Description
These Rhubarb Cheesecake Bombs are an easy dessert with quick prep and simple steps. Tart rhubarb jam wraps around creamy filling inside golden biscuit dough for the best bite-sized treat. They feel fun for brunch and a holiday party and they’re a sweet idea for potluck dessert tables. Add fresh fruit on the side for a healthy balance and serve them warm while the centers are soft.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups diced fresh rhubarb stalks
- 1/3 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 6 ounces softened full-fat brick cream cheese
- 1/4 cup powdered cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 can with 8 biscuits refrigerated flaky biscuit dough
- 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar blend
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Set the fresh rhubarb stalks, granulated cane sugar and fresh lemon juice in a saucepan over medium-low heat at about 4 on a 10-dial. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes and stir with a rubber spatula from the edges toward the center every minute. The rhubarb turns soft and glossy and the syrup leaves a short trail when you drag the spatula through it. Go past 10 minutes and the fruit can turn sticky instead of spoonable.
- Keep the full-fat brick cream cheese at 68°F room temperature for 20 minutes before mixing. Beat it with powdered cane sugar, pure vanilla extract and fine sea salt for 60 to 75 seconds and scrape the sides halfway through. The filling should look smooth with soft ridges and no dry sugar patches. Skip the scrape and you’ll get little white lumps that don’t melt evenly inside the biscuit dough. (I tried cold cream cheese once, it stayed chunky and made sealing the dough harder.)
- Flatten each refrigerated flaky biscuit dough round into a 4-inch circle while the dough is still cool at about 40°F. Spoon 1 tablespoon cheesecake filling and 2 teaspoons rhubarb filling into the center of each round, then pinch the edges closed for 20 to 30 seconds per bomb. The dough should look plump and sealed with a slightly uneven seam underneath. Overfill them and the pink filling leaks before the tops can brown.
- Place the sealed bombs seam side down in a ceramic baking dish and brush the tops with melted unsalted butter. Bake at 375°F for 18 to 22 minutes and rotate the dish at minute 12 so the tops brown more evenly. You’ll see golden patches, small cracks and a little pink filling bubbling at a few seams. Pull them too early and the centers stay doughy, but go past 22 minutes and the bottoms get too dark.
- Rest the baked bombs in the dish at 70°F room temperature for 7 minutes, then roll each one in cinnamon sugar blend while the tops are still warm. Use a gentle turning motion for 10 to 15 seconds so the coating clings without tearing the crust. The finished bomb should show a sandy cinnamon sugar crust and a cut center with creamy white filling and pink rhubarb streaks. Skip the rest and the filling runs out the second you cut one.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Seal the dough with the seam underneath so the filling pushes upward instead of out the side.
- Don’t add hot rhubarb filling to the cream cheese because it loosens the center too much.
- Use a ceramic baking dish for gentle browning and fewer scorched bottoms.
- Roll in cinnamon sugar while warm because a cold crust won’t grab the coating well.
Storage: Store leftover Rhubarb Cheesecake Bombs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let them cool fully first so steam doesn’t soften the cinnamon sugar coating. Reheat at 325°F for 8 to 10 minutes until the centers feel warm. For a chilled fruity dessert option, Rhubarb Sorbet is a nice make-ahead treat.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (of 8)
- Calories: 318
- Sugar: 38g
- Sodium: 5022mg
- Fat: 15g
- Carbohydrates: 46g
- Fiber: 2g
- Cholesterol: 39mg