Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies are easy to make and quick to bake using basic ingredients to form a from-scratch cookie dough. Stuffed with a sweetened cream cheese filling, these soft and buttery cookies are a fun twist on the traditional strawberry cheesecake, but in bite-sized form.
Simple Stuffed Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Homemade Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies are quick and easy to make from scratch using the best of summer’s produce when it’s at its prime. A 2-ingredient cheesecake filling is stuffed inside a strawberry-studded cookie batter that bakes into a big, pillowy cake-like cookie.
These sweet treats are a mash-up of my Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies combined with my Classic Cheesecake Recipe, revised to create a mini cheesecake in cookie form.
Why We Love This Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies Recipe
- Quick and easy to make using simple ingredients.
- Soft, buttery cookies are filled with real strawberry pieces in every bite.
- Tastes similar to strawberry cheesecake but is constructed like a cookie.
- Creamy filling is surrounded by a soft cookie dough to create a fruity, yet rich dessert.
- Strawberries are loaded with vitamin C, antioxidants, and naturally sweet flavors.
- Perfect for summer potlucks, cookie exchanges, picnics, after-school snacks, or parties.
Ingredients
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salted sweet cream butter
- Sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Pure vanilla extract
- Strawberry extract
- Eggs
- Fresh strawberries
Substitutions and Additions
- Fresh Fruit: Instead of strawberries, you can substitute other fresh berries, like blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries, to create a delicious berry-flavored cheesecake cookie following this same basic recipe.
- Make them Vegan: To make a vegan version, use vegan butter (to maintain the same fluffy texture) or vegetable oil (it will have a slightly less fluffy texture); swap the eggs with flax eggs (1T flax meal plus 2.5 T water equals one egg); use a dairy-free/vegan cream cheese.
- Tasty Toppings: Feel free to sprinkle some powdered sugar on top or add a drizzle of melted white chocolate.
Recommended Tools
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer
- Parchment paper
- Cookie scoop
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies are a quick and easy way to bake a cheesecake in cookie form. A sweet and tangy cream cheese mixture is stuffed inside the berry-studded batter and bakes in 15 minutes into perfectly portioned little cake bites.
- Prepare The Filling: Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and add in the strawberry extract. Scoop 1 ½ teaspoons of the filling onto the prepared baking sheet and place in the freezer.
Pro Tip: Space the dollops 2 inches apart. - Whisk: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.
- Beat: Beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and the strawberry extract and mix to combine. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each egg.
- Combine The Wet and Dry Mixtures: Mix in the flour mixture and fold in the strawberries.
- Chill: Cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Scoop: Using a large cookie scoop make 24 dollops of cookie dough. Place the dough 2 inches apart. There will be 12 cookies per baking sheet.
- Stuff: Gently press down and shape the dough around the cream cheese disks, encasing the cream cheese. Repeat the remaining dough balls.
PRO-TIP: Use a spoon, small spatula or knife to move the cookie dough up the sides and on top of the cream cheese disks. - Bake: Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-14 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 10 – 12 minutes before moving the cookies to a cooling rack to completely cool.
Tips
- Use fresh strawberries when they are in season. While frozen strawberries are an option for cooler months, they tend to hold more water and may make the dough sticky.
- The cream cheese and the butter should be at room temperature, NOT melted. This will help preserve the shape of the cookies and prevent them from spreading too much during baking.
- Strawberries should be finely chopped into small pieces so that they can easily fit into the cookies.
- For easy clean-up, line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This way there is no need to spray the baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- If you are not able to find strawberry extract, you can omit it.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the baked cookies, in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Allow the cookies to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen strawberries instead of fresh strawberries?
Yes, you can use frozen berries, but it’s not recommended. If you choose to use frozen berries, you have to move quickly because frozen strawberries hold water that releases into the cookie dough as they thaw, making the cookie dough sticky and harder to work with.
The color can sometimes bleed into the dough too. If you only have frozen strawberries, you can still use them but make sure to dice them up before making the dough, and then assemble to cookies quickly.
Can I skip the filling?
You can skip the cheesecake filling for these cookies and just make the most delicious strawberry butter cookies ever!
Other Easy Strawberry Recipes
- Strawberry Lemonade Cream Cheese Cookies
- Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
- Strawberry Crisp
- Strawberry Shortcake Fudge
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Serves — 24
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 4 minutes
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp strawberry extract
Strawberry Cookie Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted sweet cream butter softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp strawberry extract
- 1 large egg + 1 egg white room temperature
- 1 cup fresh strawberries capped, cored and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
Cream Cheese Filling
- Using a small mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese for 30 seconds, until smooth.
- Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and beat in the powdered sugar and strawberry extract. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 30 seconds until smooth.
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a small cookie scoop (approx. 1½ teaspoons) scoop out 24 dollops of the cream cheese mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Space the dollops 2 inches apart. Gently press down on the dollops making round disks. Place the baking sheet in the freezer while you prepare the cookie dough.
Strawberry Cookie Dough
- Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder to a medium size mixing bowl, and whisk to combine and set aside.
- Using either a stand mixer, or a medium size mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat the softened butter for 1 – 1 ½ minutes until smooth.
- Add the sugars and continue to mix for 1 minute until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract and the strawberry extract, and mix just until combined.
- Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each egg.
- Lower the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time. Mix just until incorporated.Tip: Coating the strawberries in flour will help keep them from all sinking to the bottom of the batter.
- Toss the chopped strawberries in the 1 tablespoon of flour.
- Fold in the strawberries to the cookie batter. Cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.PRO-TIP: If you have a stand mixer, you can add the strawberries in and put it on the lowest speed (Kitchen-Aid is called "stir"). This is a bit easier than folding them in.
- Preheat the oven to 375*. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set them aside.
- Using a large cookie scoop make 24 dollops of cookie dough. Place the dough 2 inches apart. There will be 12 cookies per baking sheet.
- Remove the cream cheese disks from the freezer.
- Place 1 of the cream cheese disks in the center of the cookie dough.
- Gently press down and shape the dough around the cream cheese disks, encasing the cream cheese. Repeat the remaining dough balls. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes before moving the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.PRO-TIP: Use a spoon, small spatula or knife to move the cookie dough up the sides and on top of the cream cheese disks.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage :
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the baked cookies, in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Allow the cookies to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Use fresh strawberries when they are in season. While frozen strawberries are an option for cooler months, they tend to hold more water and may make the dough sticky.
- The cream cheese and the butter should be at room temperature, NOT melted. This will help preserve the shape of the cookies and prevent them from spreading too much during baking.
- Strawberries should be finely chopped into small pieces so that they can easily fit into the cookies.
- For easy clean-up, line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This way there is no need to spray the baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- If you are not able to find strawberry extract, you can omit it.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 251IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg
can you substitute peaches in this cookie?
Can you use freeze dried strawberries?
Hi Wendy, I have not tried this recipe with freeze dried strawberries.
the recipe instructions need to be more in depth. something must’ve gone wrong during the chilling process because the dough was just not cohesive enough to mold around the cream cheese. after baking the cookies melted into one big puddle with the consistency of wet bread 😭
I’m so annoyed. this recipe is INCOMPLETE!!!! Where & when do I mix in the floured strawberries?!? hope I didn’t just screw up my cookies.
don’t write a recipe if you aren’t going to FINISH IT!!!
Exactly! I was so confused! I don’t have cream cheese cookies because this recipe doesn’t make since, the mix is in refrigerator and we’ll see if I made a mess and have to throw it all out
Hi there! If you look in the recipe card it shows this in steps 7&8.
what do i do with the strawberries? do you mix it in? place on top?
didn’t have the strawberry extract but I made these today and it turned out very good! Great recipe and appreciated the baking tips throughout that was a big help!