Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
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These strawberry cheesecake cookies are soft, buttery, and filled with real strawberry pieces in every bite. They are naturally flavored and stuffed with a delicious cream cheese filling!
I never knew I could love a cookie as much as I love these strawberry cheesecake cookies (and I LOVE cookies, so that’s saying something). Up until now my favorite cookie was a tie between peanut butter cookies or cookie butter cookies. But these strawberry cream cheese cookies take the cake.
They’re easy to make, so buttery, have slightly crispy edges, and are so soft and pillowy. The flavor from the tiny chunks of strawberry throughout the batter is just amazing, and the cream cheese filling in the middle stays gooey while providing a tang in every bite. They are truly summer in cookie form!
Why These Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies Work
- The strawberry cookie dough has real strawberries folded into the dough, which gives the cookies a natural strawberry flavor without the need for anything artificial.
- Cream cheese filling is frozen and then wrapped up in between two balls of cookie dough, then baked, so there’s a perfect mix of cream cheese and strawberries in every bite.
- These cookies are big and pillowy, and because of the cream cheese filling, they stay soft for days!
Ingredients
These strawberry cheesecake cookies require 11 simple ingredients. A few notes about the ingredients:
- Butter: you can use regular butter, or dairy free butter for these cookies.
- Cream Cheese: you can use regular cream cheese or a dairy free/vegan cream cheese alternative for the filling. Ingredients used to make vegan cream cheese can vary so some may take longer to freeze than others, and regular (dairy) cream cheese will require more icing sugar to achieve the gooey filling.
- Strawberries: I strongly recommend using fresh strawberries. Frozen strawberries will release water into the dough and make it more wet and sticky. If you only have frozen strawberries, see recipe notes below for more instructions!
Step By Step Instructions
Note: Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
STEP ONE: In a small bowl, mix cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth. Line a small baking sheet or plate with parchment paper and place 12 heaping teaspoons of cream cheese on it. Freeze for at least one hour, or until frozen almost completely solid.
STEP TWO: Once the cream cheese is frozen, prepare two large baking sheets and set aside.
STEP THREE: Beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, then mix in the egg and vanilla extract. Add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
STEP FOUR: Chop up the strawberries and very gently fold them into the cookie dough.
STEP FIVE: Scoop 10-12 heaping tablespoons of dough onto one lined baking sheet (each ball of dough will be almost 2 tbsps measured), Gently press a dent into half of the balls of dough. Take 6 cream cheese balls out of the freezer and place them on top of 6 of the balls of dough.
STEP SIX: Cover each ball of dough with another ball of dough, pinching the sides to seal it and keep the cream cheese inside. Place the tray in the fridge then repeat on a second tray with the remaining cookie dough.
STEP SEVEN: Preheat the oven. Chill the prepared dough while the oven preheats, then bake one tray at a time for 13-17 minutes. Leave cookies on the tray for 10-15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Note: Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
What kind of cream cheese should I use?
This recipe can be made with regular dairy ingredients if you aren’t dairy free. If using regular cream cheese, the full fat kind is best and you should increase icing sugar to 1/3 cup.
Regular (not vegan) cream cheese is firmer than vegan cream cheese alternatives, so it requires more icing sugar to achieve a softer filling.
If using dairy free/vegan cream cheese, be aware that every cream cheese brand is different. Some are made with a coconut base (which I prefer), others use tofu as a base. The time it takes to freeze the filling will vary based on the kind of cream cheese used.
Can I skip the filling?
Absolutely! You can totally skip the cheesecake part of these cookies and just make the most delicious strawberry butter cookies you’ve ever tasted.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
Yes but it’s not recommended. I tested these cookies many times with frozen strawberries and they work but you have to move really 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 with frozen strawberries.
If you only have frozen strawberries, you can still use them. Be sure to dice them up before making the dough, then just work really quickly to assemble the cookies.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh strawberries instead of frozen. Frozen strawberries hold a lot of water and will make the dough very sticky.
- As you fold the top ball of dough over the cream cheese, the dough may start to get sticky. Keep a cloth nearby and wipe your fingers on it before moving to the next cookie to make it a bit easier to work with.
- Try not to add more strawberries to the dough than the recipe calls for. Too many strawberries will make the dough hard to work with.
- When assembling the cookies, make sure to use heaping tablespoons. These are big cookies! Each assembled ball will contain around 3-4 tablespoons of dough.
- Preheat the oven after you’ve prepared the dough with the filling inside. It isn’t a long chill time, but it just helps to firm up the cookies after you’ve been handling the dough and softening it up.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
The cookies are best enjoyed fresh, when the edges are still slightly crispy and crunchy. The cookies start to soften over time, so if you enjoy soft cookies you’ll like these even more the next day.
Because of the cream cheese filling, the cookies should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for around 3-4 days.
You can also freeze them to enjoy later and let thaw in the fridge when you’re ready to eat!
MORE COOKIE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- ¾ cup (170 g) cream cheese (regular or vegan)*, softened, (6 oz) SEE NOTES
- ⅓ cup (40 g) powdered sugar*, SEE NOTES if using vegan cream cheese
Cookies
- 1 cup (210 g) butter (regular or vegan), softened
- ¾ cup (150 g) white sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2¾ cup (343 g) all-purpose flour *, SEE NOTES
- ½-⅔ cup fresh strawberries, diced small*, SEE NOTES
Instructions
- This recipe makes 12 LARGE cookies. See NOTES below for instructions to make smaller cookies** Line a small baking sheet or plate with parchment paper. In a small bowl, use a whisk or mixer (depending how hard your cream cheese is) to mix the cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth and combined.
- Place 10-12 heaping teaspoons of cream cheese on the baking sheet or plate. Freeze for at least one hour, or until frozen almost completely solid.
- When the cream cheese is frozen almost solid, line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda then set aside.
- In the bowl of a handheld mixer or standing mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes). Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.
- Add in the flour, salt, and baking soda, and mix until just combined (don't over-mix).
- Dice the strawberries and gently fold them in. You don't want to mix them in too much or they'll get squished and the color will bleed into the dough.
- Scoop 12 heaping tablespoons of dough onto each baking sheet. They should be fairly big – if measured they'd be about 2 tbsp-sized (these are big cookies!). Press the back of a teaspoon slightly into the top of half the balls of dough to create an indent.
- Remove the cream cheese filling from the freezer and place one into each of the cookies. Take a second ball of dough and place it over the cream cheese, pinching the sides to seal the cream cheese inside (see picture in post above), but making sure to not squish the cream cheese into the cookie dough. The dough may start to get sticky and a bit crumbly, and a bit harder to work with because of the strawberries, but just go with it! Wipe your hands clean before moving on to the next cookie. You should have tall balls of dough.
- Refrigerate the prepared cookie dough balls and repeat with the second cookie sheet and remaining dough. Preheat the oven to 350°F and leave the cookie dough in the fridge while it preheats.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven one sheet at a time for 13-17 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden brown and the tops are set. Remove from the oven and leave them on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
are they 420 calories per cookie or per batch? If it’s 420 per batch how many calories is it per cookie?
per cookie, roughly. They are large cookies.
I baked these today and there were AMAZING! My parents really enjoyed them and so did I. 🙂
I do have a question though. I know for storage it said the freeze or refrigerate, but how long can these cookie be stored at room temperature for?
Hi Gigi! So happy you all loved the cookies! I wouldn’t recommend storing them at room temperature for more than a few hours because of the cream cheese!
I just made this recipe and chose to make smaller cookies! (I made about 21) Her recipe and notes are so easy to follow and they turned out amazing!! They aren’t overly sweet also!!! Will definitely make again!
Hi Leann! I am so happy you loved the cookies so much! Thank you for the review 😀
Would I be able to make the cookie balls and freeze them? I’m trying to make a small stock of “ready to bake” cookies.
That should work fine yes! Just be sure to let the dough come to room temperature before baking
This is sooo edible cookies! When I baked it, on second day wasn’t none cookie! My parents was on the first moment sceptic, because in this recipe was a lot of sugar. But when they tried, they are loved it. My friends loved it too. I want to try with blueberries, this could be too delicious. Gabby youre so talented baker and keep going, i love your recipes! (I am a czechian, so if they are grammar mistakes, im sorry ;))
Hi Tereza! I am so happy to hear that you and your family loved the cookies so much! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review 😀
I have yet to make these but they look so delicious it is next on my list. However, I’m assuming that this is an American recipe and they cream cheese that you have there comes in blocks and has 33% fat, it’s very dense and solid. Here in the UK we only have a soft spreadable cream cheese which is 23% fat, it has the consistency of softened butter even when taken straight out of the fridge. Would this kind of cream cheese work for these cookies, or does the cream cheese need to be much more solid? I’m not sure how well out kind of cream cheese would freeze due to it being lower in fat.
Hi there! I have consulted a UK baking blogger to make sure I give you the correct instructions! She said to let the cream cheese come to room temperature, then just before using it, pat or squeeze it dry with paper towels and that will do the trick. Enjoy 🙂
I love the texture and flavor of these cookies. I’m finding that I’m missing some sweetness in the bites that don’t have cream cheese. Any suggestions on how to make the dough sweeter without compromising the texture?
Hi Holly! One option is to use unsalted butter, or you can make the smaller version of the cookies so that the cream cheese fills more of the cookie area. If necessary, you could reduce the salt to 1/8 tsp but I would only recommend that as a last resort. So happy you loved them!
Try adding more sugar. I find this helps me when baking cookies. I would add about 1/3 more of sugar and it makes it sweeter.
So it says at the bottom of recipe that it was up dated for an extra yolk so is that a total of 1 yolk or 2 yolks not counting th one from the whole egg?
You’ll use one whole egg plus one egg yolk!
Would freeze dried strawberries work? Thanks!
Yes they would!
Hi ! how much is the exact amount in grams of flour?
Hi Sara! All metric measurements are listed – just toggle on to the Metric Tab instead of US Customary 🙂 Enjoy!
That was going to be my question (about the free fried strawberries). Thanks!
Fingers crossed as I use freezedried strawberries in my creamcheese frosting…I froze it and am using as the cream cheese center, plus opting for freezedried strawberries in the cookie as well. I may sprinkle strawberry shortcake crumbles over the glaze if not all too sweet. So curious! Fingers crossed.
Hi! I love your recipe’s so much, and I was wondering if you can make these with raspberries instead of strawberries? I LOVE raspberry cheesecake and was hoping that I could adapt this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Andrea, so happy you love the recipes! I do have a raspberry version actually! You can check out my raspberry cheesecake cookies! Enjoy 🙂
Sorry if this is a repeat question: Can the Dough be prepared on Christmas Eve, stored in fridge and then Baked on Christmas Day?
That and I’m so Happy that someone posted that they tried with GF Flour, can’t wait to try them they look Amazing!!
That should be fine if it’s stored in the fridge for the evening yes! Enjoy and Merry Christmas 🙂
Should the butter be salted?
Salted butter is fine – I’ve made them using both!
what do i preheat my oven to?
350°F
What type of butter should be used, salted or unsalted? Thx!
You can use either! If you prefer the cookies to be less sweet, use salted. I’ve made them both ways before!
I weigh everything and liked that you put in the notes that things should be weighed… But you didn’t give a weight for flour and that is the most critical especially since you’re saying these are crumbly if you use too much flour. Baker standard says that one cup should weigh 4.5 ounces. Doesn’t matter whether I spoon it in or scoop it in etc. I never get that 4.5 ounces. I can spoon fill the cup several times and still get different weights of flour. Please give a weight for the flour.
The flour weight is listed in grams under the metric tab
Made the recipe & it came out really delicious! Definitely follow to a T though because I messed up halfway! But the flavors worked sooo well together. I made them for my friends vacation and she loved them too.
Hi Hannah! I am so happy to hear that you both loved the cookies! Thanks so much for the review!
Hi there! I’ve made these cookies twice and they’re amazing! I was thinking of changing it up to be “fall” cookies, with diced green apples and a bit of cinnamon in the batter. Do you think apples would be okay in this recipe?
Hi Mindy! I’m so happy to hear that you loved the cookies! I think that would work fine and sounds absolutely delicious! I’d love to hear how it goes if you try! 🙂 My pumpkin cheesecake cookies are also another great stuffed fall cookie you could check out!
Hi! Can you use almond or coconut flour as a substitute? Thanks!!
Unfortunately no – but you can use a GF all purpose 1-1 baking flour
I loved these cookies! They were so much fun to make and they turned out absolutely delicious! I’ll definitely make them again!
Hi Cass! I am so happy that you loved the cookies, thanks so much for trying them!
this recipe might just be my favorite thing ever and it’s actually so easy to make, thank you for this recipe!!
Hi Liz! Woohoo!! I am so happy that you love the cookies! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review 😀
I am currently attempting to make these but I see no cooking temperature. It said preheat the oven several times, but never what to preheat it to. I’m gonna try 350° and hope they turn out ok.
Hi Ericka, 350° F is correct. Enjoy!
These cookies are super delicious and combine 2 of my favorite things: strawberry cheesecake and cookies! My sister and BIL who loves strawberry stuff specially request these. The use of fresh strawberries really gives them a nice flavor too, exactly like fresh strawberries on a slice of cheesecake!
Hi Sara! I am so happy to hear that you all loved the cookies so much! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review! 🙂
hello! i plan on baking the cookies at night and enjoying them with guests the next day. would they still need to be refrigerated? thank you.
Hi! They should be refrigerated, yes! If possible, I’d really recommend making them the day that you plan to serve them. They soften once they’ve been in the fridge so they don’t have the same slightly crisp outside that they do when freshly baked.
Made these with raspberries as it was what I had on hand and with gluten free flour. HIGHLY recommend making sure you leave them to cool on the baking tray for the 20 minutes or longer before transferring to racks, I think the integrity of mine were a bit crumblier/weak due to the gluten free flour and noticed the filling dripping from the bottom of some when I transferred to the racks too soon. Not a big issue I just let them cool longer on the racks. The tops of a few also somewhat caved in even though they were fully cooked so perhaps next time I’d make them smaller.
Definitely got a decent result with gf flour but as I said the brand I’ve used definitely changed the integrity of the cookie and they became something I needed to eat with a fork and plate. No complaints tho! They’re very large so feel like a cake kinda treat anyway. Absolutely delicious!
Hi Simone! So happy to hear that the GF option worked out well for you! Thanks so much for sharing how it went 🙂