These strawberry cheesecake cookies are a treat from heaven. The texture of the cookies is light, airy, soft, pillowy with a buttery taste and crunchy edges and they are filled with a decadent cream cheese filling that drools out of the center of the cookie once you take a bite. These summer cookies are a work of art and very easy to make.
Summers are here and the berries are always the best fruit to consume during this time. Strawberry season is here and what better way than to create an amazing strawberry cookie recipe.
These delicious strawberry cheesecake cookies have a pleasant surprise in the middle. The cookie dough has chunks of strawberries throughout with a gooey cream cheese filling oozing from inside. Cookies can never get any better than this.
I love incorporating strawberries into my bakes and I have so many favorite strawberry recipes such as this Strawberry Jam without Pectin, Victoria Sponge Cake, Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes or this simple yet amazing Strawberry Crunch Topping recipe. But these cookies have a special place in my heart and I bet this will be your new favorite cookie recipe as well.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works?
- This is an easy cookie recipe.
- The cream cheese adds a tangy flavor to these delicious cookies.
- The chopped strawberries will give you strawberry chunks in every bite.
- The golden brown edges make these cookies crunchy from the edges and the cream cheese filling is gooey inside.
- The creamy cheesecake filling is super delicious.
- These strawberry cream cheese cookies are a perfect sweet treat for summers, brunch parties and tea sessions.
Ingredients
Pro Tip # 1 - Room Temperature Ingredients
Always use room temperature ingredients (unless otherwise specified) for baking. Ingredients such as butter, eggs and other dairy ingredients like milk, sour cream, yogurt form an emulsion by trapping air inside the batter. The trapped air expands in the oven resulting in perfect baked treats.
Strawberry Cookies:
- All-purpose flour: provides structure to these cookies.
- Baking soda + Baking powder: leavening agents in this recipe.
- Butter: use high-quality butter for this recipe.
- Castor sugar + Brown sugar: add sweetness.
- Vanilla extract: adds flavor.
- Egg + Egg yolk: helps in binding the dough together.
- Strawberries: use fresh strawberries to get best results.
Cream Cheese Filling: - Cream cheese: use cream cheese at room temperature. I recommend regular full-fat cream cheese for this recipe.
- Powdered sugar: sift the sugar before using.
Pro Tip # 2 - Digital Scale
Use a digital scale to measure all-purpose flour and other dry ingredients. To measure with cup, fluff up the all-purpose flour container using a spoon, then scoop out the flour with spoon into the measuring cup. Never scoop out of the container. It may result in more flour than required resulting in dense bakes.
Instructions
These are basic process shots for this recipe. For detailed instructions refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Beat the cream cheese until smooth and add powdered sugar.
2. Beat again for a minute or two until it forms into a smooth texture.
3. Using two spoons scoop out the filling onto a silicone mat. Place in the freezer until the dollops get hard. In the meanwhile, work on the cookies batter.
1. Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
2. Beat the butter until light and fluffy.
3. Add the sugars and beat until incorporated.
4. Add in the vanilla extract and the egg and the egg yolk, one by one, incorporating after each addition.
5. Beat in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
6. Toss the strawberries into one tablespoon of all purpose flour.
7. Fold in the strawberries into the batter.
8. Wrap the bowl with a plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
9. With an ice cream scoop, scoop out the cookies on the baking tray.
10. Using a spoon, create indents into the middle of the cookie.
11. Place a frozen dollop of the cream cheese into the divet.
12. Cover the cookies with the cookie batter. Bake at 375 F for 10 - 13 minutes.
Fresh VS. Frozen Strawberries
Use fresh strawberries for this recipe as the frozen strawberries will release water making the dough wet and sticky, and hard to handle. The freeze-dried strawberries hold water content that is released in to the dough while you are working on it and the strawberries start to come to room temperature. Further more the strawberries can leave color in the dough as well.
Equipment
- Mixing bowls.
- Cookie sheet or baking sheet.
- Silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Wire rack.
- Digital scale.
- Measuring cups and spoons.
Variations
- Chocolate Chips: Add ½ cup of chocolate chips to the strawberry cheesecake cookies batter to give it a chocolaty flavor.
- White Chocolate Chips: Add ½ cup of white chocolate chips to the batter in this recipe.
- Berries: Use any berries of your choice instead of strawberries in this recipe such as raspberries, blueberries or blackberries in 1:1 ratio to strawberries. If possible, use fresh berries.
- Chopped Nuts: Add ½ cup of chopped nuts of your choice such as pecans, walnuts or peanuts.
Expert Tips
Use Fresh Strawberries: for this strawberry cream cheese cookies recipe. The frozen strawberries will release water and make it harder to work with the dough.
Making Divets in the Dough: Use a round measuring spoon to make dent in the dough. Spray a little bit of baking spray on the measuring spoon and then press the balls of dough using the spoon. This will ensure that the dough does not stick to the measuring spoon, making it easier to handle. Once you have created the dents add the frozen cream cheese dollops on them and then close it with one tablespoon of cookie dough.
Coat the Strawberries in Flour: Do not skip this step. If you will not coat the strawberries in one tablespoon of flour before adding it to the cookie batter, they can rather gather in the bottom of the cookies instead of spreading throughout the cookie.
Chill the Cookies Before Baking: Do not skip the chilling of the cookies after you have assembled them. Place the cookies on the baking tray and place the baking tray in to the freezer and keep it there for up to 20 minutes. Take them out and bake. The chilling will ensure even baking and give you the best cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, complete all the steps shown in the steps section. Place the prepared cookies on the baking sheet and put in the freezer. Once the cookies are hard, place them into a ziploc bag or an airtight container. Freeze these cookies for upto 2 months.
Yes, you can certainly omit the cream cheese out of this recipe and you will still get the regular strawberry cookies.
Yes, you can use the cream cheese of your choice. However, the texture can be different as the vegan cream cheese is made with coconut or tofu. The taste may be a little different than the regular cream cheese as well.
If you are out of options and do not have fresh strawberries handy, use the frozen ones. But be sure to quickly work with the dough once you incorporate strawberries into the dough as it will start releasing water that will make it hard to work with the dough. Also know the frozen strawberries will make your cookies soggy as well.
How To Store
- Store the strawberry cream cheese cookies in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Place the cookies in an airtight jar or container.
- Freeze the baked cookies for up to a month. Place the baked cookies in a baking tray and let it sit in the freezer until hard. Wrap each cookies in a plastic wrap and further add a layer of foil. Place the cookies in a ziploc bag or an airtight container.
Did you make this recipe and loved it? Give it a 5-star 🌟 rating with a comment. Join our Now Delish newsletter to get a free ebook and weekly recipes. Stay connected on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Tiktok as well.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Baking sheets.
- Silicone Mats
- Parchment paper.
- Digital Scale
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Wire rack.
Ingredients
Strawberry Cookie Dough
- 3 cup all-purpose flour (360 g) + 1 tablespoon to coat strawberries
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (5 g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (3 g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg (large)
- 1 egg yolk
- ⅔ cup castor sugar (150 g)
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar (65 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
- 1 cup fresh strawberries finely chopped
Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar (35 g)
Instructions
Cream Cheese Filling
- Line a baking tray with a silicone sheet or parchment paper sheet.
- In a medium sized bowl, cream together the cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat again for a minute or so.
- Using a teaspoon, scoop out 1 ½ teaspoon mixture onto the silicone mat. Keep each dollop 2 - 3 inches apart.
- Place the baking sheet into the freezer so that the dollops can freeze. Prepare the dough in the meanwhile.
Strawberry Cookies Dough
- Take a medium sized bowl and add all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in it. Whisk and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric or a stand-mixer beat the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. This will take around 1 - 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla extract and eggs, one by one, and beat after each addition of the eggs.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat at a lower speed until just combined.
- In a medium sized bowl, add the one tablespoon flour on the strawberries, coat.
- Add in the strawberries to the batter and fold with a soft hand using a rubber spatula until combined.
- Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven at 375 F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone sheets.
- Take out the cookie dough and place about 3 tablespoon of dough into the baking sheet. Place them about 3 inches apart of each other. You will have 5 or 6 cookies on one baking sheet.
- Using the thumb press the cookie dough in the middle of each cookie.
- Take out the cream cheese dollops from the freezer.
- Press one dollop into the dented center of each cookie.
- Take about two teaspoon cookie dough and press gently over the cream cheese until covered properly. Shape the cookies into the form of a ball.
- Repeat this step with all the cookies.
- Place the cookies into the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Take out the cookies and place the baking tray into the preheated oven and bake for about 12 - 15 minutes. Start checking around 12 minutes. If the sides have turned golden, take them out.
- Let them sit on the baking tray for about five minute before transferring on a wire rack. Let them cool completely.
Leave a Reply