Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
Whisk the melted butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and yolk, in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
Mix the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar into the wet ingredients until you get a smooth mixture. Add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, ground ginger, salt, and baking soda. Stir them into the mixture until you form a relatively moist dough.
Add the toasted coconut, white chocolate chunks, lemon zest, macadamias, and cranberries. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold them into the dough.
Grab 2 tablespoons of dough and quickly roll them together into a ball. Use your hands to flatten it out slightly into a thick disk and lightly press your thumb down the middle. Fill the cavity with 1/2 tablespoon of cream cheese. Add another tablespoon of dough on top and press it down and around the sides to seal the cream cheese inside. Gently re-roll it into a ball. Set it aside and repeat for all the dough.
Arrange 6 to 8 balls of dough on the prepared baking sheet, with 3 to 4-inches space between them. Press them down lightly.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to brown. Remove them from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes. For best results, cookies should be baked on the center oven rack for even heating and air circulation.
Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Eggs: When baking, it is important to work with ingredients that are at room temperature. Cold eggs, for instance, can result in lumpy batter, a heavy texture, and require longer baking times.
Piloncillo: This is unprocessed cane sugar, but you can substitute it for dark or light brown sugar.
Use the middle rack: Bake only using the middle rack because the bottom and top racks have an uneven heat distribution.
Let the cookies rest: Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Change the filling: You can also stuff the cookies with peanut butter, almond butter, or Nutella instead of cream cheese.
Use regular chocolate: Milk, bittersweet, and dark chocolate chips are suitable substitutes for the white chocolate in this recipe.
To Freeze The Dough: Place the balls of raw dough on a parchment-lined baking tray. Freeze them for 1 to 2 hours, or until solid, and then transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze them for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, set them on the baking tray for 1 hour and then bake as usual.
To Freeze Baked Cookies: Arrange the cookies in a parchment-lined baking tray and freeze them for 1 hour. Place them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Set them on the counter until fully thawed when you're ready to eat them.
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.