These Strawberry Shortcake Cookies are soft, thick, and brimming with white chocolate chips, buttery shortbread cookies, and freeze dried strawberries!
There’s really no dessert quite as reminiscent of summer as strawberry shortcake. With lusciously juicy strawberries, tender poundcake, and fluffy whipped cream, there’s something so incredibly comforting about this combination of flavors and textures.
So to honor this summer classic, I decided to combine all of the wonderful elements of strawberry shortcake into one delectably scrumptious cookie…
Why You’ll LOVE These Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
Exceptionally Soft, Thick, and Chewy: These cookies bake up extra soft in the center and perfectly chewy around the edges. They’re supremely thick and deliciously doughy throughout. Just like a cookie SHOULD be.
Loaded with Goodies: These cookies are absolutely brimming with white chocolate chips, shortbread cookies, AND freeze dried strawberries.
Easy and Quick to Make: You can easily whip these cookies up in less than an hour. There’s no dough chilling involved, and the instructions are super simple and straightforward.
What Makes These Strawberry Shortcake Cookies So Heavenly?
Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix – My favorite ingredient for baking up soft and doughy cookies is instant pudding mix. Not only does it add a soft chewy bite to the cookie, but it adds a nice vanilla sweetness as well. The cookies also bake up EXTRA thick, so you don’t have to worry about chilling the dough beforehand. Once the dough is mixed, it’s ready to bake!
Buttery Shortbread Cookies – I used Keebler’s Sandies Shortbread Cookies, but pretty much any brand of shortbread cookie will work. They’re buttery, melt in your mouth, and they provide a nice crunch to the cookie. They’re also not as sweet as your typical vanilla wafer, balancing out the overall sweetness of the cookie. Other shortbread cookie brands I recommend are Lorna Doone, Walkers, and Pepperidge Farm.
Freeze Dried Strawberries – The beauty of freeze dried strawberries is that they add all the strawberry sweetness without the excess moisture. You’re also getting REAL strawberries and avoiding artificial flavors and dyes. I bought my freeze dried strawberries at Trader Joe’s, but you should also be able to find them in the snack aisle, produce area, or natural food/organic section of most grocery stores.
Cream Cheese – Swapping out some of the butter for some cream cheese is a trick that I’ve used in other cookie recipes. The cream cheese adds richness, depth, and softness to a cookie that butter alone can’t achieve. It provides a pillowy texture and a subtle tang, while also preventing excess spread in the oven.
Almond Extract – To give the cookie that nostalgic bakery-style sugar cookie flavor, almond extract is a must. Not only does it add an indescribable sweetness to the cookie, but it really brings out the flavor of the strawberries. It’s much more potent than vanilla extract, so you only need to add 1/4 teaspoon to the dough.
Can I use fresh strawberries instead of freeze dried strawberries?
I wouldn’t recommend it due to the amount of moisture that fresh strawberries contain. They have the potential to bake up mushy and wet–no bueno!
Can I make these ahead of time?
Absolutely! However, instead of refrigerating the entire bowl of cookie dough, I recommend scooping and rolling the dough first. The dough is a lot easier to work with when it’s soft since the warmth of the dough holds everything together better. Refrigerating the dough will also prevent the cookies from spreading much in the oven, so I also recommend flattening the balls of dough into “pucks” no thicker than a 1/2 inch. You can either store the dough “pucks” in an airtight container, or wrapped tightly on a plate for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Can I freeze the dough or the cookies?
Yes to both! If freezing the dough, use the same advice I gave above by scooping and rolling the dough individually. Place them onto a baking sheet and freeze until frozen solid. Then transfer the cookie dough pucks to a freezer-safe ziplock bag or a freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake, remove from the freezer, and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
If freezing the cookies after they’ve baked, allow them to cool completely before placing them into a freezer-safe ziplock bag or a freezer-friendly container. They’ll keep for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat them, take them out of the freezer and let them thaw at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. You can also heat them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to speed up the thawing process.
Oh! And FYI, these cookies taste PHENOMENAL with vanilla ice cream. I recommend heating one (or 5) in a bowl in the microwave for about 20 seconds, then topping with a massive scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
You’re welcome…
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup chopped shortbread cookies*, plus more for topping
- ½ cup white chocolate chips, plus more for topping
- 1.2 ounces freeze dried strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt until combined; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese, and both sugars together until lightened in color and creamy.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract followed by the pudding mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then dump in the flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Stir in the shortbread cookies, white chocolate chips, and freeze dried strawberries by hand.
- Scoop the dough out, roll into a ball, flatten into a thick disc, then place onto the lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges begin to turn golden. Centers may appear undercooked, but will set up as they cool.
- Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, gently press a few bits of shortbread cookies into the top of each cookie along with extra white chocolate chips.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.