strawberry cheesecake cookies

these are the best strawberry cheesecake cookies – featuring soft, brown sugar cookies, topped with a cloud of whipped cream cheese frosting, a dollop of strawberry jam and a sprinkle of fresh strawberries.

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bring a slice of summer to your plate with these delicious strawberry cheesecake cookies – golden-brown, soft sugar cookies cradling swirls of velvety whipped cream cheese frosting, spoonfuls of strawberry jam and fresh strawberry chunks. top with a scattering of biscuit crumbs and enjoy one of these cookies on a picnic or a breezy, sun-dappled afternoon for the most delightful summer treat.

why you will love this strawberry cheesecake cookies recipe:

• combines two classic favourite desserts: these strawberry cheesecake cookies are the perfect blend of cookie and cheesecake! they’re packed with so much flavour and texture – the soft, chewy cookies mixed with the creamy cheesecake topping, juicy strawberries and the crunch and texture from the biscuit crumbs just work so well together.

• really easy to customise – you can easily customise these strawberry cheesecake cookies to your liking! e.g. if you’re not a fan of strawberries, you could switch them up for any other kind of fruit that you like. but if you do want to keep these as strawberry cheesecake cookies, you could also change them up a little to make them more exciting, like adding white chocolate chips to your cookies. i typically like to make these strawberry cheesecake cookies no filling, and prefer to spread the filling on top of the cookie – but you could easily make these as strawberry cheesecake stuffed cookies, or even better, a strawberry cheesecake cookie sandwich with the cream cheese filling in between!

• fun to bake – these strawberry cheesecake cookies make such a fun baking project! baking the cookies, then making the topping and assembling the cookies together would be a great way to get kids involved or just when having a baking day with friends in the summer.

learn how to make strawberry cheesecake cookies from scratch

to make these homemade strawberry cheesecake cookies, we’re going to start off by creaming softened salted butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar. add a small amount of heavy cream, a splash of vanilla and a large egg and mix that in. then add flour, some baking soda and baking powder and mix all of that together. once a dough is formed, let it chill in the fridge. split the cookie dough into equal sections, roll each cookie dough ball in some extra sugar then bake until golden and soft. once the cookies are out of the oven, let them cool and make the whipped cream cheese frosting.

for the whipped cream cheese frosting, we’re going to whip together heavy cream, icing sugar (or powdered sugar), and some vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. then, we’ll add cream cheese and whip again using a mixer until the mixture is thick and soft. top your cookies with the whipped cream cheese frosting, as well as some strawberry jam, fresh strawberries and crushed biscuit or graham cracker crumbs, and we’re done!

strawberry cheesecake cookies ingredients:

• butter – we’re going to use salted butter here. if you would prefer to use unsalted butter, just add a small amount of salt to the dry ingredients. for this strawberry cheesecake sugar cookie recipe, i prefer to cream the softened butter with the sugars over using melted butter. this is one of my favourite butters to use in cookie recipes.

• brown sugar – i’m using light brown sugar because i love a brown sugar cookie. it helps give these strawberry cheesecake sugar cookies more of a chewy texture and a nicer caramel-like flavour. this light muscovado sugar is one of my favourites. if you don’t want to use brown sugar, you can also just make a normal sugar cookie with just granulated sugar.

• granulated sugar – this recipe uses a mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar. the brown sugar keeps these strawberry cheesecake cookies soft and chewy and the granulated sugar helps them spread. i also roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar before baking in this recipe.

• egg – we’re just going to use one large egg in this strawberry cheesecake cookies recipe. make sure it’s at room temperature so that it’s able to combine easily with the rest of the ingredients.

• vanilla extract – optional, but a splash of it will add a nice, subtle vanilla flavour to your strawberry cheesecake cookies. i also use vanilla when making the cream cheese topping.

• double cream/heavy cream – this is optional but i like to add a small amount of heavy cream to my strawberry cheesecake cookie dough as it adds a lovely richness and makes the cookies extra chewy. heavy cream is also used in this recipe to make the cream cheese topping for your strawberry cheesecake cookies.

• flour – we’ll be using plain flour/all purpose flour for this recipe.

• baking soda and baking powder – i use just a small amount of baking soda and baking powder in these strawberry cheesecake cookies to get a good balance of spread and thickness.

• icing sugar or powdered sugar – i just use a small amount of this in the cream cheese topping to whip with the heavy cream.

• cream cheese – we’re going to whip softened cream cheese with the heavy cream to make our cream cheese topping for these strawberry cheesecake cookies.

• strawberry jam – i like to top each strawberry cheesecake cookie with some strawberry jam after adding the cream cheese topping. i did just use a store bought jam here but you can also use homemade jam.

• fresh strawberries -i like to top these strawberry cheesecake cookies with fresh strawberries – just chop them up and add them on top of the strawberry jam.

• biscuits or graham crackers – crush up biscuits or graham crackers and sprinkle over your strawberry cheesecake cookies for some texture and crunch.

step by step instructions

for full measurements, keep scrolling down to the recipe below.

step one: in a large mixing bowl, add softened, room temperature salted butter. add the granulated sugar and brown sugar. mix these together until the mixture becomes soft and creamy.

step two: add the egg, heavy cream and the vanilla and mix this into the butter and sugar mixture until combined.

step three: add the flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix all of this together until a cookie dough is formed.

step four: place the bowl in the fridge and let the cookie dough chill for around 1 hour.

step five: preheat oven 10-15 minutes before baking, and line a cookie sheet or baking tray with parchment paper or baking paper.

step six: once your cookie dough is ready, separate the dough into equal sized portions.

step seven: in a small bowl, add granulated sugar. roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar until coated then place on your baking sheet.

step eight: bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes, or until they look soft and golden.

step nine: remove the cookies from the oven, and let them cool completely on the baking sheet.

step ten: once the cookies are completely cool, start making the cream cheese topping. in a bowl, add cold heavy cream, icing sugar or powdered sugar, and some vanilla extract. use a mixer to whip the cream until it looks thick and soft. do not over whip as we are going to be whipping it again.

step eleven: add cream cheese to the whipped cream mixture, and use a mixer to whip the cream cheese into the heavy cream until combined. the mixture should be around medium peaks – it should be thick and soft and generally hold its shape, with a tip that curls over when you lift the beaters out of the cream.

step twelve: add a generous amount of the cream cheese filling to the top of each strawberry cheesecake cookie and spread it out.

step thirteen: add a small amount of strawberry jam on top of the cream cheese filling.

step fourteen: add chopped fresh strawberries to your strawberry cheesecake cookies.

step fifteen: add biscuit crumbs or graham cracker crumbs and sprinkle them on top of your strawberry cheesecake cookies.

step sixteen: serve, and let’s eat!

tips and notes

• i would recommend using room temperature butter and eggs when making these strawberry cheesecake cookies. this will just make it easier to mix the ingredients and help the ingredients incorporate better.

• use room temperature cream cheese when making the cream cheese topping – this will ensure that the frosting is smooth and help avoid any lumps.

• if you forgot to leave the butter out to let it soften, you can always put in the microwave for about ten seconds, just so that it can soften slightly so that it’s easier to mix. make sure you don’t melt the butter completely or put it in the microwave for too long.

• if using unsalted butter, just add around 1/4 tsp of salt to the dry ingredients.

• once you add the flour and dry ingredients to the cookie mixture, gently mix until just combined to avoid over mixing the dough. over mixing can make your cookies tough and less soft and chewy.

• if you have the time, i would really recommend chilling the dough in the fridge for 1 hour before baking your strawberry cheesecake cookies. this will help develop the flavours and reduce spread in the oven.

• use a cookie scoop or weight out the cookie dough balls so that all of the cookies are equal and consistent in size. this strawberry cheesecake cookies recipe makes 6 cookies, weighing 90g each.

• adjust baking time as needed. every oven is different, so i recommend keeping an eye on your strawberry cheesecake cookies as they bake. i like to take them out of the oven when they’re slightly underdone as they will continue to cook as they cool once they’re out of the oven. over baking might make your strawberry cheesecake cookies dry and cakey and we definitely don’t want that! i baked these cookies for 18 minutes, but keep in mind that baking times will depend on how big your cookies are, so be sure to adjust times according to that. bigger cookies will take more time to bake.

• once your strawberry cheesecake cookies are out of the oven, they might look underdone and will be too soft to pick up. let them cool on the baking sheets for a good 10-15 minutes before trying to pick them up.

• use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. while i add both metric and cup measurements for this recipe, i always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients for most accurate results.

• if you do decide to use cups, when measuring the flour out, i would recommend using the spoon and level method instead of packing the flour into the cup for more accurate results.

• use cold heavy cream when making the cream cheese frosting, as this will be easier to whip.

• make sure the cookies are completely cool before you add the cream cheese frosting on top. if you add it while the cookies are still warm, the frosting will melt.

• i actually recommend letting the cookies cool completely, and then making the frosting instead of making it ahead of time. this way, you can add the freshly whipped frosting straight onto your strawberry cheesecake cookies.

• if you want your strawberry cheesecake cookies to have a neater, more polished look, you can add the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag and pipe it on top of the cookies instead of spreading it on like i did.

• if you do decide to make the cream cheese frosting ahead of time, place it in the fridge while the cookies are cooling, so that the frosting remains firm and doesn’t become too soft.

• pat the fresh strawberries dry before adding them to your strawberry cheesecake cookies – this will remove any excess moisture and prevent the cookies from becoming soggy.

• how to store strawberry cheesecake cookies will depend on whether the cookies are frosted or unfrosted. store any unfrosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. store frosted cookies in the fridge.

• for best results, assemble the strawberry cheesecake cookies just before serving so that everything is fresh.

• if you find that your strawberry cheesecake cookies become too soft under the frosting, you can place them in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up a little.

frequently asked questions

1. can i use unsalted butter in this homemade strawberry cheesecake cookies recipe?

   – yes, you can use unsalted butter instead of salted butter. if you do use unsalted butter for your strawberry cheesecake cookies instead of salted, just mix around 1/4 tsp of salt into the dry ingredients.

2. do i have to use vanilla extract in this strawberry cheesecake cookies recipe?

   – the vanilla extract in this cookie recipe is optional. i like the subtle vanilla flavour it gives to the cookie dough and the frosting, but if you would prefer not to use it or don’t have it, that’s also completely fine.

3. why did my strawberry cheesecake sugar cookies turn into a cake instead of soft and chewy?

   – the reason why your cookies turned cakey could be because of baking times. you should take your strawberry cheesecake cookies out of the oven when they’re slightly underdone as they will continue to cook and firm up on the tray as they cool. even if you follow the exact timings in the recipe, every oven will bake things differently so timings will vary depending on your oven. i highly recommend checking on your cookies every once in a while, especially towards the end of the recommended times to make sure they don’t over bake.

   – another reason could be that there was too much flour in your sugar cookie dough. to make these strawberry cheesecake cookies as accurately as possible, be sure to measure your flour using the spoon-and-level method if using cup measurements, or weigh out the flour using a kitchen scale.

4. can i make these strawberry cheesecake cookies without brown sugar?

   – the brown sugar in these strawberry sugar cookies gives them some extra flavour and chewiness. however, if you don’t have brown sugar, you can substitute it with the same amount granulated sugar. keep in mind that using all granulated sugar to make this cookie might result in a cookie that is less chewy and maybe even a little drier. it will also probably spread more, but other than that, it should work just fine. for best results, use a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar as stated. if you have molasses on hand, you could also add a small amount of that to granulated sugar to mimic the effect of brown sugar.

5. can i make these strawberry cheesecake cookies without heavy cream?

   – the use of heavy cream in this strawberry cheesecake cookies recipe helps add a lovely chewiness and richness to the cookies. however, it is also completely fine to omit the heavy cream for the cookies if you don’t have it on hand or would rather not use it. i only add about a teaspoon of it, so it really wouldn’t make too much of a difference if you skipped it. i also use heavy cream in the cream cheese frosting as it adds some extra richness and creaminess to the frosting. if you would prefer a stronger cream cheese flavour in the frosting, you can also skip the heavy cream in this, or reduce the amount.

6. why did my strawberry cheesecake cookies not spread?

   – one of the reasons why your cookies didn’t spread might be due to your oven temperatures being too low. make sure to preheat your oven 10-15 minutes before adding your cookies in so that the oven is hot enough.

   – it could also be that your cookie dough is too cold. if you find that your cookie isn’t spreading in the oven, let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before baking it.

7. do i have to chill the dough to make these strawberry cheesecake cookies?

   – i would highly recommend chilling the sugar cookie dough before baking it. the cookie dough is quite sticky when you first mix it, so it will probably be difficult to shape. letting it chill in the fridge will help firm it up so that it’s easier to handle. it will also help enhance the flavours and prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. if you’re really pressed for time, or feeling impatient, try to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. i would recommend chilling it for the full hour though.

8. can i make these strawberry cheesecake cookies ahead of time?

   – you want your strawberry cheesecake cookies to be completely cool before frosting them, so you can definitely make them ahead of time. you can make the sugar cookies in advance, and store them in an airtight container. make the cream cheese frosting fresh before serving and frost and assemble your strawberry cheesecake cookies right before you serve them.

9. can i make strawberry cheesecake cookie bars instead of strawberry cheesecake cookies?

   – if you want to keep these strawberry cheesecake cookies easy and quick to make, you can definitely bake them as cookie bars instead of individual cookies. just make the sugar cookie dough as stated in the recipe, press the dough into a lined 8×8 inch baking dish and bake. keep in mind that baking times might differ for the cookie bars. then, top with the cream cheese frosting, strawberry jam, fresh strawberries and crushed graham crackers, and slice them up just before serving.

10. can i make these strawberry cheesecake cookies with frozen strawberries instead of fresh ones?

    – since we’re going to be topping our strawberry cheesecake cookies with strawberries and not mixing them into the dough, fresh strawberries would be best to use. however, if you do plan to make the strawberry jam instead of using a store bought one, you can use frozen strawberries to make this.

11. how to store strawberry cheesecake cookies?

    – store any unfrosted sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. when it comes to storing frosted strawberry cheesecake cookies, be sure to place these in the fridge rather than leaving them out. once frosted, they’re best consumed within 1-2 days.

recipe