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Weโre not choosing between two dessertsโweโre baking one inside the other and eating both! These Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies are stuffed with tangy cream cheese filling, packed with freeze-dried strawberries, and topped with graham cracker crumbs.
I love baking cookies so much because they often only require 10 minutes of prep time, and less than 15 minutes of baking time. Enjoying a sweet treat in less than 30 minutes is the best way to live life, in my opinion.
However, I will occasionally make exceptions for fussy cookies with complicated baking methods, and these strawberry cheesecake cookies are the best exception!
The method is this: after you make a quick cheesecake filling that you freeze (so that it doesnโt melt in the oven), you make a basic cookie dough containing freeze-dried strawberries for the outer cookie part. Garnish with graham crackers while still warm, and youโre done!
Ingredients
- Cream Cheese. We need just half a block of cream cheese, or 4 ounces total. Please use the brick of cream cheese, not the whipped stuff in the tub, because that has too much other liquid which will melt in the oven during our strawberry cheesecake cookies baking time.
- Powdered Sugar. Just two tablespoons of powdered sugar to sweeten the cheesecake filling.
- Lemon Juice. For the tangy cheesecake flavor, use 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. It can be fresh or bottled lemon juice.
- Flour. This recipe is by weight and cups, so you need 1 cup (or 120 grams) of all-purpose flour.
- Baking Soda. One-half teaspoon of baking soda (which weighs 2.5 grams).
- Salt. One-quarter teaspoon of fine sea salt.
- Butter. The dough needs 6 tablespoons (or 3 ounces) of unsalted butter that has been softened almost to room temperature but not melted.
- Granulated Sugar. One-half cup (or 100 grams) of granulated white sugar.
- Brown Sugar. A very small amount of brown sugar (just 3 tablespoons (39 grams)) to make the cookies soft and chewy.
- Egg. One large egg.
- Vanilla. One full teaspoon (5 mL) of pure vanilla extract.
- Freeze Dried Strawberry Slices. You need a 1.2 ounce bag of freeze dried strawberry slices. I buy these at Trader Joeโs. If you buy in bulk, you could get away with just 1 ounce, because we mainly use 0.2 ounces for decorating the cookies after baking. This recipe is made using freeze-dried strawberries for maximum strawberry flavor without any of the excess moisture from fresh strawberries (which would make our cookies too soggy). If youโre looking for a cheesecake cookie recipe that uses the canned fruit, look no further than my Cherry Cheesecake Cookies.
- Graham Crackers. To drive home the cheesecake flavor, weโll be sprinkling pieces of crushed graham crackers on the cookies right after baking. Three whole sheets is plenty.
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
First, make the filling: combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice. Mix very well.
Use twelve dollops of the mixture that are 2 teaspoons each, and freeze for at least 60 minutes.
About 30 minutes after the cream cheese bits have been freezing, make the cookies. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until combined.
Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix to combine.
Remove 12 slices of strawberries from the bag, and then add the rest of the bag to the batter. Stir to combine.
Using a 1 tablespoon measure, scoop out 6 balls of dough. Press a frozen cream cheese chunk on top of one dough ball. Place one freeze dried strawberry slice on top.
Place a one-tablespoon-sized dough ball on top of each cookie half. Use your fingers to seal the edges together, and then roll the cookie dough ball so that the cream cheese is completely hidden. Repeat with all of the dough.
Chill the dough balls for at least 30 minutes, and then space evenly on a baking sheet (about 6 per sheet). Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes, and leet cool completely on the baking sheet (so that the filling stays put). After removing the strawberry cheesecake cookies from the oven, decorate with graham cracker pieces.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
This dessert is best on the same day they are made, because both the graham crackers and strawberries soften over time. You may bake them and freeze them for up to 3 months, and then defrost at room temperature on the counter, if you like. You can also prepare the dough balls ahead of time and freeze. In that case, bake these strawberry cheesecake cookies directly from frozen, adding one minute of baking time.
Most important tip:
These cookies need to be cool COMPLETELY on the baking sheet. If you try to remove them while warm, the cream cheese centers might stick to the pan and ruin the cookie.
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Cheesecake Cookie Filling:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) lemon juice
Cookie Ingredients:
- 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (39 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla extract
- 1.2 ounce bag of freeze dried strawberry slices divided
- 3 graham crackers for topping
Instructions
- Make the filling first: line a small (quarter size) sheet pan with parchment or wax paper, and place it in the freezer. Then, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice. Make dollops that contain 2 teaspoons each and place them on the prepared pan. Freeze for 60 minutes.
- After the cream cheese has been chilling for 30 minutes or so, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Do not preheat the oven yet, as the cookies have a 30 minute chill time.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and granulated sugar until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Then, add the brown sugar and beat until creamy, about 30 seconds.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient, and mix on low until combined and no streaks of flour remain.
- Reserve 12 freeze dried strawberry slices from the bag, and then stir in rest of the bag into the cookie dough.
- Using a 1 tablespoon measure, scoop out 6 balls of dough. Press a frozen cream cheese chunk on top of one dough ball. Place one freeze dried strawberry slice on top.
- Place a one-tablespoon-sized dough ball on top of each cookie half. Use your fingers to seal the edges together as best as you can, and then roll the cookie dough ball so that the cream cheese is completely hidden inside the dough ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough, making 12 cookies total.
- Place the cookies on a plate (or keep on the cookie sheet, if its fits), and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Space 6 cookie dough balls evenly on a large baking sheet, and add pieces of broken graham crackers on top of each cookie. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies are starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet.
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