Strawberry cheesecake cookies with gooey bits of sweet cream cheese and juicy strawberries throughout. These cookies taste like a mix of a sugar cookies and a cheesecake all in one. Plus they are pretty.

Why Make These Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

These cheesecake inspired cookies are so decadent. They are beautiful and addictive. You can easily make them dairy free (I have tried it several times and it’s just as good!) They are a great cookie for bridal showers, Valentine’s Day or as a gift to someone you love, they bring a smile to my face every time I make them because they are so darn pretty. The white chocolate chips are an added bonus and they add a little crunchy texture to the cookie.

Ingredients Needed

• Cream Cheese Spread. I use the spread, it’s a little softer and easier to work with up until the freezing process, but you can really use any cream cheese of choice. YES! vegan cream cheese also works.

• Powdered Sugar. Also known as confectionery sugar. This is used to blend into the cream cheese to give it a nice sweetness similar to cheesecake.

• Fresh Strawberries. Chopped and added as is to the cookies.

• Butter. Salted or unsalted will work, whichever you prefer. Plant based butter will work as well, just be sure to use the stick kind. It will need to be softened a bit to mix with the sugar.

• White Granulated Sugar. This is to sweeten the cookies, you will need both white granulated and brown sugar. You can use Truvia zero calorie as well.

• Brown Sugar. This is to keep the cookies more chewy. you can use Truvia zero calorie brown sugar as well.

• Vanilla Extract. This is to give the cookies a light aromatic of vanilla.

• All Purpose Flour. You can sub this for gluten free all purpose flour blend if needed.

• Baking Soda. Baking soda is the best for fluffing up cookies. Be sure your baking soda is fresh, opened, old boxes are often the biggest culprit for a failed recipe.

• Salt. To add some flavor and help with the baking soda reaction. I always use coarse kosher salt or sea salt.

• White Chocolate Chips. These are the best with strawberries, they add a little crunchy texture to the cookie.

How To Make This Recipe

Step One. Make a flat surface in your freezer and room for a thin baking sheet. Starting with the cream cheese filling, mix the ingredients together and dollop 1 inch balls on a parchment sheet with a flat baking sheet underneath on top.

Step Two. Place the sheet in the spot you cleared for about 2 hours (overnight is also great). The more frozen they are the better for the cookies. Freezing it makes the cream cheese hold up in the oven so it doesn’t get absorbed by the cookie dough.

Step Three. Once the cream cheese is frozen, keep it in the freezer while you mix the cookie dough. Set oven to 350º . In a large bowl of a standing mixer or a large bow with a hand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes).Next add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.

Step Four. Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda together in a medium sized bowl. Slowly add this to the butter/sugar mix. The dough will be really thick, try not to over mix if you can. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries and white chocolate chips.

How To Assemble The Cookies

Step Five. On a parchment lined cooking sheet, scoop and form large 1.5 – 2 inch balls. I try to give them 1.5-2 inches of space, they do spread with baking. I make about 9 of these (4 rows of 3). Using a tsp measuring spoon, gently press the centers of the cookies in with the tsp. You may need to use your fingers to reshape any big cracks in the cookies.

Step Six. Working quickly, take the cream cheese out of the freezer and press the frozen balls into the indents you made in the cookies. With the leftover dough in the mixer bowl, press that over the cream cheese balls, gently. Just enough to cover the cream cheese. It’s okay if they aren’t perfect, this is what gives them the cracks and character that everyone loves.

Step Seven. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 16-19 minutes or until they are just lightly toasted on the tops. Once they are done baking, pull out and let them sit for at least 10 minutes. If they get misshapen at all through baking, you can use a spatula to lightly press the edges back into a circular shape.

FAQ’s & Tips

Recipe Variations

Cream Cheese. I prefer cream cheese spread, it’s a little softer. You can use cream cheese in the brick form as well, i suggest letting it warm a bit to room temp before working with it. Vegan cream cheese will work wonderfully as well!

Strawberries. You can use blueberries or raspberries in place of the strawberries if needed, strawberries will be the prettiest!

Sugar. You will need both sugars in this recipe. If you need to do a calorie free substitute, I suggest Truvia. You can order it online and find in the sugar aisle at most stores. It works wonderfully as a sub for these cookies. They make a brown and white sugar substitute.

All Purpose Flour. You can use the gluten free all purpose flour alternative if needed.

Other Cookie Recipes To Try

• Copycat Chocolate Chip Levain Cookies
• Soft Oatmeal Cookies
• Blueberry Breakfast Cookies

If you loved this recipe let me know! Also, follow me on Instagram & Pinterest for even more fun recipes to make you feel good from the inside out. Thanks for being here.