1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.

2. Cheesecake Filling: Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Mix well until mixture is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.

3. Cookie dough: In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, food coloring, and salt. Mix until just combined.

4. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the cookie dough and flatten into a pancake-like circle on the baking sheet. Place about 2 teaspoons of cream cheese filling on top. Bring the edges of the dough around the filling and pinch the edges together to seal, adding more dough if necessary to cover completely, then roll the filled dough into a ball.

5. Space cookies about 3″ apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.