Description
This velvety sugar cookie dough cheesecake has a christmas shortbread crust, silky vanilla bean sprinkle cheesecake batter, and is fully loaded with festive sugar cookie dough balls. Topped with a silky dairy free cream cheese frosting, you’ll never believe me when I tell you it’s all vegan- no eggs and no dairy required!
Ingredients
Scale
Shortbread cookie crust:
- 1 cup with 1 tbsp removed (115 g) all purpose flour*
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup (57 g) unsalted vegan butter, melted & cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup (120 g) organic icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1–2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk, room temperature, as needed
- 1/4 cup (40 g) vegan holiday sprinkles
Sugar cookie dough:
- 2 cup (250 g) heat-treated all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour , sifted and spoon & leveled*
- 12 tbsp (170 g) unsalted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2 cups (240 g) organic icing sugar
- 6 tbsp (90 g) dairy free yogurt or unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup (65 g) vegan holiday sprinkles
Cheesecake batter:
- 24 ounces (720 g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- 8 ounces (228 g) vegan dairy free yogurt (such as Forager Project), room temperature
- 1 cup (240 mL) heavy vegan cream, cashew cream, or a thick unsweetened dairy free milk, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) organic granulated sugar
- 8 tbsp (80 g) arrowroot starch or cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 cup (40 g) vegan holiday sprinkles
Toppings:
- 1/2 batch vegan buttercream or vegan cream cheese frosting, for topping
- Remaining cookie dough, for topping
- Extra sprinkles
Instructions
- Prep: Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the edges of the pan with a bit of cooking or coconut oil as well, and line with parchment paper. This helps the cheesecake as it’s cooling from cracking too much. Preheat the oven to 400F. Make sure the flour is heat-treated.
- Make the shortbread crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the vegan butter, icing sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Add in the flour, and use a silicone spatula to fold the flour into the dough, adding 1-2 tbsp of dairy free milk to help if needed. Then fold in the sprinkles. Press the cookie dough into the springform pan, and place the springform pan into the oven with a baking sheet underneath it to prevent any drips. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 350F. Keep the oven on. Set aside while you prepare the sugar cookie dough.
- Make the sugar cookie dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the vegan butter, icing sugar, dairy free yogurt, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Add in the heat-treated flour, and use a silicone spatula to fold into the dough. Then add in the sprinkles, and fold until evenly distributed.
- Make the cookie dough balls: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough in half, and from one half of the dough, scoop the cookie dough into 1 tbsp sized dough balls. This half will be used for the filling. The remaining half will be to top the sugar cookie dough cheesecake. Place the baking sheet into the fridge to chill.
- Make the cheesecake filling: In a large food processor, add all ingredients, except for the sprinkles, for the cheesecake batter to the food processor and blend until creamy. Stop the food processor to scrape down the sides as needed. Remove the blade from the food processor, then pour in the sprinkles. Use a silicone spatula to fold the sprinkles evenly into the batter
- Assemble the sugar cookie dough cheesecake: You should have your baked shortbread crust, the cookie dough scooped onto the baking sheet, and the batter. Pour half of the cheesecake filling into the springform pan, and smooth the top. Sprinkle about half of the reserved cookie dough balls for the cheesecake on top of the filling. Spoon the remaining filling on top, and sprinkle with the remaining cookie dough balls (or save some for topping after!), gently pressing them down into the top of the cheesecake.
- Create the water bath: Be ready to move to the next step immediately after finishing this step. Make sure that you boil the 3-4 cups water prior to pouring the water into the pan. Place a baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven. Then pour the water directly into that pan. Close the oven.
- Bake the cheesecake: Place the cheesecake onto a separate baking sheet (different from the water bath- the cheesecake will NOT sit in the water bath) and place that baking sheet onto the middle rack (so your oven should be lowest rack, water bath, then middle rack, cheesecake). Quickly close the oven to bake for 65-70 minutes, or until the the top of the cheesecake lightly golden. The center is set but still wiggly. Turn off the oven, and allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven for 1 hour. The water should also be completely dissolved. The cheesecake should still be very wiggly. This is completely fine and should be that way.This cheesecake will not seem cooked at all when you first turn off the oven.
- Chill the cheesecake: Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes. Then place the cheesecake into the fridge to chill for 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Serve and enjoy! When ready to serve, top with homemade vegan cream cheese frosting and the remaining cookie dough balls! Store any leftover cheesecake in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
See blog post for all tips & tricks!
