These soft & chewy Strawberry Lemonade Cream Cheese Cookies are the perfect spring or summer treat with their refreshing, hint of lemon and strawberry flavors. The fruity cookies are filled with a deliciously smooth easy cream cheese filling!
Strawberry Lemonade Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling
I love the refreshing taste of a strawberry lemonade drink, especially on a hot summer day. So, the thought of putting these classic flavors I love so much into a cookie seemed like a no-brainer to me!
Add in the rich cream cheese filling, and these are easily one of the best cookies I’ve ever made.
I have no doubt you will love these, but here’s my advice. When you’re making them, don’t be afraid of a little mess as you assemble them!
I promise the little bit of mess you may encounter as you fold the strawberry lemonade cookie batter over your cream cheese filling is 100% worth it when you enjoy the final product!
Why We Love Our Strawberry Lemonade Cookies
- Quick and easy to make
- Perfect spring or summer dessert
- Light and refreshing
- Fluffy and soft cookie recipe
- Creamy cheesecake flavored filling
- Can make the dough ahead and assemble later
Ingredients/Shopping List
- Strawberries
- Lemon juice & zest
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Strawberry Lemonade Cream Cheese Cookie Recipe
This recipe has 4 steps to it. First, mixing up the cookie batter. Second, mixing up the cream cheese filling. Third, assembling the cookies, and finally baking them! They will come together pretty quickly and very easily!
- Mix strawberries, lemon juice, and granulated sugar. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in egg until combined. Add vanilla extract. Add in the flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in drained strawberries.
- Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon zest. Then, scoop the mixture into 12 small balls and place on a baking sheet.
- On a separate sheet, scoop 24 balls of cookie dough. Flatten them.
Pro-tip: It helps to use a small ice cream scoop when making your balls. To get them even and make it less messy. - Lift the cream cheese balls on top of 12 dough circles.
Pro-tip: You can use the same baking sheet for your filling scoops and cookies and then transfer them to a separate sheet as you complete them if you prefer. - Place the remaining 12 dough circles on top of the cream cheese balls.
- Carefully squeeze around the outer edge to form a ball shape and place on a cookie sheet ( I like to line mine with a silicone baking mat.)
Pro-tip: It helps to use a lightly greased, metal spatula to move the cream cheese balls/finished cookies if you have one. - Bake for 15-18 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees.
Variations / Options / Add-ins
- STRAWBERRIES: You can use fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries for this recipe. Just be sure that if using frozen strawberries they are completely thawed.
- LEMON JUICE: You can use a store-bought lemon juice if you prefer, but since I already need a lemon for the zest, I like to use fresh lemon juice for my cookies!
- ICING: A delicious addition to these cookies is a light drizzle of icing. You can make a simple homemade icing by mixing confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Then, simply drizzle this mixture over the top of your cooled cookies! It adds the perfect sweetness for those who like icing.
Useful Tools
- Medium Cookie Scoop
- Silicone Baking Mats (I am obsessed with these)
Frequently Asked Questions
Because these cookies have cream cheese in them, they should be stored in the fridge. You can wrap them individually or simply place them in an airtight container. They will keep this way for up to one week. I don’t recommend freezing these cookies.
You can use frozen strawberries for your Cookies. However, if you’re doing this, it’s important to make sure that your strawberries aren’t the one’s that have been shoved to the back of your freezer for ages. In other words: don’t use the freezer burnt ones!
You want them to be as fresh as possible for the best flavors. It’s also important to make sure that the strawberries are completely thawed before using them in this recipe.
I recommend patting them with a paper towel to minimize moisture added to your cookies.
Other Easy Strawberry Recipes
Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries | Strawberry Pretzel Salad | Strawberry Crisp | Strawberry Cake With Cream Cheese Icing | Strawberry Shortcake Baked Alaska | Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies | Strawberry Lemon Blondies
Strawberry Lemonade Cream Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1 cup strawberries chopped small
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter softened (1 stick)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the filling
- ¼ cup cream cheese softened
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- Zest from 1 lemon
Instructions
Prep:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line two large rimless baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
Cookie Dough:
- Prepare strawberries by mixing them with lemon juice and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Allow the mixture to sit for ten minutes, then drain off the liquid.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and whisk together to combine.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, ½ cup sugar and brown sugar for three to five minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Beat in egg until combined. Add vanilla extract.
- Add in flour mixture until combined, without over-mixing the dough.
- Gently fold strawberries into the cookie dough. A wooden spoon is recommended for this.
Filling & Stuffing the Dough:
- Line another one or two baking sheet(s) with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon zest in medium bowl.
- Scoop into 12 small balls about the size of a teaspoon, and place onto baking sheet.
- For this next step, it may help to use a small ice cream scoop or a medium cookie scoop if you have one.
- Scoop 24 medium-sized balls of dough, about the size of a tablespoon, and then flatten onto the same – or a separate (optional) baking sheet.
- Using a lightly greased small metal (if possible) spatula, lift the cream cheese balls one by one and place them on top of 12 of the dough circles.
- Place the remaining 12 dough circles on top of the cream cheese balls and cookie dough, forming a “sandwich”, carefully pinching the edges together.
- Carefully squeeze each “sandwich” around its outer edge, to form it into a ball shape.
Baking the Cookies:
- Place cookie dough balls at least two inches apart on original prepared baking sheet(s) and bake for 15 – 18 minutes, or until edges just start to turn golden. Do not overbake.
- Remove from oven and carefully transfer to wire cooling rack to cool for ten minutes. Serve immediately.
