Strawberry shortcake cookies are soft, chewy and buttery cookies filled with fresh sweet strawberries and crunchy shortbread cookie crumbs. This strawberry shortcake cookie recipe is easy to make and tastes like shortcake in cookie form.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
A few of my favorite berry cookie recipes from the blog are my Lemon Blueberry Cookies, White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies, Lemon Raspberry Cookies and Strawberry Cookies. These strawberry filled shortcake cookies are another berry cookie recipe I know you will love.
- Layers of flavors and textures. From the soft and chewy cookie bursting with tart and juicy strawberries and buttery cookie crumbs, to the sweet and crunchy shortbread crumbs topping these baked cookies, these short cake inspired strawberry cookies will delight your senses.
- Easy to make, bake and eat. These cookies taste like you just bought it from a bakery, but they’re actually so easy to make. Simply mix up the make the shortbread crumbs, mix up the cookie dough, chill the dough, scoop, bake and enjoy.
- You like strawberry shortcake. This cookie captures the flavors of a classic strawberry shortcake perfectly. For an even more fun twist on a classic, swap these cookies in place of shortcake biscuits and make my easy strawberry shortcake recipe.
Ingredients
This recipe for strawberry short cake cookies requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need.
Shortbread Crumbs
Gather flour, sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder and melted butter.
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
- Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather unsalted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, an egg and egg yolk, vanilla extract and fresh strawberries.
Substitutions
These short cake flavored strawberry cookies are as easy to make as they are delicious. Here are my recommended substitutions to make these chewy cookies if you need them.
- All purpose flour: Make these shortcake strawberry cookies gluten free by using a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend measuring the dough based on weight (300 g) versus by cups and using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These both act as leaveners in these cookies.
- Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar: Maple sugar would also work well to make this refined sugar free.
- Unsalted Butter: Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Vanilla Extract: This is more for background flavor and nicely enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Strawberries: You can fresh or freeze dried strawberries. I prefer the look and overall structure of these cookies when using fresh diced strawberries.
Variations
- Add 1 cup white chocolate chips to the cookie dough at the same time as the diced strawberries and shortbread crumbs.
- Top the cookies with a vanilla glaze by mixing 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar with 1 -2 tablespoons heavy cream and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract until well combined. Drizzle on top of the fully cooled strawberry short cake cookies.
How To Make
Learn how to make strawberry shortcake cookies in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (163 C). Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Make the shortbread crumbs. Whisk the flour, sugar, light brown sugar, and baking powder together until well combined. Using a fork, gently mix in the melted butter a couple of teaspoons at a time until the mixture resembles a streusel or crumb topping. Transfer the shortbread crumbs to the prepared baking sheet. Bake the crumbs for about 15 minutes or until the shortbread crumbs are lightly golden brown. Allow the crumbs to fully cool to room temperature before using in the cookie recipe. This makes about 1 cup shortbread crumbs.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside for now.
3. In another large mixing bowl, cream the cool room temperature butter with the granulated sugar and light brown sugar until well combined, about 2 -3 minutes on medium speed. Cream in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. With the mixer on low, mix the dry ingredients into the wet until mostly combined with a few flour streaks. With the mixer on low or by hand, mix in ½ cup shortbread crumbs and fresh, diced strawberries until just combined. Cover the chill the strawberry shortcake cookie dough for at least 2 - 3 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) for about 20-30 minutes before baking the cookies. Line 1 -2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons, 30 ml), scoop the cookie dough into balls and place the cookie dough onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches ( 8 cm) apart. Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 10 -12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and are a light golden brown. Cool the chewy shortcake cookies with strawberries on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. While the cookies are cooling, top them with more shortbread crumbs. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: Place the baked strawberry shortcake cookies in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 4 - 5 days.
- Freeze Dough: Prepare the strawberry and shortbread cookies through the chilling step. Chill for 30 minutes then scoop the dough into balls onto small lined baking sheet or large plate. Freeze the cookie balls for 20 minutes then transfer them to a freezer proof container for up to 2 months. Thaw the cookie dough balls in the fridge overnight and proceed with the cookie recipe as written starting with baking. Alternatively, the cookies can be baked from frozen, but will need a bit longer to bake in the oven.
- Freeze Baked Cookies: Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature transfer them to a freezer proof container in a single lined with parchment paper between each layer. Freeze for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours. Keep in mind that the frozen and thawed strawberries may alter the texture of the cookies once frozen.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the shortcake strawberry cookies is to let them sit out at room temperature until thawed.
M’s Expert Tips
- Use fresh, firm and sweet strawberries. Fresh strawberries diced into small pieces are the best to ensure strawberry flavor in every bite. Frozen strawberries are not recommended for this cookie recipe.
- Measure the flour properly. I highly recommend using a food scale to get perfectly measured ingredients every time.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Give your cookies a “cookie scoot.” Within the first 1 minute of removing the cookies from the oven, use a large biscuit cutter (wider than the cookies) to help shape any cookies back into a more round shape. Place the cutter over the cookies so the edges of the cookie are inside the cookie/ biscuit cutter. In a circular motion, gently nudge the edges back into a round shape.
- Top the cookies with more shortbread crumbs. These strawberry short cake cookies look even more beautiful when topped with more of the baked shortbread crumbs. Make sure to top the cookies while they are still warm so the crumbs are more likely to stick to the cookie.
FAQs
Chilling these shortbread filled strawberry cookies is an important step and should not be skipped. Chilling the cookie dough keeps the cookies from spreading too much and gives the cookies a better, chewier texture onced baked.
Fresh strawberries should be diced into very small pieces, similar to the size of mini chocolate chips. The strawberries should be firm, sweet and preferably in season. If the strawberries release a lot of juice try to pat the excess juice from strawberries There is no need to add a lot of strawberry juice to the cookies.
Most likely the butter was too warm before mixing into the cookie dough. The room temperature butter should be cool to the touch and not greasy or too soft. Another reason could be the oven temperature is off or the cookie dough didn’t chill long enough.
Yes, the smaller the strawberry pieces, the better for these cookies. Cutting the strawberries into pieces about the size of mini chocolate chips ensures each bite of cookie has strawberries. Fresh strawberries are the best, while frozen strawberries release too much moisture. That can turn these cookies from chewy to more cake like.
Other Strawberry Recipes to Try
- Strawberry Banana Pudding
- Easy Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Cobbler
- Strawberry Cream Cake
- Strawberry Danish
- Strawberry Dump Cake
If you try this Strawberry Shortcake Cookies recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- 1 small baking sheet
- 2 - 3 mixing bowls
- 1 knife
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 - 2 large baking sheets
- 2 sheets parchment paper
- 1 medium (2 tablespoon, 30 ml) cookie scoop optional
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookie Crumbs
- ⅓ cup (40 g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons (46 ml) melted butter, cooled slightly
Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
- 2½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (150 g) unsalted butter, room temperature (still cool to the touch)
- ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- ¾ cup diced fresh strawberries about 5 - 7 strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (163 C). Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.Make the shortbread crumbs. Whisk the flour, sugar, light brown sugar, and baking powder together until well combined. Using a fork, gently mix in the melted butter a couple of teaspoons at a time until the mixture resembles a streusel or crumb topping.⅓ cup (40 g) all purpose flour, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, 3 tablespoons (46 ml) melted butter, cooled slightly
- Transfer the shortbread crumbs to the prepared baking sheet. Bake the crumbs for about 15 minutes or until the shortbread crumbs are lightly golden brown. Allow the crumbs to fully cool to room temperature before using in the cookie recipe. This makes about 1 cup shortbread crumbs.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside for now.Dice the strawberries into small pieces about the size of mini chocolate chips. Pat dry if the berries are especially juicy.2½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In another large mixing bowl, cream the cool room temperature butter with the granulated sugar and light brown sugar until well combined, about 2 -3 minutes on medium speed. Cream in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. With the mixer on low, mix the dry ingredients into the wet until mostly combined with a few flour streaks. With the mixer on low or by hand, mix in ½ cup shortbread crumbs and fresh, diced strawberries until just combined.Cover the chill the strawberry shortcake cookie dough for at least 2 - 3 hours.¾ cup (150 g) unsalted butter, room temperature , ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 1 large egg, room temperature, 1 large egg yolk, room temperature, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract , ¾ cup diced fresh strawberries
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) for about 20-30 minutes before baking the cookies. Line 1 -2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons, 30 ml), scoop the cookie dough into balls and place the cookie dough onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches (8 cm) apart.
- Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 10 -12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and are a light golden brown. Cool the chewy shortcake cookies with strawberries on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. While the cookies are cooling, top them with the reamaining ½cup shortbread crumbs. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature and enjoy.
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