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You will be absolutely obsessed with these strawberry cheesecake cookies! They’re so soft and buttery, and every bite is bursting with real strawberry pieces. The cream cheese filling adds a deliciously rich surprise that takes them to another level. Trust me, once you make these, they’ll vanish faster than you can say “strawberry season”! Whether you’re planning a cookout or just want a sweet treat for the kids, you might want to double the recipe—because one is definitely not enough!
Treat your tastebuds to these fruity cream cheese strawberry cookies. They have vanilla and lemon flavors and the filling boasts a rich cheesecake texture.
Also try strawberry lemon cheesecake, mousse tartlets, strawberry shortcake, fig X cookies, cheesecake cookies or strawberry lemonade bars.
Why You’ll Love It
The cookies taste amazing: Strawberry, lemon, vanilla, and cream cheese flavors combine beautifully to make these cream cheese strawberry cookies. They taste fruity and delicious.
They’re easy to prepare: You don’t need any fancy equipment or ingredients to make these tasty strawberry cheesecake cookies.
Perfect for strawberry lovers: If you really enjoy fresh strawberries, there’s no way you aren’t going to love these. The vanilla and lemon really showcases that beautiful strawberry flavor.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookie Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Fresh strawberries: Don’t use frozen or canned ones!
Softened cream cheese: Full fat cream cheese yields the most delicious result.
Powdered sugar: Because granulated sugar would make the filling grainy.
Lemon juice and zest: Fresh of course!
Vanilla extract: Use real vanilla extract, not synthetic.
Baking soda: To get the texture light and airy.
All-purpose flour: Swap for gluten-free flour if needed.
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Make the cream cheese filling: Mix room temperature cream cheese with the powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until thick and pudding-like in texture. Scoop this mixture into balls and chill or freeze on a parchment paper lined baking sheet or plate.
Make the cookie batter: Whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt in one bowl, and mix the butter and sugar in another bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and then mix the dry mixture into the wet one until just combined.
Add the strawberries: Use a wide metal spoon or spatula to carefully mix the strawberries into the batter.
Shape the cookie dough balls: Scoop the batter into balls using a cookie scoop. Press each ball down to make a disk, then add some of the cream cheese filling on top of each one and cover with another batter disk, flattening with your hand to seal the filling into the cookie dough balls.
Bake and cool the cookies: Bake the cookies until golden brown on the edges. Cool them on the baking sheet briefly and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Substitutions and Variations
Gluten-free option: If you want a gluten-free version, use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour.
Vegan version: Use vegan cream cheese, a butter alternative (coconut oil or margarine) and flax eggs (combine a tablespoon of flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of water for each egg, and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes).
Spice them up: Add some ground cinnamon or ginger.
Zest up the dough: Add the lemon juice and zest to the cookie dough instead of to the filling.
Another citrus: Use orange juice and zest instead of lemon.
A crunchy topping: Crumble over some freeze dried strawberries.
Serving Suggestions
For brunch: Contrast these cookies with a plate of breakfast tacos, crispy bacon and air fryer potatoes.
As a sweet snack: Sip state fair style lemonade or dalgona coffee with one (or two!) cookies.
For dessert: How about pairing cream cheese strawberry cookies with homemade ice cream?
How to Store Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Store: Keep the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator (they need to be chilled because of the dairy content in the cheesecake filling) and eat within 3 days.
Freeze: I haven’t frozen these but I should think they’d be fine to freeze in an airtight container with parchment paper between each layer.
Thaw: Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.
Top Tips
Room temperature dairy: Bring the cream cheese and butter to room temperature before starting the cookie dough balls recipe (this makes them easier to mix).
Balance the salt: If you’re using unsalted butter instead of salted butter, increase the amount of added salt to ¼ teaspoon.
Zesting the lemon: You can easily zest the lemon with a citrus zester (this one’s my fave!)
Line the plate: Line the plate with parchment paper before putting the cream cheese balls on there. This makes them easier to remove once cool.
Let them cool before moving: Allow the baked cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets before transferring. You can transfer them to the cooling rack after 3 or 4 minutes if you’re careful (it’s easier if you wait 10 minutes though!)
Use a spatula: A spatula is the best tool to use when transferring the cookies on to the cooling rack.
Cream Cheese Strawberry Cookie FAQs
Yes and no. You can make the batter up to the point before you add the strawberries. Put the batter in the fridge and use it within 2 days. If you already added the strawberries to the batter and refrigerated overnight, they won’t look as fresh.
I cleaned them and patted them dry as much as possible before dicing them. When I diced the strawberries, I diced them small (about the size of a chocolate chunk), thinking they would be on a cookie. Once diced, I patted them dry again with a paper towel (it’s surprising how much liquid they contain!)
Don’t use frozen strawberries. If you add chopped frozen strawberries directly into the batter they will leak and turn the batter red. If you thaw them and pat them dry and add them to the batter, they’ll still add too much liquid to the batter and the cookies will spread out even more during baking. Even if you put the frozen strawberries in a colander and add ⅓ cup of sugar to dry them out, the flavor won’t be right – they’ll be too sweet and not offer the clean flavor you only get using fresh strawberries.
I used a Danish dough whisk (this is mine!) instead of a hand mixer. Mix until the flour is completely combined with the other ingredients. Not overmixing achieves a soft cookie. If you use a hand mixer, I suggest adding ⅓ of the flour mixture at a time.
Cream Cheese Strawberry Cookie Recipe
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Scoop 1½ Tablespoon Size
- Cookie Scoop 2 Teaspoon Size
Ingredients
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- ¾ Cup cream cheese, 6 Ounces, at room temperature
- ⅓ Cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ Tablespoon lemon zest
For the Cookies:
- 2¾ Cups all purpose flour
- 1 Teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ Teaspoon salt
- 1 Cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ Cup strawberries, fresh, diced
Instructions
Make the Cream Cheese Filling:
- Line a plate with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix until all ingredients are combined and the mixture looks like a thick pudding.
- Use a 2-teaspoon size cookie scoop to scoop the cream cheese mixture into balls.
- Place the balls on the prepared plate.
- Freeze for 20 minutes or refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes.
Make the Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer, mix the butter and sugar. Mix for 2 or 3 minutes until it looks airy and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and the vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Add half of the dry mixture, and mix until you have no more dry flour visible. Add the remaining of the dry mixture. Mix well (with a Danish dough whisk if you have one) but don’t overmix.
- Carefully add the strawberries to the batter. Use a spatula or cooking spoon and fold them in. You don’t want to over-mix or use a hand mixer as this can lead to the breaking of the strawberries and more liquid in your batter.
- Use a 1½-tablespoon size cookie scoop to scoop the batter into balls. Arrange half of them on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Press down on each cookie ball creating a disc, about 2 inches wide. It will be sticky, so I would suggest placing about 5 to 6 balls of the batter on the cookie sheet and then proceeding to press down. Or use the back of a spoon coated with butter.
- Once the dough is flattened, add a cream cheese ball and scoop another ball of batter on top.
- Place in your hand to flatten it out and cover the cream cheese ball.
- Gently press down to seal the cream cheese mixture in the cookie.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 14 to 16 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center of the cookie is set.
- Cool in the pan for 3 or 4 minutes and then gently transfer them onto a cooling rack. Be careful when transferring the soft cookies – use a spatula. Let them cool completely before serving.
Notes
Balance the salt: If you’re using unsalted butter instead of salted butter, increase the amount of added salt to ¼ teaspoon.
Zesting the lemon: You can easily zest the lemon with a citrus zester.
Line the plate: Line the plate with parchment paper before putting the cream cheese balls on there. This makes them easier to remove once cool.
Let them cool before moving: Allow the baked cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets before transferring. You can transfer them to the cooling rack after 3 or 4 minutes if you’re careful (it’s easier if you wait 10 minutes though!)
Use a spatula: A spatula is the best tool to use when transferring the cookies on to the cooling rack.
Nutrition
These strawberry cream cheese cookies are so good. They’re not hard to whip up and the flavors are fantastic. Juicy strawberries, cream cheese and lemon, sweetened with sugar, makes the most delicious cream cheese filling, while the cookie batter is made with vanilla, fresh strawberries and all the usual suspects such as flour, butter and so on. These gorgeous cookies are easy to make and even easier to eat!
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
These strawberry cheesecake cookies were so soft and buttery, everyone wanted seconds.
These were such a hit! The cream cheese filling was an unexpected but amazing surprise.
The cream cheese surprise inside was amazing. I’ll definitely be making these again soon!