Soft Strawberries and Cream Cookies with Frosting
These chewy cookies are easier than they look, the perfect treat for any gathering, and since the ingredients include freeze-dried strawberries and strawberry jam and do not require any fresh fruit, you can make them any time of the year!
Because summer is strawberry season, of course, these cookies fit in well at that time of year but they would also make a great Valentine’s Day dessert or the perfect spring cookie! Fun fact – February 27th is National Strawberry Day and the first time I ever made these cookies was for a 4th of July party because the swirls reminded me of a firework. So, really, a year-round treat! I initially made these as an alternative to strawberry shortcake and I even intended on naming them Strawberry Shortcake Cookies but after I recipe tested and tasted these perfect cookies, they just had to be named after strawberries and cream!
Ingredients to Make Strawberries and Cream Cookies
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray
- KAMUT® White Flour or All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Fine Salt
- Cold or Softened Unsalted Butter (for cookies)
- White Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Strawberry Jam
- Softened Unsalted Butter (for frosting)
- Powdered Sugar
- Softened Cream Cheese
Tools to Make Strawberries and Cream Cookies
- Cookie Sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Food Processor or Kitchen Mallet/Meat Tenderizer
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Small and Medium Mixing Bowls
- Whisk or Dough Hook
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer and Bowl
- Cookie Scoop
- Kitchen Scale
- Small whisk
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Piping Bags
- Piping Tips (Round #10 & #12)
- Spatulas
All About Ingredients
To get that strong strawberry flavor without too much moisture, this cookie dough recipe includes strawberry powder rather than fresh strawberries. If you can find already ground strawberry powder, that is a great option but you can also use freeze-dried fruit and grind it yourself in a food processor or a zip-top bag with a kitchen mallet or meat tenderizer. I’ve tried both methods and prefer the finer ground powder that comes from using the food processor because the finished cookies freeze better. This is because larger pieces create a crunch which is nice when the cookies are fresh but these crunchy bits will lose their crunchy texture and become chewy after freezing and thawing.
I use KAMUT® White Flour for this recipe and most of my recipes because I love the taste and I love that it adds more nutritional value to my baked goods but I write my recipes for both KAMUT® White Flour and regular, all-purpose flour. (You can learn more about KAMUT® Brand Wheat here.)
As for the wet ingredients, I use cold butter when I make these strawberry cookies because that allows me to reduce dough chill time. For many cookie recipes, cold butter also allows me to bake without notice. For these strawberry cookies, you will still need to plan ahead (even if you are using cold butter) since the frosting requires room-temperature butter and cream cheese. And on the topic of cold vs room temperature butter, I only recommend cold butter if you are using a powerful bowl-lift stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. If you are using a tilt-head stand mixer or a hand mixer, I recommend room-temperature butter and I have notes in the recipe for both cold and softened butter.
For the topping, use any regular cream cheese and any jam that you like as long as the jam is not too chunky.
How to Make Strawberries and Cream Cookies
Start with the freeze-dried strawberries and pulse in a food processor or use a zip-top bag and a kitchen mallet or meat tenderizer to crush the pieces into a powder. Mix strawberry powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a dough hook or whisk and set dry ingredients aside.
In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and both sugars until smooth then add eggs, one at a time, and mix until just combined. Add vanilla and mix until just combined.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in one or a few batches and mix until just combined. Add the flour mixture in a few batches if using a hand mixer or a small stand mixer.
Using a 1-ounce cookie scoop, place up to 6 evenly spaced level scoops of cookie dough on each baking sheet. Chill prepared sheets (with unbaked cookie dough balls) for 30 minutes in the refrigerator then bake cookies for 16-18 minutes until the edges of the cookies are just starting to turn golden brown. Rotate the cookie sheets and swap oven racks halfway through the bake time.
Transfer each tray to a cooling rack and to guarantee that chewy texture, let the cookies cool completely on the trays while you prepare the frosting and jelly to go on top.
Frosting & Jelly Swirl Topping
In a stand mixer or a medium or large bowl with a hand mixer, combine the softened butter and cream cheese. Mix on a low speed then increase to medium and continue until the mixture is smooth. Right over the same bowl (if using a hand or tilt head mixer) or over a separate medium bowl (if using a bowl-lift mixer), sift the powdered sugar. Regardless of the mixing method, add the powdered sugar in a few batches and start the mixer on a low speed to incorporate the powdered sugar before you add more.
After all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, add salt and vanilla and mix in then increase the mixer to medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes until you get a fluffy frosting that will be easy to pipe onto the strawberry cookies. Prepare a piping bag with a medium round tip (I use a Wilton 12 tip) and fill it with prepared frosting. Set aside.
Place strawberry jam in a small bowl and whisk until it has loosened up and is thin enough to pipe. Prepare a piping bag with a small round tip (I use a Wilton 10 tip) and fill it with prepared jam/jelly. Set aside.
When cookies are cool, start with the frosting and begin to make a swirl on each cookie, starting on the edge of the cookie and working your way to the center, leaving space between each frosting swirl for the jam swirl. This does not need to be perfect!
Next, pipe a thinner swirl of jam in the empty space on each cookie, alongside the frosting swirl. Aim to end up with quite a bit more frosting than jam for the best taste, texture, and overall look. Again, this does not need to be perfect but you can fix any chunky-looking jam spots with a toothpick.
I hope you enjoy! Please send any questions about this recipe my way!
Soft Strawberries and Cream Cookies with Frosting
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups freeze-dried strawberries (or 1/3 cup strawberry powder)
- 2 cups KAMUT® White Flour (or 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 12 TBSP unsalted butter *see note
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 TBSP vanilla extract
Frosting Swirl
- 8 TBS unsalted butter, softened
- 12 oz powdered sugar
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened (regular not low-fat block)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp fine salt
Jam Swirl
- ½ cup strawberry jam
Special Equipment/Tools Needed
- food processor or kitchen mallet
- kitchen scale
- fine mesh strainer
- piping bags
- piping tips (Wilton round #10 & round #12 or equivalent)
Instructions
Cookies
- Pulse freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor or use a zip-top bag and a kitchen mallet to crush the pieces into a powder.
- Mix strawberry powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a dough hook or whisk and set dry ingredients aside.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and both sugars until smooth then add eggs, one at a time, and mix until just combined. Add vanilla and mix until just combined.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in one or a few batches and mix until just combined.
- Using a 1-ounce cookie scoop, place up to 6 evenly spaced level scoops of cookie dough on each baking sheet.
- Refrigerate trays for 30 minutes and preheat oven to 350℉ **see note
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- Bake cookies for 16-18 minutes until the edges of the cookies are just starting to turn golden brown. Rotate the cookie sheets and swap oven racks halfway through bake time.
- Transfer trays to a cooling racks and allow cookies to cool completely while making frosting and jelly toppings.
Frosting & Jam Swirl Topping
- In a stand mixer or a medium or large bowl with a hand mixer, combine the softened butter and cream cheese.
- Right over the same bowl (if using a hand or tilt head mixer) or over a separate medium bowl (if using a bowl-lift mixer), sift the powdered sugar. Add the powdered sugar in a few batches and start the mixer on a low speed to incorporate the powdered sugar before you add more.
- Add salt and vanilla and mix in then increase the mixer to medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes until fluffy and lighter in color.
- Prepare a piping bag with a medium round tip (Wilton 12 or equivalent) and fill with prepared frosting. Set aside.
- Place strawberry jam in a small bowl and whisk with a small whisk or fork until it has loosened up and is thin enough to pipe.
- Prepare a piping bag with a small round tip (Wilton 10 or equivalent) and fill with prepared jam. Set aside.
- With frosting, begin to make a swirl on each cookie, starting on the edge of the cookie and working your way to the center, leaving space between each frosting swirl for the jam swirl.
- Next, pipe a thinner swirl of jam in the empty space on each cookie, alongside the frosting swirl.
- Optional: Smooth out any chunky-looking jam spots with a toothpick.
