Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies Recipe

Cheesecake is one of the most delightful desserts we know, and even more so when it's topped with strawberries. Homemade cheesecake isn't that easy, though, since there are numerous mistakes you can make if you're not super careful. Fruit-topped cheesecake is also not that easy to transport, and it can be messy to eat. Recipe developer Jessica Morone has found a way to have her strawberry cheesecake and eat it, too, all without making a mess: She's turned it into cookies.

As Morone describes her recipe, "Strawberry cheesecake cookies are the perfect mashup of two classic desserts-rich, tangy cheesecake and soft, chewy cookies." These cookies, she says, are easy to make, and not too time-consuming when you consider that a lot of the prep time is hands-off. While the freeze-dried strawberries called for in this recipe are always in season, Morone says these cookies nevertheless "feel like a fun, summery twist on a beloved treat." She also points out that "They deliver all the flavor of cheesecake in a portable cookie," so they make the perfect dessert to bring along to picnics, parties, and bake sales.

The cookie dough is made with flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla, and freeze dried strawberries. For the filling, you'll need cream cheese and powdered sugar.

Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper, then set aside.

Beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.

Scoop 24 teaspoons of the cream cheese filling onto the baking sheet. Freeze until completely solid (at least 30 minutes).

Once the cream cheese filling is frozen, preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, then set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until just combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar, mixing just until a dough forms.

Add the strawberries to the batter and mix until just incorporated.

Use a medium or large cookie scoop to scoop out ball of cookie dough, slightly flattening the ball. Press one cream cheese filling into the center of the cookie dough.

Pinch the sides of the cookie dough together to seal the cream cheese mixture inside the dough and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat the process with all cookie dough and cream cheese balls.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are golden.

Cool then serve the cookies.

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One of the most important things you can do to ensure perfect cookies involves temperature control. If you're wondering why the cream cheese filling needs to be frozen, this is because freezing not only allows the filling to retain its shape when you're assembling the cookies, but also keeps it from melting and oozing out as the cookies bake. If the cream cheese starts to get warm while you're putting the cookies together, return it to the freezer for a few minutes so it can chill and firm up.

It's also important to pinch or crimp the cookie dough closed around the cream cheese filling. Again, this is to prevent any leakage. After you roll the dough around the cream cheese filling back into a sphere shape, consider slightly flattening the top of each sphere to encourage even spreading once the cookies bake in the oven.

One way to change up these cookies would be to use either fresh or frozen strawberries in place of the freeze-dried kind. Freeze-dried fruit is something you should always have in your pantry because it weighs next to nothing and will last a lot longer than the fresh kind. It also won't alter the texture or color of the dough to the same extent as fresh or frozen fruit, but if you've run out, the latter two will work in this recipe as long as they're diced into small chunks. Frozen berries should not be thawed, but fresh ones should be wiped dry with a paper towel before being added to the dough.

You could also use a different kind of freeze-dried (or fresh, or frozen) fruit and make blueberry, raspberry, or cherry cheesecake cookies. Yet another idea is to switch up the cream cheese, doubling down on the cookies' fruity taste by using a strawberry-flavored variety. You could also make autumnal cheesecake cookies by using pumpkin-flavored cream cheese in combination with freeze-dried apples. In this case, you might want to add a little cinnamon to the cookie dough.

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