Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

4.64 from 30 votes

Soft, creamy strawberry cheesecake cookies with real fresh strawberries in the dough and a sweet cream cheese filling hidden inside every bite.

Prep Time20

Cook Time14

Chill Time30

Total Time1 4

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 196kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Filling

6 ounces cream cheese softened
⅓ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon strawberry extract

Strawberry Cookie Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) salted sweet cream butter softened
⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon strawberry extract
1 large egg + 1 egg white room temperature
1 cup fresh strawberries capped, cored and finely chopped
1 tablespoon 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.
6 ounces cream cheese
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.
⅓ cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon strawberry extract
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-sized mixing bowl, and whisk to combine.
3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda
Using either a stand mixer or a medium-sized mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat the softened butter for 1-1½ minutes until smooth.
1 cup (2 sticks) salted sweet cream butter
Add the sugars and continue to mix for 1 minute until light and fluffy.
⅔ cup granulated sugar, ⅓ cup light brown sugar
Add the vanilla extract and the strawberry extract, and mix just until combined.
1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract , ½ teaspoon strawberry extract
Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each egg.
1 large egg + 1 egg white
Lower the mixer speed to low and add the flour 1 cup at a time. Mix just until incorporated.
Toss the chopped strawberries in the 1 tablespoon of flour.
1 cup fresh strawberries, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
In a separate bowl, toss the chopped strawberries in the 1 tablespoon of flour.
Add the strawberries to the cookie batter. Mix on lowest speed to gently combine the strawberries with the cookie dough. Cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a large cookie scoop make 24 dollops of cookie dough. Place the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. There will be 12 cookies per baking sheet.
Remove the cream cheese dollops from the freezer.
Place 1 of the cream cheese disks into the center of each cookie dough.
Gently press down on the cream cheese disks then using a spoon, small spatula or knife move the cookie dough up the sides and on top of the cream cheese disks encasing the cream cheese in the cookie dough.
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.

Notes

Storage :

Since these cookies have a cream cheese filling, they need to live in the fridge. Store them in an airtight container and they'll keep well for up to 4 days. To freeze, lay the fully cooled cookies out in a single layer in a freezer-safe container and they'll be good for up to a month. When you're ready to enjoy them, just move them to the refrigerator the night before and let them thaw slowly overnight.

Tips:

Flatten your filling before it goes in the freezer. Round dollops might seem easier in the moment, but they're harder to wrap and tend to clump all the cheesecake into one spot. Press them into flat disks instead, you'll get even coverage from edge to edge, so every single bite has filling in it.
Don't leave out the strawberry extract. Fresh strawberries are delicious, but they can't hold up on their own through the heat of baking. Adding extract to both the dough and the filling is what delivers that unmistakable strawberry cheesecake flavor all the way through.
Toss your strawberries in flour first. It's a small step that makes a big difference, coating the berries keeps them suspended in the dough instead of sinking straight to the bottom as the cookies bake.
Soften your butter and cream cheese, but don't melt them. There's an important difference. Melted butter throws off the whole structure of the dough, causing the cookies to spread out and lose their shape. Pull them out ahead of time and let them come to room temperature naturally.
Grab a small knife or spatula to do the wrapping. The dough is thick and the filling is frozen solid, which makes this step a little tricky. A small butter knife gives you the control you need to ease the dough up and over the edges without it tearing.

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