Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies

I drove to Grinnell Saturday. Roger was in the garden — the garden that is his whole world now, the 84-year-old man who tends six tomato plants and twelve sunflowers with the same care he once gave four hundred acres. He's slower but he's still Roger. He still watches the crop reports. He still calls Jack on Wednesdays.

I made tater tot hotdish this week — the winter version, the one that fills the kitchen with the smell that means this time of year, this stage of life, this specific Tuesday when the stove is warm and the family is fed and the feeding is the point. Kevin ate seconds. The man always eats seconds. The eating is the approval and the approval is the marriage.

January. The real winter. Dark and cold, the wind off the prairie personal in its grudge. We endure with soup and blankets and the belief that spring comes eventually. I made bread — sourdough from the starter named Marlene, the bread rising in a warm kitchen while Iowa does its worst outside.

Between the bread and the hotdish and the soup, I needed something that was just for the sweetness of it — no practicality, no feeding a crowd, just a small bright thing to set on the counter while the wind did whatever it wanted outside. I’d had a batch of these red velvet cheesecake cookies in the back of my mind since Christmas, and January seemed exactly right to finally make them: that deep red against the grey of the season, the cream cheese center that feels like a small indulgence you’ve earned by simply getting through the week.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 32 min (plus 1 hour chilling) | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

Cookie Dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon white vinegar
Cheesecake Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Finishing:
1/4 cup powdered sugar, for rolling

Instructions

Make the filling. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth and fluffy. Scoop into 24 small balls (about 1 teaspoon each) onto a parchment-lined tray. Freeze for at least 1 hour until firm.
Make the dough. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix in vanilla, red food coloring, and white vinegar.
Combine. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until just combined. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Assemble. Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough and flatten into a disk in your palm. Place a frozen cream cheese ball in the center, then wrap the dough around it, sealing the edges completely. Roll into a smooth ball.
Roll and bake. Roll each dough ball in powdered sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 11—13 minutes, until the cookies are set and the tops are just barely cracking. Do not overbake — they firm up as they cool.
Cool. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies — The Sweet That Keeps January Bearable