Cheesecake Thumbprints. Who doesn't love cheesecake...?

Out of a lot of desserts I've had (and made) cheesecake is my favorite. Pretty much any kind of cheesecake. My favorite, though, is Martha Stewart's New York Style Cheesecake. It is not comparable to any other dessert. So, when I found this recipe I was very excited. My brother and I were trying to find a nice dessert to make for our mom for Mother's Day. We searched through all of our cookbooks for something perfect when I decided to pull out my Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. ( Which is a really awesome book.) 
We were looking through that when BAM... we saw them. They looked so delicious. All we simply had to do was look at each other to know what both of us were thinking. We put on some music and we became maestros of the kitchen. When ever we could we threw in a few dance moves here and there, but we had a mission to accomplish. We both decided that this recipe was cream puffs meet cheesecake. Two very yummy desserts coming together to complete one delicious masterpiece. One of my favorite things about the dough for this recipe is how much it tasted like short bread. I love short bread, and whats better than short bread and cheesecake together...?  There was nothing really hard about this recipe. It was pretty easy. 

All I can now is... Let's get cooking. 

Cheesecake Thumbprints
Makes about 30 cookies.


For the cheesecake filling

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

For the cookie dough

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour

To prepare cheesecake filling

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and salt until smooth. 
Mix in egg yolk, sour cream and vanilla - cover and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare the cookie dough

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and salt until creamy and combined. 
Mix in egg yolk until incorporated. Gradually add flour and mix just until combined.

Scoop out level tablespoons worth of the dough and roll into balls. Place balls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Using the handle end of a thick wooden spoon, lightly dipped in flour, make an indentation in the center of each ball.

Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully use your thumb (or the end of the same wooden spoon) to press the middle of the cookies back down, remaking the indentations. Place cookies back into the oven, rotating them from their original position, and continue to bake until slightly golden around the edges, about 7 minutes.

Remove cookies from the oven and fill the indentations with the cheesecake filling using a teaspoon. 
Place back into the oven and bake for 7 more minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies 
to a wire rack to cook completely. When cool, place cookies into the refrigerator to chill 4 or more hours before serving.

And as I always love to say... Enjoy!!!