These deliciously chewy strawberry cheesecake cookies feature a simple cookie dough studded with fresh strawberries and filled with sweetened cream cheese. They're the ultimate combination of chewy cookies and strawberry cheesecake!
how do these strawberry cheesecake cookies work?
The annoying part about working with fresh strawberries in a cookie dough is the fact that they hold in quite a bit of moisture. Moisture can make it more difficult to achieve that dense, chewy texture that's so characteristic of a cookie, and will often cause the cookies to come out kind of cakey.
THESE strawberry cookies have a few special features that allow us to keep that chewy texture, without compromising the fresh strawberry flavor:
- FRESH strawberries: It all starts with the strawberries! This is one of those recipes where it's best to steer clear of frozen strawberries - they tend to carry more moisture and can really water down the cookie dough. Plus, it's more difficult to work with frozen strawberries (especially in the summer) when it's a race against time to finish everything up before they start defrosting and getting mushy.
- cornstarch: A hint of cornstarch in the cookie dough helps with moisture absorption. Although we could've added more flour to achieve the same results, cornstarch allows us to use less, still gives us that perfect amount of dryness, but keeps it light and tender - because flour would ultimately weigh the cookies down.
- extra egg yolk: An additional yolk adds a certain level of heaviness and helps counteract that cakey quality that comes from using a high moisture fruit like strawberries!
- sticky dough: You'll notice this dough is just slightly stickier than a classic cookie dough and that's by design! The stickier dough actually helps keep the strawberries suspended within it and makes it less likely that the dough will separate from the strawberries.
how to make strawberry cheesecake cookies
1. Make the cream cheese filling: Whip up cream cheese and sugar until smooth, then portion out 12 (1 tablespoon sized) balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet or plate. Freeze until firm to the touch.
2. Cream together butter and sugars.
3. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Start with the whole egg and, once it's mixed in, add in the remaining ingredients. This helps it incorporate much more smoothly without separating.
4. Mix in dry ingredients. Stop juuuust before it's fully combined, then add in the strawberries and finish mixing until you have a sticky cookie dough. Be gentle with the mixing here so the strawberries don't burst.
5. Now here's how to fill the cookie dough with the cream cheese filling:
- Scoop out a large ball of cookie dough and drop it onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Use the back of a teaspoon measure to press an indent in the center (the same way you would if making thumbprint cookies). Make sure to stop right before you reach the bottom, otherwise the filling can leak out as it bakes. This dough is quite sticky, so it can be helpful to dip the teaspoon in flour before each cookie.
- Drop the cold ball of cream cheese into the center indent.
- Take another blob of cookie dough (about 1 to 2 teaspoons of dough should be enough) and place it on top of the cream cheese.
- With lightly floured fingers, pull the bottom layer of cookie dough up and press the top blob of dough down to close the seam between the 2 and fully cover the cream cheese filling.
- Here's a visual of what I just described:
6. Bake and cool. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet until firm enough to move then cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
FAQs
Why is my cookie dough sticky?
This cookie dough is designed to be slightly stickier than your average dough, so that's perfectly normal and you should expect it to be a little messy to work with! That being said, this dough shouldn't be crazy soft - if it is, it's usually a sign of overripe strawberries. You can still probably work with it, but it will be extra messy.
Why is my cookie dough dry?
On the opposite side of things, dry cookie dough is usually a product of over measured flour. Measuring flour using a food scale is the most surefire way to get exact and accurate measurements. If using cups, there's a higher chance of accidentally packing in extra weight worth of flour, which can dry out a baked good. When measuring with cups, it's important to use the spoon and level method: spoon flour into your measuring cup then level it off with a flat utensil like a butterknife.
Can I use frozen strawberries for the cookie dough?
I'd caution against it. Frozen strawberries hold in more moisture and can make your cookie dough watery and difficult to work with.
Can I use freeze dried strawberries?
Try my strawberry sugar cookies recipe instead!
How do I know when the cookies are baked through?
The edges will be golden brown and the tops should no longer appear shiny. Note that if there is a tiny bit of the cream cheese filling that isn't fully covered with dough, it may give the illusion of a wet cookie top even after the cookies are fully baked through. So you're mainly looking for the dough to no longer look wet.
check out these other recipes!
• Gooey Strawberry Cheesecake Butter Cake
• Giant Strawberry Pop Tart
• Strawberry Sheet Cake
• Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
Print
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 12 large cookies
Description
These deliciously chewy strawberry cheesecake cookies feature a simple cookie dough studded with fresh strawberries and filled with sweetened cream cheese. They're the ultimate combination of chewy cookies and strawberry cheesecake!
Ingredients
For the cheese filling:
- 6 ounces (170g) brick cream cheese, cold
- ⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar
For the strawberry cookies:
- 2 & ½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (120g) fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and chopped into small cubes*
Instructions
Make the cream cheese filling:
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- 6 ounces (170g) brick cream cheese, ⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar
- Drop 12 even spoonfuls (around 1 tablespoon each) of the cream cheese mixture onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in your freezer. Freeze the cream cheese balls for about 30 minutes or until firm to the touch.
Make the strawberry cookie dough:
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine. Set aside.
- 2 & ½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a wooden spoon by hand, cream together until light and fluffy. This will take about 1 to 2 minutes on medium speed with a mixer or 2 minutes by hand.
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar, ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- Add the whole egg and whisk to combine then mix in the egg yolk and vanilla.
- 1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Now add in the dry ingredients. Fold together and stop mixing just before the flour is fully combined.
- Add chopped strawberries to the cookie dough. Fold together until streak free and the strawberries are evenly distributed. Try to be gentle when mixing at this step so the strawberries don't get crushed. The cookie dough will be quite sticky!
- ¾ cup (120g) chopped fresh strawberries
- Use a large cookie scoop to portion out 12 even balls of cookie dough onto your parchment lined baking sheets. You should have about ¾ of a cup of cookie dough left over (we're going to use it later).
- Use the back of a teaspoon measure to press an indent into the center of each ball of dough, stopping right before it hits the bottom. If you find the dough is sticking to the teaspoon, simply dip it in flour before pressing it into the dough. You can also do this with your thumb, but again, you'll probably need to lightly flour your hands.
- Place the cold cream cheese balls into the center indent of each cookie dough ball.
- Use the leftover cookie dough to cover the tops of the cream cheese. You'll need about 1 tablespoon of the remaining cookie dough to cover each ball of cream cheese.
- Lightly flour your fingers and press the seam between the bottom cookie dough and the top cookie dough to seal and completely cover the cream cheese.
- Bake the cookies (one baking sheet at a time) in the center of your preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned along the edges and the tops no longer appear wet. Keep the second baking sheet of cookies in your fridge until you're ready to bake it off.
- Cool the cookies for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely to room temperature before serving.
Notes
* Try to chop the strawberries into relatively small cubes so they incorporate more easily and soften to perfection as they bake. See photos above for a rough idea for how small to chop them. Avoid making the pieces too too small as this can release more moisture and make the cookie dough a bit difficult to work with. Cubes that are about the size of a pea are what I find works best. Measure the ¾ cup amount after chopping the strawberries.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Bake Time: 13 minutes
- Category: Cookies
Enjoy!
JULIE R BLACKWELL says
Made the cookies and after one day they became so mushy. Thought maybe they needed to be refrigerated?
Heather Campbell says
How do you store these?
Bridget says
Cookies were delicious! Saw the recipe on Instagram and had to try!
Cookies spread out (probably did something weird along the way) and were huge, but still delicious!