Strawberry Shortcake Crumble Cookies Recipe

Is there a more perfect dessert for the warmer months than strawberry shortcake? The combination of a soft, buttery biscuit, juicy strawberries, and a creamy topping is everything you want in a summer treat. But, what if you could combine the flavors of a strawberry shortcake with the simplicity of a cookie? That's exactly what developer Jessica Morone did with this strawberry shortcake crumble cookie recipe. It has a biscuit-like cookie base that's filled with sweet strawberries, topped with a buttery crumble, and finished with a vanilla glaze. The cookie dough is made using a similar process to the one used for making biscuits, by cutting butter into a flour mixture. Instead of having to use a pastry cutter or forks, you use a food processor to do all the work for you. "This makes them a breeze to whip up and is what gives you the flavor and texture of strawberry shortcake biscuits," Morone says.

Morone continues, "My favorite thing about these cookies is that they taste just like the classic dessert, but they are portable in a way that shortcakes usually aren't." Whether you plan to take these to picnics and potlucks or eat them as a grab-and-go treat, they're a perfect way to enjoy this beloved dessert in a fresh, fun, and flexible way. 

To make this recipe, start by gathering all of the ingredients. For the crumb topping, you need granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Then, you combine lemon juice, more granulated sugar, and fresh strawberries. Morone advises, "For this recipe, you really want fresh strawberries that are still firm; they shouldn't have started becoming soft and mushy yet." Gather more granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, butter, an egg, and heavy cream to finish up the cookie dough. Finally, you need powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract to make a vanilla glaze to drizzle onto the cookies.

Preheat the oven to 300 F.

Make the crumble topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, vegetable oil, and vanilla with a fork until crumbs form.

Spread the crumb topping out onto a parchment paper–lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside to cool completely.

Adjust the oven to 350 F.

Make the cookie dough: In a large bowl, combine diced strawberries, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Set aside.

To the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, baking powder, salt, butter, and the remaining ½ cup sugar.

Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

Add in the egg and heavy cream, and pulse until the dough starts to come together.

Mix the dough into the bowl with the strawberry mixture until combined.

Use a medium (1 ½-tablespoon) cookie scoop to drop cookie dough onto parchment paper–lined baking sheets, spaced evenly apart.

Flatten the dough slightly, then sprinkle the cookies with crumb topping. Gently press the topping into the tops of the cookies.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20–22 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add additional milk, as necessary, until the consistency is thick but can be drizzled.

Drizzle the glaze onto the cooled cookies. Let sit for about 15 minutes.

Once the glaze has hardened, serve the cookies.

Fresh strawberries are definitely the best option for these cookies, especially when they're in season and incredibly sweet and juicy. But, there are alternatives if you don't want to use fresh strawberries. Frozen strawberries are an option as a replacement, as you can get them all year round. And, since they are picked and frozen at their peak, they have the same delicious flavor as fresh berries. The problem with frozen strawberries is that they can be mushy compared to fresh berries. To counter this, make sure you don't let the berries thaw first, and you may need to bake the cookies for up to 5 minutes longer to account for the added moisture.

Dried strawberries are a good option that won't add any extra moisture to the batter. But, they also wont taste quite as good as fresh strawberries. Freeze-dried strawberries can also work, as they should rehydrate in the lemon juice mixture, but you may want to add an additional tablespoon of heavy cream to the batter to make up for the moisture that usually comes from the strawberries. 

Several parts of this recipe can be made in advance. The crumble can be baked and kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The dough, without the strawberry mixture added, can also be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. The strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar shouldn't be combined too far in advance or the berries can get mushy. Further, once you add the strawberry mixture to the dough, you have to bake it pretty quickly or the batter will become too wet. The glaze can be made up to 5 days in advance and kept in the fridge; let it come to room temperature before drizzling it on the cookies. 

Once these cookies are baked, they should be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze these in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.