• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Art of Gluten-Free Baking
  • Home
  • About
    • Press
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Tips & FAQs
    • GF Seattle FAQ
  • My Cookbooks
    • GF Baking for the Holidays Errata
    • GF Wish List Errata
  • Classes/Demos/Signings
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Privacy Policy

Cream Cheese-Truffle Brownie Cookies, Gluten-Free

December 8, 2010 by Jeanne

Today’s cookie recipe combines two of my favorite tastes–cream cheese and chocolate.  Last month I got an invitation from the lovely and talented Silvana Nardone, founding Editor-in-Chief of Every Day With Rachel Ray magazine and author of the new gluten-free and dairy-free cookbook, Cooking With Isaiah: Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy Delicious Meals to participate in a gluten-free cookie round up. I was honored to be asked and delighted to have yet another excuse to bake cookies!

The recipe I chose is one I adapted from Alice Medrich’s new cookie cookbook, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt in Your Mouth Cookies.   As you know,  Alice is one of my baking goddesses!  And I got a chance to meet and bake for her last week (I’ll have a post on that later).  The original of this cookie consists of a cream cheese dough wrapped around a brownie center.  I decided to simplify the recipe a bit and placed the brownie part to sit in the middle of a cream cheese cookie.  These look so pretty yet are deceptively easy to make.  And they are so very delicious.  Wow!  The combo of cream cheese cookie with a chocolate cookie is to-die-for.  They taste a lot like I remember chocolate croissants to taste.  Yum…

One of the beauties of this cookie is that you make two simple doughs and then refrigerate them until needed.  You then roll out and cut the cream cheese dough into shapes while you roll portions of the brownie dough into balls and place them on top of the cream cheese dough.  You bake the two together and voilà!  You have a pretty, elegant, and delicious cookie!

Cream Cheese-Truffle Brownie Cookies, Gluten-Free
-adapted from Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Cookies, Alice Medrich
-makes about 60-80 cookies

Special Equipment Needed
-stand mixer is very helpful, but a hand mixer will do
-2.25″ square cookie cutter
-plastic wrap
-rolling pin

Ingredients
For the Cream Cheese Dough
2 1/2 C (360g) Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
2 TBL granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 C (2 sticks; 8oz; 230g) unsalted butter (or dairy-free substitute), cold
8 oz (230g), cream cheese (or dairy-free substitute), cold

For the Truffle Brownie Dough
6 TBL (3/4 stick; 3oz; 85g) unsalted butter
4 oz (115g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 C (200g) granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 large or extra large eggs, cold
2 TBL Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix

To Make the Cream Cheese Dough
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix briefly to distribute the ingredients. Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces and add them to the bowl. Mix on low speed until the mixture looks like a combination of pebbles and larger rocks. Cut the cream cheese into small chunks and add to the bowl. Mix on medium speed until the dough is mixed and is shaggy-looking.

At this point, use your hands to quickly bring the dough together in a ball that holds together. Don’t take too much time on this–you want the dough to stay cold throughout the process. Divide the dough into 4 smaller balls and shape each ball into a disk. Wrap each disk individually in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

To Make the Truffle Brownie Dough
In a medium saucepan set over very low heat, melt the butter and chocolate together. Watch closely to make sure it doesn’t burn–remove from heat just before all the chunks are melted. Using a whisk, mix together until smooth.

Remove 2 TBL of the sugar to a small bowl and set aside. Whisk the remaining sugar, vanilla and salt into the chocolate mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Add the flour and whisk until mixture is smooth and glossy–30 seconds-1 minute. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cover and refrigerate until filling is firm, about 1 hour and up to 3 days.

When you are ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Remove one of the disks from the refrigerator. Place disk between two large pieces of plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, slowly and carefully roll out the dough to 1/8″ thickness. With your cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can and place them on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Gather together the scraps, re-roll, and cut out more cookies. Each disk will provide around 15-20 cookies. Work as quickly as you can to keep the working dough and the already cut-out dough as cool as possible.

Remove your brownie mixture from the refrigerator. Scoop out rounded 1/2 tsp amounts and roll into balls with your palms. Place each ball onto the middle of a cookie dough square. Once you are done placing a brownie ball onto each cookie dough square, press down lightly on each brownie ball with your finger to flatten it slightly onto the cookie dough. Optional: sprinkle the tops of each cookie with a bit of the leftover granulated sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes–until golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the process for each of the remaining cream cheese dough disks and brownie dough.

These cookies are amazing–they have a flaky cream cheese layer topped with a truffle brownie circle!  They taste like chocolate croissants–yum!

Enjoy!

Note:  If you use a different gluten-free flour mix, alter the amount of or eliminate the xanthan gum or use a different gluten-replacer, use dairy-free or egg-free substitutes, or change any other ingredients in this recipe, your results may not match my results.

PRINT FRIENDLY RECIPE

This post contains affiliate links–which means that I get a tiny percentage of each purchase you make through the link (at no extra cost to you!).  Thank you!


You May Also Like

  • Bittersweet Cocoa Brownies, Gluten-FreeBittersweet Cocoa Brownies, Gluten-Free
  • Oreos, Gluten-FreeOreos, Gluten-Free
  • Banana Oatmeal Muffins, Gluten-FreeBanana Oatmeal Muffins, Gluten-Free
  • Turkey Meatloaf, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-FreeTurkey Meatloaf, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free

Filed Under: cookies Tagged With: Alice Medrich, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt in Your Mouth Cookies, gluten-free, glutenfree

Previous Post: « Chocolate Pound Cake, Gluten-Free
Next Post: Baking Tips: Is It Better to Measure by Volume or Weight? »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pam

    December 12, 2010 at 9:29 pm

    these look absolutely phenomenal!

    • admin

      December 13, 2010 at 8:07 am

      Pam: Oh, I’m glad–they are!!

  2. Sophie

    December 11, 2010 at 10:35 am

    Delightful & special festive gf cookies!! I love the cream cheese in here!

    Yummie & lovelty food!

    • admin

      December 11, 2010 at 1:51 pm

      Sophie: Oh, I’m so glad! The are awesome!

  3. Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction

    December 9, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    Oh my goodness… These look phenomenal, gluten free or not! I’ll have to give them a try 🙂

    • admin

      December 9, 2010 at 7:34 pm

      Jen: They are amazing. Seriously. Alice is a genius!

  4. InTolerantChef

    December 8, 2010 at 9:45 pm

    I love the doubled up effect, it’s so pretty!

    • admin

      December 9, 2010 at 9:56 am

      Thanks! Me, too!

  5. Nancy Baggett

    December 8, 2010 at 10:29 am

    These look lovely! I’d like to make them for my daughter-in-law–just trying to find the time. Happy holidays to you.

    • admin

      December 8, 2010 at 12:25 pm

      Nancy: Thanks! They are so good! Happy holidays to you, too!!

  6. Wonder Why Gal

    December 7, 2010 at 8:52 am

    Big question. What is a good dairy free substitute for cream cheese? I am struggling with finding dairy free substitutes for recipes and also found that my reaction to dairy is too strong for lactaid to counteract. Argh!

    Andrea

    • admin

      December 8, 2010 at 8:02 am

      Andrea: There is a dairy-free cream cheese called Tofutti–that’s widely available. And I found a website called Dr. Cow that sells a dairy- and soy-free version of cream cheese that’s made out of cashews: http://www.dr-cow.com/.

Trackbacks

  1. Friday Favorites – Christmas Cookie Guide (Episode 74) | my kitchen addiction says:
    February 19, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    […] you love chocolate as much as I do, I’m sure you will adore these Cream Cheese-Truffle Brownie Cookies from Art of Gluten Free Baking. They just happen to be gluten free, but no one needs to know […]

  2. Free Bake Cookie says:
    December 11, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    […] Cream Cheese-Truffle Brownie Cookies, Gluten-Free You bake the two together and voilà You have a pretty, elegant, and delicious cookie Cream Cheese-Truffle Brownie Cookies Gluten-Free -adapted from Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Cookies Alice Medrich . Nov 01, 2010 […]

Primary Sidebar

logo
Food Advertisements by

Sign Up for My Newsletter!

Subscribe

* indicates required

For information about my privacy practices see my Privacy Policy page.

Affiliate Link Notice

I use Amazon affiliate links on this blog.  I get a small percentage of each purchase made with these links.  Thank you!

For more buying options for my cookbooks, please see the My Cookbooks page.


logo
Food Advertisements by

Search my site

Coffee Cake Friday

Coffee Cake Friday: Blueberry-Lime

Friday Coffee Cake: Bittersweet Mocha

Coffee Cake Friday: Sour Cream Bundt Cake with Jam, Gluten-Free

Coffee Cake Friday: Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

See More →

All Recipes In Alphabetical Order

My recipes, alphabetical order

Angel Sugar Cookies

Animal Crackers

2 Apple Pie Fillings

Baguettes

Banana Bread

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Bear’s Ginger Oat Muffins

Berry Cake

Best Blueberry Muffins

Bittersweet Mocha Coffee Cake

Blackberry Cobbler

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Blueberry Honey Muffins

Blueberry-Lime Coffee Cake

Blueberry Snack Cake

Bread, Sandwich, Multi-Grain

Bread, Sandwich, Soft

Bread, Sourdough (boule–round loaf)
–Sourdough Starter

Brown Butter Pound Cake

Brownies

Brownies, Bittersweet

Brownie Bark

Butter Cookies (Spritz, Pressed)

Buttermilk Biscuits

Chantilly Meringuée (or Elegant Ice Cream)

Cheese Crackers and Straws

Cheese Straws (made with gluten-free Puff Pastry)

Cherry Pie

Chocolate Almond Cake

Chocolate Bouchons

(Decadent) Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies (dairy-free)

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Chunk Cookies, 2 Recipes

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Shortbread-type (egg-free)

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

Chocolate Chip Scones

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Chocolate Clementine (orange) Cake

Chocolate Dump (It) Cake

Chocolate Pecan (Tar Heel) Pie

Chocolate Pound Cake

Chocolate Sheet Cake (w/Chocolate Pecan Frosting)

Cinnamon Rolls, with or w/o Cream Cheese Frosting

Cinnamon Swirl Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Coffee Chocolate Almond Crunch Bars (egg-free)

Cornbread

Cranberry Cake

Cranberry Sauce

Crazy Cake (dairy-free and egg free)–w/instructions for cupcakes, too

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Cream Cheese Truffle Brownie Cookies

Cream Scones

Crullers (donuts) (with a selection of glazes)

Cupcakes (chocolate), use the Fast, Easy, and Elegant Fudge Cake recipe and bake for 30 mins. or the Crazy Cake recipe for a vegan alternative

Decadent Chocolate Cake

Dilly Cottage Cheese Bread

Dinner Rolls (yeasted)–like Parker House Rolls

Doughnuts (cake-style), 2 Recipes (Plain + Pumpkin)

Fast, Easy, and Elegant Fudge Cake

Flour Mix (Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix)

Flour, Self Rising

French Breakfast Muffins

Fruit Drop Cookies

Fruitcake–aka, Country Christmas Cake (the best fruicake you will ever eat!)

Fudge

Garlic Truffle Oil Popcorn

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Gingerbread Cake with Persimmon

Graham Crackers

Hamburger Buns

Honey Vanilla Pound Cake

Ho Hos

Hot Cross Buns, Traditional

Hot Cross Buns, Apple Cinnamon

Irish Soda Bread

Italian Chocolate Kiss Cookies (Baci di Cioccolato)–chocolate-almond cookies w/chocolate filling

Jam-Filled Butter Cookies–Thumbprint cookies

Jam-Filled Shortbread Cookies (nut-free Linzer cookies)

Kentucky Bourbon Cake

King Cake

Krumkake (Scandinavian Crisp Cookies)

Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake

Lemon Buttermilk Snack Cake

Lentil-Tomato Pasta Sauce

Linzer Cookie, Giant (nut-free)

Little Tiered Chocolate Cakes

Madeleines (Classic)

Maple Bundt Cake

Marbled Coffee Cake (Viennese-style)–chocolate swirl in a lemon cake

Matzo

Mocha Bundt Cake

Nanaimo Bars

Nut and Jam Snack Bars

Orange and Poppy Seed Quick Bread

Oatmeal Cookies, Salty (like the Teaism cookies)

Oreos

Pan Gravy, Classic

Pancakes

Pancakes and Waffles, Sourdough

Pasta (Homemade)

Pasta with Brussels Sprouts, Chili, and Bacon

Peach Cake

Pepparkakkor (Swedish Gingersnaps)

Pie Crust, Flaky

Pie Crust Crackers

Pistachio Cookies with White Chocolate Ganache

Pizza Crust (NYC thin-style)

Pizza, Grilled

Pound Cake

Puff Pastry

Puff Pastry Cheese Straws

Puff Pastry Shells (Vols au Vent)

Puff Pastry Turnovers

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

Pumpkin Pie (with directions on how to adapt to dairy-free)

Ranch Dressing

Ricotta Pound Cake

Risotto (Easy, cooked in Pressure Cooker)

Rosettes (light and delicate Scandinavian fried cookies)

Salmon (or Halibut) Croquettes w/ Spicy Remoulade Sauce

Salty Oat Cookies–like the Teaism cookies

Shortbread Cookies (w/Oat Flour and Ginger)

Shortcake Biscuits (including recipe for Strawberry Shortcake)

Skordalia (Greek potato-garlic-lemon dip)

S’more Whoopie Pies

Soup with Beans, Turkey, Potatoes, Basil and Cumin

Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Sour Cream Orange Coffee Cake

Sourdough Bread (boule–round loaf)
–Sourdough Starter

Strawberry Cake

Strawberry (or Raspberry) Mascarpone Tart with Pecan Shortbread Crust

Streuselkuchen (yeasted German Crumb Cake)

Tar Heel (Chocolate Pecan) Pie

Texas Sheet Cake

Thin Mint Cookies (like the Girl Scout cookies of the same name)

Toaster (or Portable) Tarts–like Pop Tarts

Tortillas (Flour)

Tres Leches Cake

Tunnel of Fudge CAke

Turkey Meatloaf

Victoria Sponge Cake (Jam-Filled)

Vols au Vent (Puff Pastry Shells)

Waffles (Buttermilk)

Waffles (Sourdough)

Whipped Cream Cake

Zucchini Bread (with or w/o chocolate chips)

logo
Food Advertisements by

Art of Gluten-Free Baking © 2025

Built with and Genesis Framework by Bellano Web Studio

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsGOT IT!
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT