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Irresistible Crème Brûlée Cookies

A luxurious dessert mashup featuring a soft vanilla bean sugar cookie base filled with creamy custard and topped with a crunchy, torch-fired caramelized sugar shell.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 18 cookies
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American, French
Calories: 210
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cookie Dough
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.25 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 egg large
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
  • 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Custard Filling
  • 4 oz cream cheese softened
  • 0.25 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 egg yolk large
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping
  • 0.5 cup granulated sugar for torching

Equipment

  • Stand mixer or hand mixer
  • Baking sheet
  • Kitchen Torch
  • Cookie scoop

Method
 

  1. Cream butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 mins). Mix in egg and vanilla.
  2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together. Gradually add to wet ingredients until just combined.
  3. Scoop dough into balls. Place on parchment-lined sheet. Indent centers deeply with a spoon or thumb. Chill for 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
  5. Whisk cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth.
  6. Fill indentations with custard mixture (do not overfill). Bake 11-13 minutes until edges are golden and filling is set.
  7. Cool completely on the baking sheet.
  8. Sprinkle sugar over the custard centers. Use a kitchen torch to melt sugar until amber and hard. Serve immediately.

Notes

Torch the cookies just before serving to maintain the crunch. Store leftovers in the fridge.