Midnight Cheesecake Cookies
Vampire Edition
Dark. Decadent. And hiding something inside.
Rich black cocoa cookies surround a creamy strawberry cheesecake center and are finished with a strawberry white chocolate drizzle. Inspired by the classic vampire cheesecake cookie, this Kirby Kitchen version gets its dramatic Halloween colors from black cocoa and real freeze-dried strawberries—no artificial food coloring required.
Some desserts are meant to be unforgettable.
The deep chocolate cookie, creamy strawberry center, and sweet-tart drizzle make these look like they belong on a Halloween dessert table while still following the Kirby Kitchen approach: make smart ingredient swaps where they work, but don't sacrifice the experience that makes the original worth eating.
Yield: 8 large cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus chilling
Bake Time: 13–15 minutes
Oven: 350°F / 175°C
Nutrition is estimated and will vary depending on the specific brands and ingredients used.
Ingredients
🍓 Strawberry Cheesecake Filling
226 g (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese, softened
75 g plain nonfat Greek yogurt
35 g Swerve Brown Sugar Replacement
5 g vanilla bean paste, or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
12–15 g freeze-dried strawberry powder
🖤 Midnight Cookie Dough
113 g unsalted butter, softened
100 g Swerve Brown Sugar Replacement
30 g granulated monk fruit sweetener
1 large egg
5 g vanilla bean paste, or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
35 g black cocoa powder
4 g baking soda
2 g baking powder
3 g kosher salt
180 g all-purpose flour
60 ml milk
85 g Lily's Dark Chocolate Style Baking Chips
🩸 Strawberry White Chocolate Drizzle
85 g Lily's White Chocolate Style Baking Chips
5–8 g freeze-dried strawberry powder
5 g coconut oil, optional, for thinning
Instructions
1. Make the Cheesecake Filling
Add the softened cream cheese, Greek yogurt, Swerve Brown Sugar Replacement, vanilla bean paste, and freeze-dried strawberry powder to a bowl.
Mix until completely smooth and evenly pink.
Divide into 8 equal portions and place them on a parchment-lined tray or plate.
Freeze for at least 1 hour, or until completely firm.
2. Make the Midnight Cookie Dough
Cream the softened butter, Swerve Brown Sugar Replacement, and monk fruit sweetener until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla bean paste and mix until incorporated.
Add the black cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Mix until combined.
Gradually fold in the flour.
Add the milk and mix just until a soft cookie dough forms.
Fold in the dark chocolate chips.
3. Stuff the Cookies
Divide the cookie dough into 8 equal portions.
Flatten one portion into a thick disk and place a frozen strawberry cheesecake portion in the center.
Carefully bring the cookie dough up and around the filling, completely enclosing it. Pinch any seams closed.
Repeat with the remaining cookies.
4. Chill
Place the assembled cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
5. Bake
Arrange the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving plenty of room between them.
Bake for 13–15 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers still appear slightly soft.
Don't overbake them. The cookies will continue to set as they cool.
Leave them on the baking sheet for 10–15 minutes before carefully transferring them to a cooling rack.
Allow them to cool completely before decorating.
6. Make the Strawberry Drizzle
Melt the Lily's White Chocolate Style Baking Chips according to the package directions.
Stir in 5 g freeze-dried strawberry powder.
For a stronger strawberry flavor and deeper color, gradually add additional powder up to 8 g.
If the mixture is too thick to drizzle, stir in the optional coconut oil until it reaches the desired consistency.
7. Decorate
Drizzle the strawberry white chocolate over the completely cooled cookies.
Let the chocolate set before serving.
For Halloween, don't worry about making the drizzle perfectly neat—the streaks of strawberry-red chocolate against the midnight cookie are part of the Vampire Edition look.
Performance Notes
🖤 Naturally Dramatic
Black cocoa creates that signature midnight-black appearance and deep chocolate flavor without artificial black food coloring.
🍓 Real Strawberry Color
Freeze-dried strawberry powder does double duty: it provides real berry flavor while naturally creating the pink-red color in both the cheesecake center and drizzle.
🍪 Better Ingredients, Still Dessert
Alternative sweeteners, Lily's chocolate, Greek yogurt, and naturally derived colors help improve the ingredient profile while preserving what this recipe is supposed to be:
A big, indulgent, bakery-style stuffed cookie.
And that's okay. Not every Kirby Kitchen recipe has to pretend to be grilled chicken.
🔥 Performance Tip
Freeze the cheesecake filling completely before stuffing the cookies.
A firm center is much easier to wrap with cookie dough, helps prevent leaks during baking, and creates that creamy strawberry cheesecake surprise when you break open the finished cookie.
Fuel Profile — Estimated Per Serving
Calories: 410 kcal | Protein: 8 g | Carbohydrates: 56 g | Net Carbs: 23 g | Fiber: 7 g | Fat: 30 g
Based on 8 large cookies. Nutrition is estimated and will vary depending on the specific cream cheese, Greek yogurt, milk, sweeteners, chocolate chips, and amount of freeze-dried strawberry powder used.
Pumpkin Popcorn Balls
A lighter take on a nostalgic fall favorite! These Pumpkin Popcorn Balls combine crunchy popcorn, gooey marshmallow, warm pumpkin spice, and real pumpkin flavor. Instead of artificial orange food coloring, choose between pumpkin powder or pumpkin purée for a naturally festive pumpkin look.
Yield: About 8 popcorn balls
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Set Time: 20–30 minutes
Ingredients
8 cups plain popped popcorn
8 oz mini marshmallows
3 Tbsp salted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pretzel sticks, for the pumpkin stems
Gummy fruit slices, optional, for leaves
Light cooking spray, for shaping
For the natural orange color — choose one:
1–2 Tbsp pumpkin powder — provides more concentrated pumpkin flavor and color without adding extra moisture
1 Tbsp pumpkin purée — an easy-to-find alternative that adds real pumpkin flavor
Instructions
Prepare the popcorn. Place the popped popcorn in a large mixing bowl, removing any unpopped kernels.
Make the pumpkin-marshmallow mixture.
If using pumpkin purée: Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Add the pumpkin purée and cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring frequently to remove some of the excess moisture. Add the marshmallows and stir until just melted and smooth.
If using pumpkin powder: Melt the butter over low heat, add the marshmallows, and stir until just melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the pumpkin powder.Add the fall flavor. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla and pumpkin pie spice until combined.
Coat the popcorn. Immediately pour the warm marshmallow mixture over the popcorn. Gently fold until the popcorn is evenly coated.
Shape the pumpkins. Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray. While the mixture is still warm enough to shape, form it into approximately 8 balls. Press firmly enough that they hold together without crushing the popcorn.
Decorate. Press a pretzel stick into the top of each popcorn ball to create a pumpkin stem. If desired, cut gummy fruit slices into small leaf shapes and place them beside the stems.
Let them set. Allow the pumpkin popcorn balls to sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes, or until firm enough to hold their shape.
Tips
For the deepest pumpkin color without affecting the texture, pumpkin powder is the best choice. Pumpkin purée works well when pumpkin powder isn't available, but avoid adding extra purée—the additional moisture can make the popcorn soft and prevent the balls from setting properly.
For smaller treats, make 10–12 mini pumpkin popcorn balls instead of 8 large ones.
Storage: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days for the best texture.
Fuel Profile — Estimated Per Serving
Calories: 155 kcal | Protein: 2 g | Carbohydrates: 29 g | Net Carbs: 28 g | Fiber: 1 g | Fat: 4 g
Based on 8 popcorn balls using pumpkin purée. Nutrition is estimated and will vary depending on the popcorn, marshmallows, pretzel sticks, and pumpkin ingredient used. Optional gummy decorations are not included.