Make Pumpkin Spice Sugar

Cup of Yum
1. Stir the sugar and pumpkin pie spice together in a small bowl, set aside.

Make the cheesecake filling

1. In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract together until smooth.
2. Use a tablespoon to scoop out 16 scoops of the mixture and drop them onto a small cutting board or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They don’t have to be perfectly shaped.
3. Place the cream cheese scoops in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Remove moisture from pumpkin

1. Spread the pumpkin puree onto a paper towel lined plate and press another paper towel on top to squeeze out the moisture. Repeat this at least 2 more times or until the puree is noticeably drier and reduced to ¼ cup. Set it aside.

Make the cookie dough

1. Whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl, and set it aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
3. Add the egg yolks, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract, and continue beating until well-mixed. Gradually add the flour mixture until the dough is crumbly. It should be a little sticky.

Scoop, shape and roll

1. Use a cookie scoop to scoop out 16 scoops of dough (2 tablespoons of dough each), roll them into balls with your hands and place them on a small, parchment-lined baking sheet or cutting board.
2. Flatten them out slightly, then place the frozen scoops of cream cheese onto each dough disc. Carefully wrap the cookie dough around the cream cheese and roll them into round balls with your hands. It’s okay if a little bit of the cream cheese shows through the cracks.
3. Roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar, making sure the sugar mixture coats them completely.

Freeze

1. Place the dough balls in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 24 hours.

Bake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and place the cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on each baking sheet.
2. Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes or until they have spread and start to turn brown around the edges.

Cool

1. Let the cookies cool for 30 minutes (the cookies will flatten out as they cool) and serve.
2. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.