These delicious strawberry cheesecake cookies are soft and bursting with fresh strawberries. They're easy to make and impossible to resist!
These strawberry stuffed cookies are one of my family's favorite cookies. They're soft, chewy and sweet - the perfect summer treat!
This recipe was inspired by my lemon blueberry cookies. Since I love cheesecake, especially New York-style cheesecake, I wanted to try and combine cookies and cheesecake together.
For this recipe, instead of cheesecake stuffed cookies, I wanted to make something much easier, so I developed these sandwich cookies filled with cream cheese filling.
So if you love strawberries and cheesecake, you won't be able to get enough of these scrumptious strawberry cheesecake cookies that balance both flavors!
Love strawberry desserts? Try my strawberry ice cream, my easy strawberry Charlotte cake, my tarte aux fraises (French strawberry tart), my strawberry and apple crumble, or strawberry filled cupcakes with ermine frosting.
Jump to:
- Why you'll love this strawberry cheesecake cookies recipe
- What do these strawberry cheesecake cookies taste like?
- WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THESE STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE COOKIES RECIPE
- Ingredients for strawberry cheesecake cookies
- Ingredients for the cream cheese filling
- Equipment you'll need
- HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE COOKIES
- Step-by-step Instructions
- Recipe Notes
- Storage Tips
- Freezing Instructions
- VARIATIONS
- TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- FAQs
- MORE COOKIES TO TRY
- Recipe
Why you'll love this strawberry cheesecake cookies recipe
- It's flavor-packed. Who doesn't love the creamy, tangy flavor of cream cheese paired with a soft, strawberry cookie?
- These easy cheesecake cookies are homemade. There is no cake mix in this recipe as it's made entirely from scratch and tastes so much better than anything made from a box.
- It has fresh strawberries, which add a burst of sweetness and freshness to the cookies.
- This recipe is simple. These cream cheese strawberry cookies aren't complicated.
What do these strawberry cheesecake cookies taste like?
These homemade strawberry cheesecake cookies are soft, creamy and absolutely delicious. The cream cheese filling is tangy and sweet. I love the fresh strawberries in every bite!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THESE STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE COOKIES RECIPE
Ingredients for strawberry cheesecake cookies
See the recipe card at the end of the post for quantities.
- Strawberries: I use fresh strawberries, but you can use frozen strawberries, too. Just don't thaw them.
- Flour & Leaveners: I use all purpose flour and baking powder.
- Sugar & salt: I use regular, granulated sugar and a bit of salt to enhance all the flavors.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter at room temperature. This is important when creaming the butter, so the cookies don't get dense.
- Egg: You'll need one medium egg.
- Cornstarch: I like to coat the frozen strawberries with cornstarch because it helps prevent them from bleeding into the dough.
- Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract.
Ingredients for the cream cheese filling
- Powdered sugar. I love using powdered sugar for the filling because it doesn't get gritty like granulated sugar.
- Butter. I use unsalted butter.
- Cream cheese. You'll need full-fat cream cheese.
Equipment you'll need
- mixing bowls
- baking sheets
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- parchment paper
- cookie scoop (optional)
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE COOKIES
Step-by-step Instructions
First, dice the strawberries into small pieces and spread them out on a tray. Put them in the freezer.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set it aside.
In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes, until it's well combined and fluffy.
Add the egg and the vanilla and beat until everything is well combined.
Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and mix until just combined.
Take the strawberries out of the freezer and put them in a bowl. Add the cornstarch and mix to coat them well.
Fold in the coated strawberries and put the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place 6 on a tray lined with parchment paper and bake. I bake them one tray at a time.
After the cookies have completely cooled, make the cream cheese mixture and assemble the cookies.
Beat the butter and sugar together.
Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time. I do it in 3 batches.
Add the cream cheese and mix until it's just combined.
The filling should be smooth, but thick enough to pipe.
Pipe a swirl of filling on the bottom of a cookie.
Place another cookie on top.
Recipe Notes
Storage Tips
You can store these cream cheese filled cookies in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to about 2 days. The cookies soften a bit the day after they're made.
Freezing Instructions
I haven't tried freezing these cookies, because I think they will get too soft or soggy.
You could freeze the cookies without the filling and assemble them later. I would individually wrap each cookie in plastic wrap and then store in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for about 2 months.
VARIATIONS
These strawberry cheesecake cookies are great on their own, but they're also quite versatile. Easily customize these cookies in various ways.
Here are a few ideas:
- White Chocolate Chip Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies - For sweeter cookies, add white chocolate chips to your cookie dough before baking.
- Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies - For a richer, chocolate flavor, add some cocoa powder to your cookie dough. Top with melted chocolate to make it even more indulgent.
- Lemon Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies - Replace the vanilla extract with some strawberry extract and a little lemon zest to add some tangy citrus flavor.
- Use freeze dried strawberries for a denser texture.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- Use Fresh Strawberries. I think fresh strawberries makes the cookies more flavorful.
- Use a digital scale. For accuracy, weigh all the ingredients with a digital scale.
- Avoid excess moisture. Mixing cornstarch with the strawberries help prevent the dough from getting too wet. It also helps to make the cookies chewy.
- Don't overmix the dough. Just mix the dough until everything is just combined so the cookies won't become tough.
- Chill the dough. After mixing all ingredients together, chill the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking. This will allow the dough to firm up and make it easier to handle.
- Use a cookie scoop. Because this dough is thick, I found that using a cookie scoop makes it easier to work with and helps make the cookies more or less the same size. You could use a spoon, if you prefer.
- Oven temperatures vary. Since every oven is different, you need to adjust the baking time accordingly.
FAQs
I've never made these cookies with frozen strawberries, but technically, you could use them. I personally prefer fresh strawberries. If you want to try this recipe with frozen strawberries, I would not thaw them. I'd just chop them and then mix them with the cornstarch right before adding them to the dough.
One way to prevent the dough from sticking is by lightly coating your hands with cornstarch before rolling the dough into balls.
Absolutely! You can use blueberries or raspberries, which pair well with cream cheese.
MORE COOKIES TO TRY
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Happy baking!
Let me know how these strawberry cheesecake cookies turn out for you in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you!
Recipe
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Equipment
- baking sheets
- parchment paper
- hand mixer (or stand mixer)
- mixing bowls
- spatula
- cookie scoop (optional)
- piping bag and tip (optional)
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 5oz / 140g (about 8) strawberries, washed, drained, and diced small
- 6.6oz / 188g (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g / 4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) sugar
- 1 medium egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the cheesecake filling
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (180g / 46.3 oz) powdered sugar
- 4oz / 113g full-fat cream cheese
Note:
For best results, please read through the full post before beginning the recipe.
Instructions
Make the cookies
- Spread the diced strawberries on a try lined with parchment paper and then put them in the freezer while continuing with the recipe. (If using frozen strawberries, do not thaw them.)
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- In another large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed for about 5 minutes until everything is well combined.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix again thoroughly, for about 1-2 minutes more.
- Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Don't overmix it or it will make the cookies tough.
- Take the diced strawberries out of the freezer and place them in a small bowl. Toss the strawberries with the cornstarch and coat them well.
- Gently fold the strawberries into the cookie dough.
- Put the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350℉ / 180℃ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Take the cookie dough out of the freezer. Divide it into 12 balls. If you have a digital scale, each dough ball should weigh about 2 oz/55g each.
- Roll each ball between your hands to shape into balls.
- Place 6 balls on a prepared tray, spacing them about 3 inches (8cm) apart. (I bake them one tray at a time.)
- Keep the remaining dough in the fridge while the first batch of cookies are baking.
- Bake for about 18 minutes or until they're lightly golden on the edges.
- When done, remove the cookies from the oven and leave them on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Then bake the remaining cookies. Let them cool completely before making the filling.
Make the cheesecake filling & assemble the cookies
- Beat the butter and powdered sugar together until it's smooth and well combined.
- Add the cream cheese and beat until it's creamy and fully incorporated. If your cream cheese is hard, beat it first to soften it a bit before adding it to the butter mixture. Don't beat it too much, though, or it could get runny.
- Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with your favorite tip. (I use Wilton 1M.)
- Pipe a swirl of filling on the bottom of a cookie and then place another cookie on top. Alternatively, spread the filling on top using the back of a spoon. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Enjoy!
Tom
These look so good! Can't wait to try them!
Voula
Thank you, Tom!❤️