Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling:

Line a small tray with baking parchment, wax paper, or a silicone baking mat, and set aside until ready to use.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together cream cheese and pumpkin purée until smooth and creamy.

Add confectioner’s sugar and pumpkin pie spice and whisk until well combined.

Use a teaspoon to spoon the pumpkin cream cheese filling onto prepared tray. You should have a total of twelve (12) equally-sized dollops of cream cheese.

Transfer tray to the freezer until ready to use.

Cookie Dough:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and nutmeg.

In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix butter and brown sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin purée and vanilla bean paste and mix on low speed until well combined.

Add dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms.

Wrap dough in clingfilm/plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour, or overnight.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C. Line a baking tray with parchment or a silicone baking mat, and set aside until ready to use.

Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Use your hands or a small cookie scoop to divide it into twenty four (24) equally-sized balls.

Portion out twelve (12) of the dough balls, and use your thumb to make an indentation in the center of each.

Remove cream cheese dollops from the freezer. Place one dollop into each thumbprint indentation. Top with the remaining balls of dough.

Use your hands to roll the top and bottom dough pieces together, ensuring that the cream cheeese filling is completely covered by the dough.*** When finished, you should have a total of twelve (12) cream cheese-filled balls of dough.

Roll each ball in Demerara sugar.

Transfer balls to prepared baking tray, allowing space for the cookies to spread.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies are puffy and lightly golden brown in color.

Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on the tray for 5-10 minutes, then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Spiced pumpkin cream cheese cookies are best enjoyed on the day they are made.