Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

By srumbel

Cheesecake lovers unite!!
For those of you who have no control when it comes to cheesecake (like me),
I give you bite-sized cheesecakes in the form of a cookie.
The cheesecake cookie dough is absolutely divine (I may or may not have eaten it by the spoonful), then you roll the yummy dough in crushed graham crackers and top it off with sweet cherries . . . basically heaven.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel cheese and it worked perfect)
• 2 1/2 sticks butter, softened (I used unsalted)
• 3/4 cup Truvia®*
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 (20 oz) cans cherry pie filling
• (*You can substitute 1 1/2 cups sugar)

Preparation

Step 1

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and Truvia® until smooth and creamy (about 2 minutes). Add eggs and vanilla and mix together. Reduce speed to low, add the flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough until firm (about 20-30 minutes).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place graham cracker crumbs in a bowl.
Roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, then roll the balls in graham cracker crumbs. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using a spoon (I used a tablespoon from my measuring spoon), make an indentation in the center of each ball. Place 1-2 cherries in the dimple of the cookie. Bake until golden brown around the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool for five minutes on the sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.