Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

These strawberry cheesecake cookies are deliciously rich, and buttery, have fresh strawberries in every bite and are stuffed with a cheesecake filling.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cheesecake cookies, fruit cookies, strawberry cookies

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Dough Refrigeration 30

Total Time 55

Servings cookies

Calories 349kcal

Author Kathleen

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

US Customary - Metric

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.

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.

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