Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

These fruity cookies have a decadent cream cheese center!

By
Mark Beahm
Mark Beahm
Mark Beahm
Mark is the head baker at Hjem Kensington, a Danish café in London. He has been developing recipes for home bakers for the last two years.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Published June 10, 2023
Mark Beahm
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies on a Cooling Rack, With Some Cut in Half

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

As fleeting as strawberry season is, these strawberry cheesecake cookies will disappear even faster. You will likely start with the best intentions: dessert for a cookout, a thank you for some gifted produce from your neighbor's garden, or a sweet treat for your kids' summer playdate. My best advice? Double the recipe. It’s impossible to eat just one.

These cookies have a fun trick. From the outside they look like regular strawberry cookies, but you're in for a surprise when you break one in half—cheesecake! A rich and tangy cream cheese filling is frozen before being enveloped by the strawberry-studded cookie dough.

How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

To make strawberry cheesecake cookies, you first prepare the two-ingredient cheesecake filling and divide it into twelve mounds. The filling chills in the freezer while you make the one-bowl, no-mixer, fresh strawberry cookie dough. The cookie dough rests briefly in the refrigerator before surrounding the frozen cream cheese dollops to form giant cookies. Bake, cool, and then watch them disappear.

Stack of Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies With the Top Cookie Cut in Half to Showcase Cheesecake Filling in a Small Plate With a Few Halved Strawberries, and in the Surroundings, a Bowl of Strawberries and Some Free Flowing Strawberries (Some Whole, Some Halved) on the Counter, All on a Pink Table Napkin

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Tips for Stellar Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

I tried to streamline steps where I could—mixing the dough in one bowl without a mixer, using the same pan from the freezer to the oven, and baking both trays at once—but I still have a few tips to share for a stress-free baking project.

  • Use good, flavorful strawberries. They’ll deliver more sweet strawberry flavor than so-so berries.
  • Freezing the cream cheese filling before assembling the cookies is an essential step that makes it possible to surround the filling with dough. The filling is still malleable, so you will be able to reshape them to fit.
  • Chilling the cookie dough is optional, but it prevents the dough from sticking to your hands while filling the cookies. It may not be a time saver, however, the difference it makes when assembling the cookies is worth it. I make the dough right after placing the filling in the freezer and chill the dough during the filling's remaining freezing time.
  • I generally prefer baking with a silicone baking mat whenever possible but found that the mat prevented the bottom of the cookies from browning and setting properly. Parchment paper worked much better.
  • I don't recommend replacing fresh strawberries with frozen ones. Frozen strawberries release too much liquid for the cookies to bake properly.

Make-Ahead Tips

At first, it may seem like a hassle to freeze the filling and chill the cookie dough, but these steps actually make this recipe incredibly make-ahead friendly.

The filling can be prepared and kept, covered with plastic wrap, in the freezer up to 2 days in advance. The dough can be made ahead of time, covered, and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.

You can even store the unbaked, filled cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookies overnight in the refrigerator, or on parchment-lined baking sheets at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking as directed.

Stack of Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies With the Top Cookie Cut in Half to Showcase Cheesecake Filling in a Small Plate With a Few Halved Strawberries, and in the Surroundings, a Bowl of Strawberries and Some Free Flowing Strawberries (Some Whole, Some Halved) on the Counter, All on a Pink Table Napkin

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Strawberry Season Recipes

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Chill time 60 mins
Total Time 95 mins
Servings 12 servings
Yield 12 large cookies
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the cream cheese filling

  • 6 ounces (170g) cream cheese, softened

  • 1/4 cup (30g) powdered sugar

For the strawberry cookies

  • 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

  • 2 ounces (57g) cream cheese, softened

  • 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar

  • 1/3 cup (71g) light brown sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 2 1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour

  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 3/4 cup (130g) finely chopped strawberries

Method

  1. Make the filling:

    In a small bowl, use a spatula to combine the cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth. Line a baking sheet that fits in your freezer with parchment paper. Drop tablespoonfuls of the filling onto the prepared tray. You should have 12. Freeze for at least 1 hour, or until frozen solid.

    Tip

    The filling can be prepared and kept covered with plastic wrap in the freezer up to 2 days in advance.

    Bowl of Cream Cheese Filling With a Spatula for Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Dollops of Cream Cheese Filling on a Parchment Paper Lined Baking Pan for Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  2. Make the cookie dough:

    In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fully combined, about 1 minute. 

    Add the egg and whisk to combine.

    Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Switch to a spatula and stir until the dry ingredients are almost fully incorporated. It’s okay if there are some streaks of dry flour.

    Melted Butter and Sugar Whisked Together in a Bowl for Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Egg Whisked Into Bowl With Sugar Mixture for Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Bowl of Cookie Dough (With Some White Streaks) With a Rubber Spatula

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  3. Stir in the strawberries:

    Add the chopped strawberries. Use a spatula to fold in very gently, distributing them without squishing them or dying the dough pink. Mix just until combined, and no streaks of flour remain.

    Chopped Strawberries Folded Into the Cookie Dough Using the Spatula

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Dough in a Bowl With the Rubber Spatula

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  4. Chill the dough:

    Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to chill until the filling has frozen and you’re ready to assemble, about 30 minutes. This chill time is optional, but it makes assembling the cookies much easier since the dough won’t stick to your hands as much.

    Tip

    The dough can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for up to 2 days.

  5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

    Arrange racks in the bottom and top third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.

  6. Scoop the first cookie layer:

    Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the dough has chilled for longer than a couple of hours, let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to soften slightly. Use a cookie scoop (size 40 portioner, or about 1 1/2 tablespoons) to drop 12 cookies onto the lined baking sheet. Press your thumb into the center of each cookie to make a well, just as if you were making thumbprint cookies.

    Thumb Creating Indents in the Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Dough Dollops on a Parchment Paper Lined Baking Sheet

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  7. Add the cheesecake filling:

    Remove the cheesecake filling from the freezer. Place 1 frozen ball of filling into the indentation of each cookie. You can use your hands to reshape the filling slightly, if needed, for it to fit nicely.

    Scoop the remaining cookie dough on top of the cheesecake filling. Spread the cookie dough around the filling, ensuring it is completely covered and sealed. The cookie dough mounds will be big and tall.

    A Pair of Hands Rolling Frozen Cheesecake Filling Into a Neat Ball, and in the Background Below, a Parchment Paper Lined Baking Sheet With Dollops of Indented Cookie (Some With Cheesecake Filling Sitting in the Thumbprint)

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Another scoop of strawberry cookie dough added on top of the cheesecake filling

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Sealing the cheesecake filling inside the strawberry cookie dough

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  8. Bake:

    Place 6 cookies on each of the lined baking sheets, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Bake both trays at once for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans from top to bottom and back to front. Continue baking for 7 to 9 minutes longer until the edges are set and just beginning to brown.

    Let the cookies cool and set them on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. They are too soft to move straight out of the oven.

    The cookies will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days, or up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

    Baked cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

    Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a comment below!

    Two Parchment Paper Lined Baking Sheets With 6 Mounds of Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Dough on Each

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Baked Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies Resting on the Parchment Paper Lined Baking Trays

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies on a Cooling Rack

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
315 Calories
15g Fat
42g Carbs
4g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 315
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 19%
Saturated Fat 9g 44%
Cholesterol 55mg 18%
Sodium 244mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 42g 15%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 22g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 6mg 32%
Calcium 34mg 3%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 84mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.