flavor of Philadelphia cream cheese, makes these cookies so yummy. Reduced-fat cream cheese has more water in it, which makes it not as thick and flavorful.
- Butter : I use salted butter but if you prefer baking with unsalted butter, then use that.
- Large Eggs
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Peppermint Extract
- All-Purpose Flour : I use unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Baking Powder
- Salt : I use kosher salt or sea salt. If you’re using unsalted butter, you may want to add just a touch more salt to the recipe.
Ingredients For Peppermint Glaze
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk : The higher fat the milk is, the more of it you will need. The lower fat milk, you will need less of it to get the correct consistency in the glaze. I normally use half and half or heavy cream in a glaze recipe.
- Peppermint Extract
- Red Gel Food Coloring : This is completely optional but it does give the glaze that signature peppermint color (reddish/light pink). The glaze will taste the same with or without the gel food coloring. It will only look different.
- Peppermint Candy Cane
How To Make Peppermint Cheesecake Cookies With Cream Cheese and Candy Canes (Printable Recipe Card)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, silpat liner, or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, or use the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese and butter and beat on medium speed (increase the speed as needed) until fluffy and much lighter in color; about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Beat until combined well.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat on low speed just until combined and no flour streaks or pockets remain in the dough.
Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 – 2 tablespoons of dough), to scoop the cookies into dough balls and place 12 per cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-13 minutes. The cookies should still be round and puffy, pale in color, and no browned parts on the top.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for about 20 minutes on the warm cookie sheet. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing them.
Make The Peppermint Glaze : Combine melted butter, powdered sugar, milk, peppermint extract, and red food coloring into a small mixing bowl. Mix until combined and it’s the right consistency to drizzle over the cookies. You don’t want it thick. Add more or less milk to get desired consistency. Either use a fork to drizzle the glaze over the cookies, or place the glaze inside a sandwich-size Ziploc bag and cut the corner off.
Immediately sprinkle some crushed candy cane over the glaze. The glaze does harden on the cookies (just let them sit at room temperature for an hour or so) if you need to transport them or stack them for cookie plates, or eat the cookies while the glaze is still soft and warm. Either way is yummy!
How To Store Leftover Cheesecake Cookies With Peppermint
Make sure the glaze has hardened before storing the cookies. Store leftover cookies inside an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3-4 days.
If you’re worried about the milk in the glaze there are a couple options. You can store the cookies inside the fridge – I don’t love these cookies chilled from the fridge so you can place them at room temperature before eating or microwave it for just a few seconds – or the other option is to use canned, shelf-stable evaporated milk in the glaze. Then they can 100% safely be stored at room temperature that way.
Cookie Baking Tips
- Use Parchment Paper : I always recommend using parchment paper when making cookies. It helps the cookies cook more evenly, and prevents the bottoms of the cookies from getting brown while in the oven. I always have a supply of these Pre-Cut Parchment Paper Cookie Sheets in my kitchen.
- Cookie Dough Helpful Tips : This dough is more of a softer, stickier cookie dough so it’s slightly different than regular cookie dough will be. The added cream cheese makes it “wetter” and softer. Don’t be tempted to add additional flour. As the cookies bake, they will puff up and create this cloud-like texture that is so incredible.
- Don’t Over-Bake : This seems obvious but it’s so important. You don’t want the cookies to have any brown on them when you pull them out of the oven. They should be round, puffy, and still be very pale in color. They should not look wet or raw on top, but rather cooked but still pale in color.
- Milk : You can use any milk you have in your fridge, but keep in mind that if it’s lower-fat then you will need less of it for the right glaze consistency. If it’s a higher fat milk (like half and half, or heavy cream) then you will need more of it in order to get the right pourable glaze consistency. I prefer using half and half or heavy cream, but if I don’t have those then whole milk is the next best option.
- Crushed Candy Cane : You can buy crushed candy canes at the store, usually in the baking aisle, or put the candy cane inside a ziplock bag and use something heavy to crush it up. They crush really easy so it’s not hard to do.
More Must Try Peppermint Dessert Recipes
- Peppermint Bark Pretzel Bites
- Peppermint Bark Graham Crackers
- Chocolate Peppermint Lush
- White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge
- White Chocolate Peppermint Pie
- Candy Cane Pie
- Candy Cane Brownies
Peppermint Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Peppermint Cheesecake Cookies
- 1 bar (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt (I use sea salt or kosher salt)
Peppermint Glaze
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1-3 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 drop red food coloring
- 1 peppermint candy cane crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, silpat liner, or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.*I highly recommend using parchment paper
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, or use the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese and butter and beat on medium speed (increase the speed as needed) until fluffy and much lighter in color; about 2 minutes.1 bar (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Beat until combined well.2 large eggs, 1¼ cups granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat on low speed just until combined and no flour streaks or pockets remain in the dough.2½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 – 2 tablespoons of dough), to scoop the cookies into dough balls and place 12 per cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes. The cookies should still be round and puffy, pale in color, and no browned parts on the top.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for about 20 minutes on the warm cookie sheet. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing them.
Make The Peppermint Glaze
- Combine melted butter, powdered sugar, milk, peppermint extract, and red food coloring into a small mixing bowl. Mix until combined and it's the right consistency to drizzle over the cookies. You don't want it too thick, but rather pourable. Add more or less milk to get desired consistency. *If using lower fat milk then you will need less milk. If using higher fat milk then you will need more milk.2 tablespoons butter, 1½ cups powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon peppermint extract, 1-3 tablespoons milk, 1 drop red food coloring
- Either use a fork to drizzle the glaze over the cookies, or place the glaze inside a sandwich-size Ziplock bag and cut the corner off.
- Immediately sprinkle some crushed candy cane over the glaze. The glaze does harden on the cookies (just let them sit at room temperature for an hour or so) if you need to transport them or stack them for cookie plates.1 peppermint candy cane
Notes
Nutrition
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