Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Soft cookies with fresh strawberries through the dough and a strawberry cream cheese filling baked into the center of each one. The filling is pressed into frozen disks before baking so it spreads through the whole cookie rather than pooling in the middle.
Servings: 24
Calories: 197kcal
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 salted sweet cream butter, softened (2 sticks)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon strawberry extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 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.
- 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-sized mixing bowl, and whisk to combine.
- 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.
- 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 1 cup at a time. Mix just until incorporated.
- 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
Notes
- Strawberry extract: Goes into both the dough and the cream cheese filling. Do not omit from the filling — it is what makes the center taste like it belongs in the cookie rather than against it.
- Chill time: The full hour is not optional. This is the step most people shortcut and it is why the assembly gets messy.
- Cooling on the pan: Leave the cookies on the pan for 10 to 12 minutes before moving to a rack. The filling comes out of the oven liquid and needs time to set. Moving them too soon collapses the center.
Nutrition
Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 112mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 344IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
