Strawberry sugar cookies are packed with freeze-dried strawberries for real, sweet strawberry flavor! These soft, chewy cookies can be ready in less than an hour and require no chilling time.
Why you'll love this recipe
Flavor/texture: Soft, chewy, and packed with fresh, sweet strawberry flavor. Coated in a crunchy sugar crust, much like my Soft Sugar Cookies recipe.
Yield: 32 cookies
No chilling needed: The dough doesn't need to chill before baking, so you can have a batch ready in less than an hour!
More sugar cookies: Soft Sugar Cookies, Pumpkin Sugar Cookies, Berry Swirl Cookies
Jump to:
Ingredients and substitutions
- Wet ingredients - Unsalted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract add moisture and flavor to your cookies. Butter and eggs must be room temperature to incorporate seamlessly into the dough. Place your butter and eggs on the counter 1 hour before beginning.
- Dry ingredients - All-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt balance with the wet ingredients to add structure and lift. I haven't tested this recipe with other types of flours, so I can't say how they'd turn out with substitutions. To avoid wasting ingredients, I highly suggest searching for a recipe that has been developed with the type of flour you'd like to use.
- Freeze-dried strawberries - A must for this recipe to work. You can find freeze-dried strawberries in the produce aisle or near the dried fruits and nuts at your local grocer. Fresh strawberries will not work in this recipe.
How to make strawberry sugar cookies
- Add freeze-dried strawberries to the bowl of a food processor.
- Cover and pulse until you have a fine powder. Set aside for now.
- Add butter and sugar to a large bowl and cream together with a hand mixer. Add egg and vanilla and cream together until fluffy. Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture and mix to combine. Your dough should look thick, but slightly sticky.
- Use a 1.5 tablespoon or medium cookie scoop to portion cookie dough. Roll in granulated sugar.
- Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake until the edges barely begin to brown and the tops look set and begin to crack. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Tips and tricks
Don't chill the dough - This recipe doesn't require any chilling time. If you do need to chill your dough before preparing your cookies, allow it to come back to room temperature before baking. Chilled/frozen dough won't spread nearly as much as room temperature dough.
How to bring ingredients to room temperature quickly - This recipe calls for room temperature eggs and butter. Add eggs to a bowl, cover with warm tap water, and allow to set for 10 minutes. Slice butter into thin pieces and allow to set on the countertop for 15 minutes.
Use a cookie scoop - For perfectly portioned cookies, use a cookie scoop (I used a medium OXO cookie scoop for this recipe).
Frequently asked questions
No, this recipe was developed to be made with freeze-dried strawberry powder only. Adding a very wet ingredient, like fresh/frozen strawberries or strawberry jam, changes the texture of the dough considerably and will result in a runny dough that is likely to spread and burn in the oven.
Sure! If you'd like a brighter pink cookie, feel free to add a few drops of food coloring along with the vanilla extract.
Cookies won't spread in the oven if too much flour was added or the dough is chilled/frozen. If your dough looks very thick and dry at room temperature, it sounds like too much flour was measuring into the recipe. Try adding 1-2 tablespoons of milk to thin the dough. Allow cold dough to come to room temperature before baking.
Cookies can spread too much if they're baked on a greased baking sheet instead of parchment paper, or if too many liquid ingredients are added (like butter, sugar, or trying to use fresh strawberries instead of freeze-dried strawberries). Try chilling your dough and baking on parchment to help your cookies spread less in the oven.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour, *measured properly
- 1.5 ounces (42 g) freeze dried strawberries
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, about a minute. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy, about a minute.
- In a food processor, add freeze-dried strawberries and pulse until you have a fine powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk (or sift) together the flour, strawberry powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined.
- Scoop dough using a 1.5 tablespoon (medium) scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 inch balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar.
- Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 11-14 minutes, or until cookies begin to crack on top and barely begin to brown around the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- * How to measure flour properly: Use a kitchen scale to measure flour for accurate results every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
- Storage: Cookies will keep for 3-5 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- Storing dough: Raw cookie dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag.
- Can I use fresh strawberries?: No. Freeze-dried strawberry can not be substituted with fresh strawberries. This recipe is developed for a dry ingredient like freeze-dried strawberry powder, not wet strawberries.
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
Comments
No Comments