These strawberry cheesecake cookies are buttery, thick, soft, and creamy all in one bite with crisp edges. The gorgeous cookies are spiked with real strawberry pieces and a rich cheesecake centre!
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
mixing bowls
Cookie scoops (¼ cup and 1 Tbsp)
Baking sheets.
Instructions
FOR THE FILLING:In a medium bowl with a spatula (or electric beater), beat together the cream cheese, sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract until smooth.
Line a medium baking sheet with baking paper. Scoop about 3 teaspoon balls of the cream cheese mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. You should be able to get 18. Freeze 20-30 minutes or until firm.
FOR THE COOKIES:The cookie dough is very quick so don’t start it until the cheesecake portions are firm.
Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.
If you haven’t already, melt the butter and set it aside to cool for 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Add the sugars to the melted butter and whisk until well combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and strawberry extract (if using) and whisk until smooth.
Add the flour mixture and mix with a spatula until just combined.
When the flour is 90% mixed through, set aside a small handful of the strawberries then add the rest to the dough. Fold until combined and well distributed but be careful not to break them up too much.
Scoop the dough: For this step, take just a few cheesecake portions out of the freezer at a time as it will soften as it thaws.
Using a ¼ cup sized cookie scoop, packing it in, to scoop balls of dough, then with the dough still in the scoop, press a big dent into the centre. Press a frozen cheesecake portion into the centre, then fold the dough over the top to seal it inside.
By hand: Roll roughly golf ball sized balls of dough or 1/4 cup worth of dough into a ball. Flatten the ball out in your hand and place a frozen cheesecake portion in the centre. Fold the dough up around the cheesecake to seal it inside.
Roll the top of each cookie dough ball in the sugar and place sugar side up on the baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for around 12-14 minutes until turning golden on the edges.As soon as you take the trays out of the oven, give them a tap on the bench top 3 times. This will help them drop a little and create nice little cracks in the top. If needed, you can use a round cookie cutter and swirl it around the cookie to make them more round if it has spread out of shape.
Before they cool, make a few little holes in the top of each one with your fingernail or the tip of a knife and push small pieces of the remaining strawberries into the holes, so they stick out a little bit. Optional but it makes them look so pretty.
Allow them to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before using a spatula to help to transfer them to a cooling rack. Once cool, they will firm up and be crispy on the outside with a chewy centre of cookie and soft cheesecake.
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Notes
Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Many countries use a 15ml tablespoon (3 tsp). Check yours first and adjust measures accordingly.
Cream Cheese: If cream cheese is a standard 8oz block where you are, just use that - it will work fine.
You can use fresh strawberries cut into small pieces too but only about 1 ¼ cups. Make sure to use very fresh strawberries and just give them a pat dry with paper towel once chopped to remove excess moisture.
All freeze dried strawberries are not created equal. I love Crispy fruits and found I could use less of these than when I used another brand. Try to get a brand where the strawberries are already sliced, then freeze dried, not freeze dried whole. They may not be cheap but these cookies really are worth it, I promise. I get Crispy Fruits for about $2 per pack of 10g, so there’s $8 worth of strawberries in one batch of cookies.
All ovens vary – check your cookies at 8 minutes – they should look dry and ‘set’ but will still be very soft.
For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. You can take them out of the fridge for a couple of hours at a time, just fine but return them to the fridge for longer stints.
Have you tried this recipe?Don't forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.