Name: strawberry cheesecake cookies recipe
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ½ cup chopped fresh strawberries; ½ teaspoon lemon zest; 1 tablespoon honey; 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature; ⅔ cup lightly packed brown sugar; 1 whole egg, at room temperature; 1 cup graham cracker crumbs; ¾ cup all-purpose flour; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; ¾ teaspoon cinnamon; ½ teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, for rolling; 4 ounces (½ block) cream cheese, at room temperature; 1 egg yolk, at room temperature; 2 teaspoons milk (I used oat milk); ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; ½ cup powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Ingredients

Units Scale

for the strawberry swirl:

1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon honey

for the cookie dough:

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 whole egg, at room temperature
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, for rolling

for the cheesecake filling:

4 ounces (1/2 block) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons milk (I used oat milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

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Instructions

Dice the fresh strawberries and zest the lemon.
Combine the strawberries and lemon zest in a blender cup and drizzle in your honey.
Blend until smooth, then pour the mixture into a shallow saucepan.
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until thickened slightly, then remove from the heat and cool. The fruit sauce will foam up a bit and get stickier as it cooks, so make sure to check on it and reduce heat as needed.
Break the graham crackers into a food processor and pulse into crumbs.
Combine the room temperature butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the whole egg.
Add graham cracker crumbs, all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to the bowl with the butter mixture.
Stir by hand until a soft dough comes together.
Scoop and shape the cookie dough into 12 balls, then arrange on a baking sheet or plate. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Combine the cream cheese, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
Whip until smooth using an electric mixer.
Sift the powdered sugar and cornstarch into the cream cheese mixture.
Continue whipping until the sugar is fully incorporated. The texture should be like a sleek frosting, but too runny to ice a cake with. This loose consistency is important when it comes time to swirl your strawberry sauce in!
Preheat your oven to 325℉. Roll the cookie dough balls in the granulated sugar and arrange them on parchment paper lined baking sheets. These cookies spread out quite a bit, so make sure to leave ample room in between. 6 cookies per baking sheet is best.
Press each cookie dough ball down using a glass or flat-bottomed bowl. You’re aiming for about ½ inch thickness here. Dust with additional granulated sugar if the dough is sticking to the glass.
Use a broad spoon to form a shallow well in the center of each dough disc. If any cracks form, just press them back together! This dough is really soft and forgiving. Again, if you find the dough is too sticky, sprinkle a bit more granulated sugar.
Fill each well with your cheesecake filling. The filling will expand a bit as it bakes, so try to slightly underfill each cookie.
Add 2-3 small dollops of strawberry sauce on top of the cheesecake filling.
Use a toothpick or chopstick to swirl the strawberry into the cheesecake mixture.
Bake for 16-20 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers of the cheesecake cookies are slightly jiggly.
Remove and let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack.