This easy recipe for mini sugar cookie cups is sure to impress! Homemade sugar cookie cups are filled with rich and creamy no-bake cheesecake, topped with fresh berries, and garnished with fresh herbs. These bite-sized desserts are light but luscious, and it takes less than an hour of hands-on time to make enough for a crowd!
I am BEYOND excited to share this recipe with you! It has quickly risen to the top of my list of favorite recipes, and it's everything that I want in a simple summer dessert! These cookie cups are made with soft and chewy sugar cookie cups stuffed with creamy no-bake cheesecake and topped with fresh summer berries. They're easy to make, yet your family and friends will be so impressed with these delicious and adorable bite-sized treats!
You won't need any fancy pans or hard-to-find ingredients for this recipe! If you have a mixer (a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer will work), a mini muffin pan, and a handful of common baking ingredients, you're ready to make these mini sugar cookie cups. Best of all, it takes less than an hour of hands-on time to whip up a whole batch!
The cookie cups are so simple and easy to make! Sugar cookie dough is baked in a mini muffin pan, with small indents pressed into each cookie to create a "cup" for the no-bake cheesecake filling.
The filling is dangerously simple and comes together quickly with just a handful of basic ingredients. You're going to want to eat it with a spoon, so consider yourself warned!
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Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.
Unsalted Butter - Butter provides both fat and flavor for the sugar cookie dough. Using unsalted butter lets you control the amount of salt in the cookie dough. And be sure that your butter is a cool room temperature so that you can properly cream the butter with the sugar.
Egg Yolks - Egg yolks, rather than whole eggs, help to create an extra chewy cookie. This recipe uses two yolks.
Cream Cheese - Cream cheese is of course the key ingredient in the no-bake cheesecake filling. For the best flavor and texture, opt for full fat cream cheese. And make sure that it's room temperature (along with the sour cream) so that the filling blends smooth.
Heavy Cream - Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) helps to lighten the filling. The cream will be whipped into stiff peaks and then folded into the cream cheese mixture.
Lemon Juice - Lemon juice adds just a hint of brightness and tang to the cream cheese filling without actually making it taste like citrus.
Special Equipment
In addition to essential baking equipment (like a whisk and spatula), I recommend some special tools for making this recipe.
- An electric hand mixer or stand mixer for mixing the sugar cookie dough and cheesecake filling.
- A mini muffin pan for baking the sugar cookie cups.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed recipe instructions.
Step 1 - Make the sugar cookie cups. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 2 - In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 3 - Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
Step 4 - Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed just until combined, being careful not to over mix.
Step 5 - Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
Step 6 - Roll dough into balls (1 Tablespoon per dough ball), and place one into each well of the mini muffin pan.
Step 7 - Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or just until lightly golden.
Step 8 - Immediately upon removing the muffin pan from the oven, use the back side of a teaspoon measuring spoon to press down the centers of each cookie, forming a cup. Transfer cookie cups to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 9 - Make the no-bake cheesecake filling. In a medium bowl, beat heavy cream using a handheld electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
Step 10 - In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream using a handheld electric mixer until smooth.
Step 11 - Add confectioners sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined.
Step 12 - Add the whipped cream to bowl with the cream cheese mixture and fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate the cheesecake filling for at least 1 hour (or up to 12 hours).
Step 13 - Scoop 1 teaspoon of chilled no-bake cheesecake filling into each cooled sugar cookie cup.
Step 14 - Top each dessert with fresh berries and garnish with fresh herb sprigs. Enjoy immediately.
Holiday Version: Mini Sugared Cranberry Cookie Cups
These cookie cups are always a crowd-pleaser, so I decided to adapt the recipe for a holiday party and received rave reviews. The cookie cups and cheesecake filling remained the same, but I topped the tarts with sugared cranberries and rosemary sprigs instead of fresh summer berries for a festive flair.
To make sugared cranberries and rosemary, make a simple syrup by simmering equal parts sugar and water. Add fresh cranberries and sprigs of rosemary to the syrup to coat, then transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to dry.
Once they are dry by still tacky to the touch (about 30-60 minutes), roll them in granulated sugar.
Top the filled cookie cups with the sugared berries and sprigs and enjoy!
Allison's Top Tips
Be sure to spray the muffin pan with cooking spray and remove the cookie cups from the pan before they cool completely so that they don't become stuck in the pan. To remove then easily, slide a cake tester or small knife between the edge of the cookie and the side of the pan and lift gently upward; the cookie cup should pop up out of the pan.
To easily fill the cookie cups with cheesecake filling, scoop the filling using a teaspoon measuring spoon then transfer it to the cookie cups using a mini spatula. Use the back of the measuring spoon to smooth the filling.
Recipe FAQs
The easiest way to shape homemade cookie cups is to place balls of cookie dough into the wells of a mini muffin pan, bake the cookie dough in the pan, and then press an indent into the center of each cookie using the back of a round teaspoon measuring spoon to create a small cup shape.
The key ingredients in cheesecake are cream cheese, heavy cream, sour cream, sugar, and eggs, plus any flavorings. No-bake cheesecake is made using the same ingredients except for the eggs. Eggs help to bind and solidify cheesecake, but they are always the reason traditional cheesecake must be baked. No-bake cheesecake doesn't have to be baked since it doesn't contain eggs, and it relies on refrigeration to keep it firm.
No-bake cheesecake filling can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Storage Tips
It's best to enjoy these cookie cups shortly after assembling them, so I'd recommend storing the components separately, if possible and assembling them shortly before serving. The sugar cookie cups can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, while the no-bake cheesecake filling can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
If you end up with leftover assembled cookie cups, they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. It's best to remove any herb garnishes from the fruit tarts before storing, since the herbs' flavors will seep into the cheesecake filling.
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Recipe
Mini Sugar Cookie Cups with No-Bake Cheesecake Filling & Berries
Special Equipment
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Mini muffin pan
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Cups:
- 1 ¼ cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (1.5 grams) salt
- ½ cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅝ cup (125 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
No-Bake Cheesecake Filling:
- ¼ cup (60 grams) heavy cream, chilled
- 4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (12 grams) sour cream, room temperature
- ¼ cup (30 grams) confectioners' sugar
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 grams) lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon (1 grams) vanilla extract
- tiny pinch of salt
Garnish:
- fresh summer berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and/or strawberries)
- fresh herb sprigs (basil or mint, optional)
Instructions
Make the sugar cookie cups.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and cream the sugar with the butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed just until combined, being careful not to over mix. The dough should be moistened throughout but still a bit crumbly.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Once the cookie dough has chilled, scoop 1 Tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball using your hands, and place a cookie dough ball into each greased well of the mini muffin pan. You should have 24 balls of dough.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or just until lightly golden.
- Immediately upon removing the muffin pan from the oven, use the back side of a teaspoon measuring spoon to press down the centers of each cookie, forming a cup. Let the cookie cups cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes before carefully removing them from the pan and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the no-bake cheesecake filling.
- In a medium bowl, beat heavy cream using a handheld electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream using a handheld electric mixer until smooth.
- Add confectioners sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined.
- Add the whipped cream to bowl with the cream cheese mixture and fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cheesecake filling for at least 1 hour (or up to 12 hours).
Assemble the cookie cups.
- Scoop 1 teaspoon of chilled no-bake cheesecake filling into each cooled sugar cookie cup.
- Top each dessert with fresh berries and garnish with fresh herb sprigs (if using). Enjoy immediately.
Jordan says
I made these when I had company over and they were a HIT! They are dangerously poppable. They didn't last long in my house because my boyfriend kept sneaking them throughout the day. I have made a couple of Allison's recipes and I love how impressive they are while still feeling easy!
Bridget says
Has anyone tried this with prepare cookie dough? I am notorious for messing up cookies but the rest of this recipe seems totally doable for me!
Kimberley Canfield says
How much cream needs to be added to the fruit cups? I only see heavy cream in the ingredients for the filling.
Allison says
Hi Kimberley! There is no cream in the cookie cups. In step 2, the sugar should be added to the butter and creamed with the butter. I tweaked the wording of the recipe to make it more clear that cream is not being added to the recipe here and that the butter and sugar are being creamed together (and I've included a link below to a post explaining how to do this.) I hope that helps! Happy baking!
- Allison
https://alwayseatdessert.com/2020/05/27/how-to-cream-butter-and-sugar/
Catherine Folts says
These fruit tarts look insanely delicious !! I’m making them today can’t wait !!
Allison says
Thank you, Catherine! I would love to hear what you think once you've made them!
- Allison