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These strawberry cheesecake cookies are deliciously rich and buttery, with fresh strawberries in every bite, and are then stuffed with an excellent cheesecake filling. These cookies have a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. You’re going to fall in love after just one bite!
Each component is simple to make. They take some extra time because the filling needs to be frozen for an hour before stuffing. After the cookies are assembled, they chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. Trust me, these babies are well worth the investment in time!
I hope you’ll try more fan-favorite cookies! Such as strawberry cookies, Toll House cookies, almond joy cookies, and peanut butter cookies. Cookies make the best dessert!
Let’s get baking!
STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE COOKIES INGREDIENTS
- Cream Cheese: Use regular full-fat cream cheese, not Neufchâtel.
- Confectioner’s Sugar: I like using this form of sugar because it easily and smoothly mixes into the cream cheese.
- Vanilla: I only use pure vanilla extract, not imitation.
- All-Purpose Flour: Use a medium-protein, all-purpose flour, like Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Cornstarch: Helps keep the cookies tender and soft.
- Baking Soda: Helps the dough rise and keeps it fluffy.
- Salt: Adds flavor and helps keep the cookies tender.
- Butter: Use good-quality unsalted butter.
- Granulated Sugar: White table sugar, the same stuff you have in your sugar bowl.
- Brown Sugar: Not only does this add sweetness to the cookies, but it also keeps them moist and chewy.
- Eggs: I use large eggs. Please make sure they’re at room temperature, not cold from the fridge.
- Fresh Strawberries: If your strawberries are super juicy, dab off the surface of the cut berries with paper towels so you don’t add extra moisture to the cookie batter. Don’t use frozen strawberries because they will release too much moisture.
TIPS FOR FRESH STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE COOKIES
- Measure Flour Properly: It’s easy to measure flour incorrectly, which results in dry baked goods. Why do you ask? Because if you dip your measuring cup into the flour and scoop it out, you can easily add too much flour. Here’s a better way to measure flour:
- Fluff the flour either in your container or the flour bag. I stick a whisk into my container and fluff it up. As flour sits and settles, it compacts. We want it fluffy.
- Once fluffed, use a large spoon to spoon it into your measuring cup.
- Use a straight edge on a spatula (I use a small offset spatula that I keep in my flour container; (here’s the one I use), level off the measuring cup.
- Room Temperature: For best baking results, it’s essential to bring the cream cheese, butter, and eggs to room temp before you start baking.
- Keep The Cheesecake Frozen: Take the frozen cheesecake blobs out one at a time rather than taking the whole tray out at once. You want them to stay as cold as possible.
- Test Baking: Because oven temperatures can vary significantly, I like to test-bake one cookie in an oven that has been preheated to the desired temperature to determine the baking time better.
- Baking Tray: I use a quarter sheet pan to freeze the cream cheese filling. It fits more easily into my freezer.
- Assembly: The cookie batter is a little sticky, so lightly flour the spoon or your hands when creating the divot and when closing them up.
- Baking: These cookies get minimal color when they’re done. Do not overbake! If the cookies are golden brown, they’re overdone! You want to wait until the edges are barely browned.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I Use Frozen Strawberries? I prefer fresh strawberries in this recipe. Frozen strawberries can add too much liquid to the batter.
What Kind Of Mixer Should I Use? For this recipe, I like to use my handheld electric mixer. As a rule of thumb, I only take out my stand mixer when I need to cream or mix for over four minutes at a time.
Can I Bake These Cookies Ahead of Time? I prefer these cookies served the day they’re baked. Because they need to be refrigerated, the crispy edges are lost after a short time in the refrigerator. You can make the different components of the cookies, store them in the freezer and fridge, and then assemble and bake when you’re ready to serve.
Do I Need To Use A Kitchen Scale? No, not with our recipe.
Does This Recipe Use Strawberry Jam? No, our cookies use fresh, shopped strawberries to add the perfect strawberry flavor.
Can I Skip The Chilling Steps? Unfortunately, no. The chilling is imperative to making these cookies. The recipe will not work if you skip chilling.
Can I Add White Chocolate Chips? Of course you can! These cookies are already loaded with goodies, so I’d add them to the tops of the cookies right after they’re baked. I top dress all of my chocolate chip cookies to give them that bakery-quality appearance. White chocolate chips need to be added after baking. Otherwise, they will turn an unattractive brown color.
STORAGE + FREEZING
- How To Store: Because of the cream cheese in these cookies, they need to be stored in the refrigerator. I lay a single layer in a plastic resealable bag and store them flat.
- Freezing: Store these strawberry cheesecake cookies in a single layer in a plastic, resealable bag or in an airtight container, with waxed paper between the layers. They freeze nicely for 6 months.
- Food Safety: For more information on food safety, check out this link.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE COOKIES RECIPE
- Make the cream cheese filling. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese. Then, beat in the sugar and vanilla.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out 12 equal portions of the cream cheese mixture onto a parchment-lined small baking sheet. Freeze.
- Make the cookies. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars.
- Add the vanilla and eggs. Cream until well combined.
- Add dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in diced strawberries.
- Assembly. Place six scoops on each of the two parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Create an indentation in the top half of the dough ball.
- Scoop the frozen cream cheese into the indent.
- Shape the cookie dough balls around the cream cheese to enclose it.
- Bake on parchment paper, lined, in the preheated oven, then let it cool on a cooling rack.
***See the full instructions below.
MORE DELICIOUS COOKIES
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Brownie Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Buckeye Cookies
- Mississippi Mud Cookies
- Cherry Winks
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Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 1/3 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cookies:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup diced fresh strawberries
Instructions
Make The Cream Cheese Filling:
- In a small mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese (6 ounces) until fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
- Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar (1/3 cup). Add the vanilla (1/4 teaspoon) and beat until combined.
- Scoop out 12 equal portions of the cream cheese mixture onto a parchment-lined small baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer while you prepare the cookie dough. Freeze for at least one hour, or until frozen almost completely solid.
Make The Cookies:
- Whisk together flour (2 1/4 cups), cornstarch (2 teaspoons), baking soda (1/2 teaspoon), and salt (1 teaspoon) in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer, cream together the butter (14 tablespoons), granulated sugar (3/4 cup), and brown sugar (1/4 cup) on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla (2 teaspoons) and eggs (2). Cream until well combined, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture just until combined.
- Gently fold diced strawberries (3/4 cup), (you don't want the strawberries to get crushed when you fold them in or they will bleed into the cookie dough) until evenly distributed through the dough.
Assembly:
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a large cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Place 6 scoops on each of the two parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Press the back of a lightly floured teaspoon, or you can use your thumb, to create an indent into the top half of the ball of dough.
- Remove the cream cheese from the freezer.
- Place a scoop of the frozen cream cheese in the indent of the cookie dough.
- Using your hands (lightly floured), shape the cookie dough around the cream cheese to completely enclose it. Place the dough back on the cookies and repeat the remaining dough balls. 6 per baking sheet.
- Refrigerate the prepared cookie dough balls for 30 minutes.
- Arrange an oven rack in the center position. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) while the cookies are in the fridge.
- Bake one sheet of cookies at a time in preheated oven until the edges of the cookies are beginning to brown and the center looks set, about 13-15 minutes. Allow to cool on a baking sheet for 10-12 minutes then remove to a wire baking rack.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Measure Flour Properly: It’s easy to measure flour incorrectly, which results in dry baked goods. Why do you ask? Because if you dip your measuring cup into the flour and scoop it out, you can easily add too much flour. Here’s a better way to measure flour:
- Fluff the flour either in your container or the flour bag. I stick a whisk into my container and fluff it up. As flour sits and settles, it compacts. We want it fluffy.
- Once fluffed, use a large spoon to spoon it into your measuring cup.
- Use a straight edge on a spatula (I use a small offset spatula that I keep in my flour container; (here’s the one I use), level off the measuring cup.
- Room Temperature: For best baking results, it’s essential to bring the cream cheese, butter, and eggs to room temp before you start baking.
- Keep The Cheesecake Frozen: Take the frozen cheesecake blobs out one at a time rather than taking the whole tray out at once. You want them to stay as cold as possible.
- Test Baking: Because oven temperatures can vary significantly, I like to test-bake one cookie in an oven that has been preheated to the desired temperature to determine the baking time better.
- Baking Tray: I use a quarter sheet pan to freeze the cream cheese filling. It fits more easily into my freezer.
- Assembly: The cookie batter is a little sticky, so lightly flour the spoon or your hands when creating the divot and when closing them up.
- Baking: These cookies get minimal color when they’re done. Do not overbake! If the cookies are golden brown, they’re overdone! You want to wait until the edges are barely browned.
Nutrition
It’s baking in the oven, and oh gosh it smells sooooo goood!
Yay! I hope you like these cookies. Enjoy 🙂