These Eggnog Cheesecake Cookie Cups are the best treat for the holidays! Chewy gingerbread cookie cups filled with a fluffy eggnog cheesecake.
It’s mid-November now, and I am full-on in holiday mode. My sister is visiting from Australia (sans kids and husband!!) so there has been plenty of girl time, eating, baking, and shopping. It’s been awesome and I don’t want it to end. Seriously, one of us needs to move a bit closer to the other — this whole living on opposite sides of the world thing isn’t working for me.
The holiday stuff is starting to make an appearance in stores, but I’m actually surprised (and dismayed) that I haven’t heard any Christmas music anywhere. Perhaps everyone was waiting until after Remembrance Day this year (which, really, they probably should), so I’m not getting too worked up about it. I may have had Christmas tunes going at home before October was even over, but now I can safely bust them out without judgement, right??
Seeing as how we’re exactly 6 weeks away from Christmas (crazy!!), I think it’s time that I start inundating you with holiday recipes. It is my favourite baking season after all! I have so many recipe ideas that I don’t think I’ll have time to get through them all, but you can bet I’m going to try!
So, without further ado, I’m kicking things off with these killer Eggnog Cheesecake Cookie Cups!
It’s no secret that I am a fan of cookie cups. They are a fun and easy way to make a unique and easily portable treat. They are so easy to mix and match, too — pick a type of cookie and decide on a filling. The possibilities are endless! Seeing as how it’s the holiday season, I wanted to combine two of my favorite holiday flavours into one delicious cup!
The base for these Eggnog Cheesecake Cookie Cups is the Snow Capped Gingersnaps I made last year, with a couple of minor alterations. They are the best chewy gingerbread cookies you will ever have. As such, the cookie cups will be on the chewier side rather than crispy like some of my other cookie cups.
The filling is an eggnog cheesecake, lightened up with some whipped cream.
Truthfully, I actually don’t like eggnog in its pure form. I find it thick and heavy, kind of like drinking pudding. But I do LOVE the flavour of it in cakes and various desserts.
These Eggnog Cheesecake Cookie Cups are amazing. Amazing!! You need to try them. Plus they are pretty easy to make, which scores them extra points in my opinion.
Also? You can freeze these little guys, so you can make them earlier in the season and then just bust them out whenever you need them.
The perfect holiday treat!
Notes & tips for these Eggnog Cheesecake Cookie Cups:
- Ensure your heavy cream is cold (ideally the mixer bowl too) as this will make the cream whip up better.
- The cookies will soften a bit the longer they sit with the filling.
- These freeze very well! Store in fridge for up to 5 days or in freezer (in an airtight container) for 1-2 months.
- Best served cold, out of the fridge.
- If you like these, check out some of my other other cookie cup recipes!
Eggnog Cheesecake Cookie Cups
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookie Cups:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup fancy molasses
- 1 large egg room temperature
Eggnog Cheesecake Filling:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream cold
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup eggnog
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- pinch ground cinnamon
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookie Cups:
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease 2 regular sized muffin tins.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, molasses, and brown sugar till pale and fluffy (2-3mins). Add egg and beat until combined.
- Reduce speed to low and add in dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Using a large cookie scoop (3 Tbsp), scoop dough into muffin tins, press down to flatten.
- Bake for approx. 9-10 mins or until mostly set, but still soft in the middle.
- Remove from oven and immediately use a small jar or container to press firmly down in the center to create a well. Cool in pans for 10mins, loosen each slightly by twisting it in the pan. Cool for 5 more minutes then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Eggnog Cheesecake Filling:
- Whip heavy cream until stiff peaks (ideally with a cold whisk and in a cold bowl).
- In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggnog, nutmeg and cinnamon and beat until incorporated.*
- Fold cream cheese mixture into whipped cream and pipe into cooled cookie cups. Refrigerate until set (approx. 2 hours).
- Serve cold and eat within 2-3 days. Or freeze for up to 4 weeks. The cookies will soften the longer they sit.
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Notes
Brian says
These were so amazing! I reduced the amount of eggnog and added a shot and a half of spiced rum to it. OMG amazing!!!
Olivia says
Hi Brian! Love that addition, so glad you liked them!
Georgina Thompson says
You have to get creative when needing to put something in the bottom of the mini cupcakes! I looked around my house and finally found my tiny travel bottle of asprins. The bottom worked perfectly. If I cooked them just right, they stuck to the bottom of my asprin container and I just lifted them like that out of the pan and popped them onto a cooling rack to cool. (Don`t have a cooling rack either, I just use a pizza pan that has a bottom of scalloped holes to let the heat out!
Olivia says
Hi Georgina! Thanks for your tips! Great ideas 🙂
Amy says
I love this idea! I made them mini: just over a tsp of dough, and baked for 8 minutes (I see other people tried for 7; it probably varies a bit by oven and location). One recipe made 36 minies. They look fancy but they’re super easy to make provided you have the right tool to make the wells. I tried with a spice shaker first, but that was a bad move; the bottom was concave and sucked in the dough so the bottom of the cookie cup stuck to it and rose up out of the pan, ruining the “cup” effect. I lucked out when I realized that my mini fondant rolling pin would work perfectly. The end is convex and it’s nice and smooth, so the cookie dough didn’t stick. I wiggled it around in there a bit to make the holes bigger, which was good because they shrank a bit as the cookie cooled.
TL;DR: make the wells with something with a rounded bottom to save your sanity.
Olivia says
Hi Amy! Thanks so much for all your tips! This is great. A fondant rolling pin would be perfect for pressing down in mini’s!
VRM says
Hi,
When you freeze them, do you fill them first and freeze the completed cookie? Also, is there anything special i should do to defrost ?
Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi there! You can do either, I freeze them filled though for ease. You can defrost in the fridge overnight as they should ideally be served chilled.
Nicje says
Hi. Would it be possible to make these gluten free? Any tips for that?
Olivia says
I’ve never tried it but you can try using an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
Karla says
I just made these and they’re great. It only made 16 cups and I used less than the 3 TBS suggested.
Olivia says
Hi Karla! So glad you liked these 🙂
Sari says
I’m a little confused as to why the prep time is 2 hours 30 minutes, I assumed after reading the time that the dough had to chill in the fridge or something like that but I read over the directions and can’t see anything that would take that much time. Is it an error? Want to make sure I’m not missing any steps before baking 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Sari! The prep time includes the 2 hours of refrigeration time at the very end. I hope you like them!!
Sari says
Ah gotcha! I missed that at the end there since I was focusing on the first portion of the recipe. Thanks for the response!
Olivia says
No problem! Let me know how you like them 🙂
Liz says
Can you add alcohol to the filling (or is it ok if your eggnog already contains alcohol) or does that mess up the consistency?
Olivia says
Hi Liz! It should be ok if your eggnog already contains alcohol 🙂 Adding more liquid will make the filling a bit thinner, so I’d try to keep it to the 1/4 cup. Let me know how you like them!
Leanne says
I only have 4 oz cream cheese, so I was wondering if I could substitute Ricotta Cheese for the other 4 oz. (reducing the moisture in the ricotta)? Any comments or concerns with this?
Olivia says
Hi Leanne! I’ve never tried it with ricotta (or paired ricotta with cream cheese) but ricotta is pretty mild, so I think it could work ok (definitely reduce the moisture though. Let me know how it turns out!
Lisa says
Is there a way to refine this recipe to make them in a mini muffin tin?
Olivia says
Hi Lisa! Yes, a couple people have made them in the mini pans. See Sarah’s comment above:
“I tried it in a mini pan and it was amazing. So I used slightly more than a teaspoon of cookie dough, I kept the temperature the same and had them in for 7min but I closely watched them after 5min. ”
I hope you like them!
Natalie says
YUM! These cookie cups look incredible ♥
Olivia says
Thank you! They are my fave 🙂
Sarah says
I tried it in a mini pan and it was amazing. So I used slightly more than a teaspoon of cookie dough, I kept the temperature the same and had them in for 7min but I closely watched them after 5min. Soooooooo yummmmmy
Olivia says
Hi Sarah! Thanks for your tips re: the mini pan. So glad you liked them! 🙂
Ingrid says
Hi,
I would love to make these in a mini tart pan. Any idea on how long to cook the cookie part if they’re smaller? Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Ingrid! I’ve never tried them in a mini pan, but check them at 8mins or so?
valerie bricklemyer says
Hello, I can’t wait to make these. Have you tried freezing them?
Olivia says
Hi Valerie! YES. They freeze amazingly well 🙂
Oksana says
My boys love eggnog. They can drink it any time of the day)). When they saw these cups they couldn’t wait to give it a try. After first bite my son told – yummmmmm, they are awesome. I think that is the best compliment! Besides they were super easy to make. Thank you for the recipe;))
Olivia says
Hi Oksana! I love how easy these are to make too 😊 So happy to hear you and your boys liked them 😄
Anita Narayana says
This looks delicious. So, you don’t bake the cream cheese filling(put it in the cookie cup before it goes in the oven)?
Olivia says
Hi Anita! It’s a no-bake filling. You refrigerate after filling the cups.
Emily says
Hello! Are all the spices you used grounded? Or whole?
Olivia says
Hi Emily! They are all ground, I will clarify!
Angela says
How many cookie cups will this recipe make using a standard cupcake tin? I need about 20 so trying to figure out if I need to double or the recipe.
Olivia says
Hi Angela, the recipe makes 18.
Angela says
Awesome! Thank you!
Brandi says
Silly question. Did you use fresh or ground ginger?
Olivia says
Hi Brandi! I should have been more specific, I used ground ginger 🙂
Rochelle says
Hello,
These are to die for! The crust is so tasty that I might just make cookies with the dough. I also made some with a vanilla bean flavour and substituted the egg nog with lemon juice. They were also bomb.
Thank you!
Olivia says
I love the cookie crust too!! Chewy gingerbread cookies are the best. I’m so glad you liked these! 🙂
Kathy says
My daughter and I made these yesterday. We used the mini muffin pans and ended up with about 42 cookies. I also misread the recipe and for the filling dumped everything all in one bowl and then whipped it all together. Turned out just fine.(But really will try to follow the recipe properly next time)
So far, the first words out of everyone’s mouths has been “WOW”
This is definitley a keeper
Olivia says
Hi Kathy! I’m so glad you liked these 🙂 Truthfully, it’s probably fine throwing everything into one bowl and whipping it. I might try it that way next time!
Sabrina says
wonderful idea, and agree that whipped egg nog, or at least non-liquid egg nog is more appealing! Love these cups too! Thank you for sharing this!
Olivia says
Thank you Sabrina! 🙂
Ace says
Hi, Im just a bit confused. So you whipped the cream in your stand mixer, and then transferred to a cold bowl. Did you add the cream cheese to the new bowl which contained the whip cream? Or did you put the cream cheese in the stand mixer bowl that you just removed the whip ceeam from?
These look great btw. Gonna make them for my Mom’s house for Christmas.
Olivia says
Hi Ace! I whipped the cream in my stand mixer in a cold bowl, then transferred the whipped cream to a different bowl. I threw the cream cheese in the stand mixer bowl that the whipped cream had been in and whipped that. I hope that makes sense! You don’t have to do it this way, it just means less cleaning which I am allll for. I hope you like them!
Jennifer says
I’ve just finished making this recipe and, oh my! Love! I used a mini muffin tin and the recipe made 48 little cups, 6 regular sized and I still have some filling left over. I may have put a dollop on top of some eggnog and brandy since it was here, maybe.
The mini muffin tin worked great. I baked the cups for about 7 minutes and pressed them with the back of my teaspoon measure when they came out to make a perfect little well for the filling. I also doubled the eggnog because I really love the flavor and just beat it a little longer so it wouldn’t be runny.
This gingerbread cookie cup is spicy and chewy greatness! Thanks for sharing such a keeper!
Olivia says
Hi Jennifer! I’m so happy that you liked this recipe! Thanks for the tips about making them in mini muffin tins — glad that worked well. The gingerbread cookies are my fave 🙂
Sandra says
Hi love the idea of mini cups. How much cookie mixture did you put in each mini cup please ?
Olivia says
Hi Sandra! I think someone mentioned using about 2 tsps. Let me know how they turn out!
Sandra says
Hi Olivia
Thank you for your reply. I certainly will!
Merry Christmas!
Penny says
To make the cups just put the cookie dough on an upside down muffin pan and press it over and then bake, as long as the dough isn’t too soft it will make nice cups.
I make my own eggnog as it is difficult to buy here in the UK but homemade tastes better anyway.
Olivia says
Thanks for the tip Penny! I’ve heard of some disasters doing it that way so haven’t attempted it yet, but will give it a try one of these days.
Donna M. says
These look great, but have you ever done these in a mini muffin pan? I love tassie size cookies for gift trays.
Olivia says
Hi Donna! I haven’t but I imagine they would work just fine! 🙂
Chris says
Is that 2 and a 1/4 cups of flour or 2 x 1/4 cups of flours.
Olivia says
Hi Chris! It’s 2 and 1/4 cups flour.
Sarah says
These sound amazing! Do you press the cookie dough up the sides of the muffin tin, or just on the bottom?
Olivia says
Hi Sarah! I just flatten the cookie dough before baking. It rises quite a bit. I press into them once out of the oven to create the cup.
MaryAnn Coy says
You might like homemade eggnog, the critical thing are the eggs. If you have your own chickens raised organically and fed properly, separate the cleanest eggs you get for the eggnog. Then clean them very well and store them in the refrigerator labeled. Ideally pasteurized eggs are desired and markets do carry them for a significant price. My recipe is in the Good HouseKeeping Cookbook I bought when I went to college. It is an early 1970’s edition I never updated it, never saw a need for it. Still the first book I reach for to check my memory or for inspiration. Or cooking something we eat infrequently. Store book is made with high fructose corn syrup, that’s why the strange mouth feel. They also use hydrogenated palm Oil or cottonseed oil to cheat you of the heavy cream it should be made of. So take a look at Good Housekeeping. com orBetter Homes and Gardens.com. Or Betty Crocker.com. Or buy best quality French Vanilla Ice Cream and let it melt. That is what the modern Eggnog is before they junked it up, just get the good stuff just eggs, cream, sugar and salt add the vanilla or grind up some vanilla beans. Costs a lot no matter what so you might as well put out for the best quality. In cold foods the real thing makes a real different. You can also go to the Ice Cream chapter and look for a recipe for a Vanilla custard base, this the same thing the cooking pasteurizes the eggs, and just add the nutmeg to the base. If you are having an eggnog bowl, buy the top quality ice cream and soften it, then freeze it in a bundt pan or make a recipe of the ice cream custard to free as a ring add a light mist of nutmeg. As for alcohol, that is up to the hostess.( for your cheesecake, no) you can reach me by Messenger more easily than email. Happy Holidays from Boston.
Olivia says
Hi MaryAnn! Wow that book sounds like a treasure. And I think you’re right, I probably would like the homemade stuff better. Thanks for all your tips, I will definitely try to make my own this holiday season!
VASSILIKI ARGYRI says
HELLO!
I’M LOOKING FOR THE EGGNOG RECIPE.
DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN OR ANY EGGNOG RECIPE WILL DO?
THANK YOU!
Olivia says
I use store-bought eggnog, but I imagine any homemade recipe will do!