Begin by making the cheesecake filling by whipping the cream cheese until smooth.
8 oz cream cheese, softened
Next, add in the sugar and vanilla. Mix until fully incorporated and smooth.
¼ cup (58g) granulated sugar, 1 tsp vanilla
Scoop filling into ½ Tablespoon portions and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze while making the dough.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Make the cookie dough by creaming together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture. This will take about 2 minutes.
1 cup (222g) salted butter, softened, ¾ cup (185g) brown sugar, ¼ cup (58g) granulated sugar
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. Mix until the mixture no longer looks separated and starts to become fluffy.
½ cup (120mL) molasses, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla
Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms. If the dough sticks to your fingers, add additional flour, a tablespoon at a time, until no longer sticky.
3 1/3 cups (506g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, ½ tsp baking powder, 1 Tbsp ground ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp salt
Scoop out your dough using a #40 scoop and break it in half. Flatten both halves into a disk. You will use 2 halves for each cookie.
Working in batches, remove 6 cheesecake dollops from the freezer and place one in the center of one dough disk.
Place the second disk on top to cover the filling and pinch the two disks together with your fingertips. Roll the edges with your fingers to smooth out the pinched seams until a smooth puck forms.
Roll the cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar mixed with sparkling sugar sprinkles.
Granulated + sanding sugar for decorating
Bake at 375° F for 6-7 minutes, or until the cookies no longer look wet and glossy. Pull the cookies out of the oven and flatten slightly to get the ‘crinkle’ look.
Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Repeat steps 9-13 with the remainder of the dough and filling, remembering to keep the unused filling in the freezer.
Enjoy!