Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies: Soft Sugar Cookies with Jammy Strawberries and a Creamy Center

Strawberry cheesecake is hard to beat, and these cookies put it in your hand. The dough is a soft, buttery sugar cookie swirled with homemade strawberry jam. Inside each cookie is a hidden center of creamy vanilla cheesecake filling. One bite gives you chewy cookie, fruity pockets, and a soft middle.

This is a project recipe, and the payoff is worth the time. You make the filling, cook down fresh strawberries into a thick jam, and then fold everything into the dough. Most of the time is hands-off while the filling freezes and the jam simmers. The recipe makes 20 cookies.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Cheesecake in cookie form. A frozen cream cheese disc melts into a creamy center as the cookie bakes.
• Real strawberry flavor. The jam is made from fresh strawberries, and it’s swirled through the dough in jammy pockets.
• Soft and chewy. The base is a buttery sugar cookie.
• Pretty results. The recipe includes a trick for shaping each cookie into a neat circle.
• A good batch size. You get 20 cookies.

Recipe Card

• Prep time: 2 hours
• Cook time: 11 minutes (the instructions say 11 to 12 minutes)
• Total time: 2 hours 11 minutes
• Yield: 20 cookies

Ingredients

For the cheesecake filling

• 6 oz (170 g) cream cheese, cold
• 3 tbsp (38 g) granulated white sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

For the strawberry jam

• 12 oz (340 g) fresh strawberries, hulled and finely diced
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar

For the cookies

• 2 3/4 cups (344 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
• 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, very softened
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar, for rolling dough in

Before You Start

This recipe has three parts that you make in order: the frozen filling, the jam, and the dough. Here’s how to plan it.

Start with the filling. It has to freeze solid, so make it first.

Make the jam while the filling freezes. The jam simmers for about 45 minutes, then chills in the fridge while you work on the dough.

Use very soft butter. The dough calls for very softened butter, and the egg should be at room temperature. The cream cheese for the filling should be cold.

How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

Part 1: Make the Cheesecake Filling

1. Line a pan. Cover a small cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the filling. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until fluffy and the sugar has dissolved.
3. Portion it. Scoop the filling onto the lined sheet in 20 portions of about 2 teaspoons each. Press each scoop down slightly with the back of a spoon so it looks like a thick disc, not a ball.
4. Freeze. Put the sheet in the freezer until the discs are completely frozen.

Part 2: Cook the Strawberry Jam

5. Start the jam. Put the diced strawberries and sugar in a medium pot over medium heat.
6. Simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes. Halfway through, mash the strawberries with a wooden spoon.
7. Stir near the end. As the jam thickens, it will start sticking to the bottom of the pan. Stir continuously toward the end.
8. Check the thickness. The jam should be very thick and reduced to a heaping 1/3 cup (80 ml).
9. Chill. Take the pot off the heat and put the jam in the fridge while you make the dough.

Part 3: Make the Cookie Dough

10. Heat the oven and line the pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
11. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set it aside.
12. Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer on high speed for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. A stand mixer with the paddle attachment works too.
13. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is pale and very fluffy.
14. Add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed, just until combined.

Part 4: Swirl in the Jam and Fill

15. Layer the jam. Push about three-quarters of the dough to one side of the bowl. Flatten the remaining quarter on the bottom of the bowl, and spoon a quarter of the jam over it. Add another quarter of the dough on top, followed by another quarter of the jam. Repeat two more times. This spreads the jam out evenly.
16. Fold gently. Use a rubber spatula to cut the dough into quarters. Fold each section just until the jam is slightly worked in. Don’t mix it completely. You want little pockets of jam in the dough.
17. Portion the dough. Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to make 20 portions.
18. Fill the cookies. Flatten each portion slightly. Place a frozen cheesecake disc in the center, then close the dough around it. Make sure the filling is completely covered.
19. Shape and coat. Shape each filled portion into a slightly flattened disc, not a ball. Roll it in the sugar for rolling.

Part 5: Bake

20. Arrange on the pan. Place the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Keep the rest of the cheesecake discs in the freezer until you’re ready for each batch.
21. Bake. Bake 6 cookies at a time for 11 to 12 minutes.
22. Shape them. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, move a large round cookie cutter around each one to nudge it into a neat circle.
23. Cool. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes. Then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Tips and Variations

Freeze the filling solid. Frozen discs are easier to wrap in dough and stay in place better during baking.

Work in batches. Keep the unused cheesecake discs in the freezer until you need them.

Stir the jam near the end. It sticks easily once it gets thick.

Don’t overmix the jam. Little pockets of jam give the cookies their jammy bursts.

Cover the filling completely. Make sure no cheesecake is showing before baking.

Flatten the dough slightly. The recipe says the dough doesn’t spread as well if it’s left as a ball.

Measure the flour carefully. Spoon it into the cup and level it.

Use the cutter trick. Scooting a round cutter around the hot cookies gives them a perfect circle.

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Serving Suggestions

The recipe doesn’t suggest specific pairings. After the cookies cool completely on the rack, serve them as they are. Their cream cheese centers and jam pockets make them a good fit for a dessert plate.

Final Thoughts

These cookies take some planning, but each step is simple. The jam, filling, and dough all come together into a soft cookie that really does taste like strawberry cheesecake. Make them when you have an afternoon to spare, and share a few.