These strawberry cheesecake cookies start with a chewy brown sugar graham cracker cookie. A large dollop of creamy cheesecake filling is spread over the cookies and then strawberry jam is spooned on top. Diced, fresh strawberries are sprinkled over the cookies for that final touch. These cookies have the best combination of textures with chewy cookies, creamy cheesecake filling and jam, and juicy fresh strawberries.
I love cheesecakes as you will see if you search my cheesecake category! Cheesecakes are so delicious but most are a labor of love and time.
I wanted to bottle up that cheesecake flavor into an easy-to-make cookie. And what better pairing with cheesecake than strawberries! And of course, the graham cracker crust needed to be featured in these strawberry cheesecake cookies.
Ingredient highlights
While these cookies mostly use standard pantry staples, here are a few notes on the ingredients you'll need.
- All-purpose flour- no crazy flour needed for these cookies!
- Graham cracker crumbs- the cookies have finely ground graham cracker crumbs both in the dough and rolled in the crumbs before baking to simulate a delicious graham cracker crust. 5-6 full graham cracker sheets is all that is needed.
- Baking soda- Used to provide a little lift to the cookies.
- Salt- I always use kosher salt in my baking recipes. If you are using table salt, typically you'll want to use about half the amount called for.
- Unsalted butter- Unsalted butter lets me control the amount of salt in the recipe. Start with softened butter. If you only have salted butter, leave all or some of the salt out of the recipe.
- Brown Sugar- I used all brown sugar in the cookies for extra chewiness and that deeper molasses flavor that only comes from brown sugar. You can use light or dark brown sugar.
- Egg- Just one egg is needed.
- Vanilla extract- A staple in baking, this just adds more flavor to the cookie base as well as the cream cheese filling.
- Cream cheese- Full-fat cream cheese is the best, but in this recipe, you could sub low-fat cream cheese if you prefer.
- Powdered Sugar- This is used to sweeten the cream cheese filling.
- Strawberry Preserves/Jam- Use a good quality strawberry jam to dollop on top of the cream cheese filling. I like these strawberry preserves.
How to shape and fill the cookies
After baking the graham cracker cookies, you will immediately flatten the center of the cookies to prepare for the fillings. After removing the cookie sheet from the oven, use the back of a spoon to push down the middle of each cookie creating a small indentation.
Let the cookies cool completely before filling with the cheesecake filling. Once they are cool, dollop about a tablespoon of cheesecake filling onto each cookie. I like to use a small cookie scoop for this but you can just use two spoons if you don't have one.
Next, use the back of a spoon or a knife to swirl the cheesecake filling evenly into the indentation. Use a spoon to then dollop about a teaspoon of the strawberry preserves on top of the cream cheese filling. I used the back of the spoon to even out the preserves and push them slightly into the cream cheese.
Sprinkle some diced fresh strawberries on top of the jam and dig in!
Tips for amazing cookies
Here are a few tips to make sure your cookies turn out perfect!
- Measure the flour correctly! Flour is one of the hardest things to measure in baking. If you scoop directly from the bag of flour or canister of flour with a measuring cup, you will likely be packing down the flour and end up with too much. This will lead to dry baked goods. Instead use the spoon and level method where you spoon flour into a measuring cup lightly and then level off the top of the measuring cup. The other foolproof way is to use a simple kitchen scale. This one is super affordable and is perfect for measuring things in a bowl as the display juts out in front.
- Use finely ground graham cracker crumbs. Because some of the flour in these cookies is replaced with graham cracker crumbs, make sure they are finely ground. The cookie dough balls will also roll easier in finely ground crumbs.
- Wait to indent the cookies until after baking. I tested these cookies by indenting the cookie dough balls before baking. When I did it this way, the cookies spread more and the indent wasn't big enough to hold the cheesecake filling.
- Use room temperature cream cheese. Using cream cheese that is not room temperature will lead to a lumpy cheesecake filling. Make sure the cream cheese is softened before mixing it with the sugar and vanilla. If you need to use cold cream cheese quickly, unwrap it and place it on a microwave safe plate. Microwave on 50% power for 8-10 seconds and then flip it over and do the same for about 5 seconds.
FAQs
Sure! These are easily adapatable by just purchasing your favorite fruit preserves and sprinkling some of the same fresh fruit over the top of the cookies.
Yes, just roll smaller balls of cookie dough. Indent the same way as the bigger cookies and just add less cheesecake filling and strawberry preserves. The cookies will also take less time to bake so start checking them earlier.
How to store cookies with cream cheese
Because of the cheesecake filling, the cookies should be stored in the refrigerator. Place them in a single layer in an air-tight container. The can be kept refrigeratred for 4-5 days.
The flavors are more pronounced when they have sat at room temperature so remove them from the fridge about 15 minutes before serving.
How to freeze the cookies
The cookies can be frozen but I would recommend freezing them without the cream cheese filling. The cookies can be frozen as cookie dough balls and then baked from frozen. They will need 1-2 more minutes if baking from frozen.
You can also bake the cookies first and freeze them without the cheesecake filling and preserves. Let them come to room temperature and then fill them with the fillings.
For more strawberry recipes, check out these:
- Strawberry and Cream Scones
- Strawberry Mousse Pie
- Frozen Strawberry Cheesecake with a Pretzel Crust
- Strawberry Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Tag me on Instagram @themarblekitchenblog if you make this and leave a star rating and comment below! Thank you and enjoy!
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Cookie
- 1 ¼ cup (150 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (55 grams) graham cracker crumbs finely ground, divided (5-6 full graham cracker sheets)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cheesecake Filling
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup strawberry preserves
Fresh strawberries for topping if desired, finely diced
Instructions
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, ½ cup of graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Beat together butter and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes until lightened and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the dough (3 tablespoons if not using a cookie scoop). Roll each scooped ball into an even ball and roll into the remaining graham cracker crumbs.
- Bake 6 cookies at a time until golden brown, 12-13 minutes. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, use the back of a spoon to indent the middle of each cookie (see pictures).
- Let the cookies cool completely and then dollop about 1 tablespoon of the cheesecake filling onto each cookie into the indent. Smooth the cream cheese using the back of a spoon.
- Dollop about a teaspoon of strawberry preserves over the top of the cheesecake filling, smoothing it with the back of a spoon.
- Sprinkle diced strawberries on top of the cookies if desired and enjoy!
Cheesecake Filling
- In a medium bowl, beat together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Notes
- Store the cookies in an air-tight container in a single layer for up to 5 days. Remove from the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before serving.
Shirley Estes says
I made these today they was a hit for my family their like eating cheesecake will definitely make again
Tara Kringlen says
Thanks Shirley!
Caroline says
Absolutely delicious! One comment - the dough was too sticky and not clumpy with the amount of flower suggested, so we added another half cup. Other than that, excellent!
Tara Kringlen says
Thanks Caroline!