Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies

Hey there everyone!  Happy 12/12/12!  Surely no one has said that to you yet this morning. ;]

I hope you're doing well today and that you had a fabulous evening last night!  Mine was good.  Bailey had her last round of booster shots at the vet and now weighs a whopping 14.5lbs!  After finishing up at the vet, I got my hair done and then Bailey and I spent the rest of our evening walking, working out (Insanity = tough but do-able), eating sweet potato rounds and playing games.

Great news- today is the day we finally get to reveal our cookie recipes for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012!

I had another great experience this year, receiving two packages of beautiful and delicious cookies from two wonderful bloggers.  Unfortunately, my last package wasn't packed very well, so the cookies and container arrived crumbled inside the bag the blogger sent them in.  It was probably good that one of the batches of cookies ended up being thrown out though, because one person eating three dozen cookies all alone is not healthy... On Friday once everyone's posts are live, I'll link you to the blogs I received cookies from this year! 

The cookies I made this year were definitely different from last year's Frosted Christmas Cookies, but I still think they were quite festive!



For this years' swap, I made Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies based on a recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod.  They turned out delicious and I loved the red and white colors for a Christmas cookie swap!  These cookies come out moist and soft and practically melt in your mouth.  I made extras for my office and they were gone moments after I put them in the breakroom.  Hope you'll enjoy!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies

Prep-time: 25 minutes (+2hrs hands off)
Cook time: 12 minutes
Yields: 16-20 cookies

For the Cookies:
1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp cinnamon

For the Cheesecake Filling:
6oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the White Chocolate Drizzle:
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
2 tbsp milk (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine cake mix, cinnamon and flour and mix well.  Add oil and eggs and mix until smooth.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours. 
2. To make cheesecake filling, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth. Place mixture in a pastry bag or ziplock and refrigerate until ready to use. 
3. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. To make cookies, take about 2 tbsp of cookie dough and make a flat, round disk.  Pipe about 2 tsp of cheesecake filling onto the center of the disk.  Top with another 2 tbsp of cookie dough and cinch edges together.  Bake for 12 minutes and immediately remove to a cooling rack. 
4. Once the cookies have cooled completely, melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl or over a double boiler (recommended).  For a thinner glaze, add 2 tbsp milk to the chips. (I did this because I accidentally messed up my white chocolate and had to make a little bit go a long way, but would recommend using only melted white chocolate if possible! It is much prettier.) Drizzle over cooled cookies and let the cookies set until the chocolate hardens.  Enjoy!

I can't wait to see the cookie recipes from all the other bloggers up on Lindsay and Julie's blogs this Friday!  Thank you to each of these women for hosting such an amazing blogger event.  Both years I've participated, I've enjoyed the swap so much and I fully intend to participate again when the time comes next year.  If you're interested, click here to get updates on next year's swap.

Before you go, tell me:

Have you ever participated in a cookie swap? 
What is your favorite kind of cookie? (Please feel free to link to recipes!)