These gourmet strawberry cheesecake cookies have a soft, graham cracker-infused base stuffed with cream cheese and strawberry jam. They are huge, indulgent, bakery-style treats! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Gourmet Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
I’ve been on a larger-than-life, gourmet cookie kick lately (have you tried my blueberry muffin cookies?), and these strawberry cheesecake cookies are my latest addition.
These soft, graham cracker based cookies are filled with a creamy cheesecake-inspired filling and a bright layer of sweet-tart strawberry jam. They are truly a joy to eat!
Huge, decadent, and bakery style, and this recipe is guaranteed to be the first thing to sell out at a bake sale. I like to top mine with chopped white chocolate bits too; they slightly caramelize in the oven, which adds even more flavor!
There is some chilling involved in today’s recipe, but it’s completely necessary and worth it for the best results. It’s truly magical to bite into one of these cookies and find a gooey strawberry cheesecake center…I can’t wait for you to experience it!
What You Need
There are quite a few ingredients involved in this recipe, but that’s what makes these strawberry cheesecake cookies so gourmet and flavorful! Here are a few worth paying attention to:
- Cream cheese. Let it soften a bit beforehand so it’s easier to work with.
- Strawberry jam. You can use store-bought or homemade strawberry jam, or you can make a batch of my strawberry sauce and use some of that here.
- Sour cream. There’s a very small bit of sour cream added to today’s recipe, but it’s important for a true cheesecake flavor. The tang of the sour cream adds a nice depth of flavor and keeps the cookie from being too sweet. Full-fat Greek yogurt would work instead!
- Cornstarch. As with my strawberry crumb bars, I add a bit of cornstarch here for a soft and tender bite. Cornstarch also prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
- White chocolate. This is optional, but I love the look and extra texture from a chopped white chocolate bar. I simply chop the bar into bits with a knife and press the bits into the cookie dough balls before chilling. You could skip this, or top the cookies with white chocolate chips.
SAM’S TIP: Just like we need the butter to be softened, we also need our eggs to be at room temperature. This ensures easy mixing and a more cohesive batter. If you forget to set yours out ahead of time–don’t fret! Just follow the instructions in my post on how to quickly bring eggs to room temperature.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Filling
- Stir the softened cream cheese and sugar together until combined.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla and stir well.
- Dollop 2 teaspoon sized scoops onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and place in the freezer.
Dough
- Cream together the softened butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Assembly
- Roll 2 tablespoon-sized scoops of dough between your palms, then use your thumb to press an indent in the center.
- Spoon 1 ½ teaspoons of strawberry jam into the indentation.
- Add a frozen cream cheese dollop on top of the jam.
- Place another scoop of dough on top. Seal the dough around the cookie to make sure the filling is all covered, otherwise it will leak out in the oven.
SAM’S TIP: Keep your frozen cream cheese dollops in the freezer and just work with one at at time. Pulling them all out will cause them to thaw prematurely, and we need them to stay nice and cold!
- Roll the dough between your palms to form a round ball.
- Press a few bits of white chocolate into the top of the ball (if using) and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, cream cheese dollops, jam, and chocolate then place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This last stint in the freezer helps keep the cookies from spreading too much, as the dough can warm quite a bit while you’re handling it.
- Place the chilled dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375F for 14-15 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool completely on their baking sheet before removing to enjoy.
SAM’S TIP: These cookies will be very fragile while they are still warm, so don’t remove them from the baking sheet until they’ve cooled.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cookies you’ll actually get out of this recipe varies depending on how much dough you use. With the recipe as written, you can absolutely get 15, but I always end up going a bit too heavy on my dough and have ended up with as few as 13. I wanted to account for that in the servings. If you are mindful of how much cookie dough you’re using, you’ll get 15!
Because of the cream cheese filling, it is best to refrigerate these cookies if you’re not enjoying them the same day. I recommend letting them come back to room temperature (let them sit out about 10-20 minutes) before enjoying if serving from the fridge, though.
Yes! Blueberry jam (or blueberry sauce), raspberry jam (or raspberry cake filling), cherry jam, lemon curd, or any other flavor jam/curd would work nicely here. I’d love to hear what combinations you try in the comments below!
Can’t get enough of this flavor combo? I’ve got a recipe for strawberry cheesecake you’ll want to try!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Filling
- 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese softened
- 2 ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon sour cream
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup strawberry jam or strawberry sauce
Cookies
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ⅓ cups (410 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (112 g) graham cracker crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons (18 g) cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 oz (85 g) white chocolate bar optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
Prepare filling
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar and stir until smooth and creamy.4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, 2 ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
- Add sour cream and vanilla extract and stir until thoroughly combined.1 Tablespoon sour cream, ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Line a small baking sheet with wax paper and dollop cream cheese mixture by 2-teaspoon sized portions onto sheet. Place in freezer while you prepare cookie dough.
Prepare cookie dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars and use an electric mixer to cream together until light and fluffy.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- Add egg and vanilla extract and stir well, until thoroughly combined.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.3 ⅓ cups (410 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (112 g) graham cracker crumbs, 2 Tablespoons (18 g) cornstarch, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet with mixer on medium-low speed. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl periodically to ensure ingredients are thoroughly combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and finely chop white chocolate (if using). Set aside.3 oz (85 g) white chocolate bar
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and scoop a 2-Tablespoon-sized portion. Roll into a ball and use your thumb to make a large crater in the center. Spoon 1 ½ teaspoons of strawberry jam into the crater then remove a portion of cream cheese filling from the freezer and nestle it into the jam. Scoop another 2 Tablespoon-sized portion of dough and use this to cover the cheesecake filling and roll between your palms to make a smooth ball.½ cup strawberry jam
- Lightly press white chocolate pieces into the surface of cookie dough ball.
- Place on a large plate or wax paper lined baking sheet and chill in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking. Repeat with remaining dough, jam, filling, and chocolate.
- After dough has chilled, place on parchment paper lined baking sheet, spacing at least 2” apart. Transfer to center rack of 375F (190C) preheated oven and bake for 14-15 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before enjoying.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours or in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Cookies taste best at room temperature, so I like to remove them from the fridge 10-15 minutes before enjoying.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Debbie Medima
The best recipe ever! This recipe has done wonders for my baking business! Thank you Sam!!
Sam
I’m so glad it’s such a hit, Debbie! I love hearing that it’s really helping you. 🙂
RedBlueSpice
Would it work to make ahead in this way?:
Make and freeze the dough in 2 tablespoons portions.
Make and freeze the cream cheese mixture.
The night before baking, thaw cookie dough in the fridge.
The next day, assemble and bake.
Would I need to slightly thaw the cream cheese mixture before assembling since they are frozen solid?
Thank you.
Sam
I think it would be better to assemble the whole cookie and then freeze it. You could then bake them from frozen, but it will need an extra minute or two in the oven. 🙂
RedBlueSpice
Thanks for the reply. I may just try it this way.
Carrie
Hi Sam!
I just made these and they are my families favorite so far! My daughter is requesting I make a chocolate cookie stuffed with salted caramel. Almost like a truffle. Can you recommend a base chocolate cookie recipe that would be ideal for stuffing?
We have tried so many of your recipes and they are absolutely amazing! Waiting for you to publish a book! Thank you again!
Sam
Hi Carrie! I have a chocolate lava cake cookie or fudge filled cookies could that could work. 🙂
K
Substituted strawberry for raspberry but I don’t think it would alter the quality either way! These were GOOD
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Emily
I made these exactly as the recipe stated. my butter was softened, the cream cheese was softened, I even used eggs at room temperature like it says in the ingredient list. when I mixed the two bowls, I did it gradually like a lot of recipes suggest and this one did too. my dough came out super dry. so dry that it won’t roll into a ball. if I try to force it into a ball when I press my thumb to make the indent it falls apart. what am I doing wrong? HELP!
Sam
Hi Emily! Did you make any substitutions on the dry ingredients? Did you weigh your flour? I have an article on how to measure flour that may be helpful. It sounds like there may have been a little too much flour in the dough. 🙁
Cindy
Could you mix the strawberry jam and cream cheese mixture together and freeze to stuff the cookie?
Sam
Hi Cindy! I think that could work. I’m not sure what it would look like getting them to stick together on a baking sheet to freeze though. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
lily
hey sam. love your stuff! I’ve tried a few of your recipes and they all came out amazing!
question: are these cookies freezable? if yes, how long are they good in the freezer?
Sam
Hi Lily! Unfortunately I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure how it would work. My only concern would be how the filling would hold up. If you do try it, please let me know how it goes. 🙂
lily
oh thank you so much! i will
Cat
My mouth is watering! But almost 500 calories for one cookie??
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yes! That’s because they are huge, indulgent, bakery-style treats! And if you read the other comments, you’ll see they’re totally worth the calories 😊
Jane
Decadent bakery style treats! My son asked me what bakery I bought them from! Each one is monstrous and could be split with two people… but everyone wanted their own! Absolutely worth the effort and will be made again!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jane! 🙂
Piper telepo
SO GOOOOD!
Laura
Absolutely delicious my entire family loved them! They are a commitment to make though. The dough was quite forgiving, I had a heck of a time rolling them into seamless balls but nothing leaked out. I did add a splash of fresh lemon juice to the cream cheese mixture that added to the delight! Will make again 🙂
Sharae
Made these yesterday and I am in love!! Very decadent!! I topped with your strawberry jam which helped balance the sweetness of the cookie.. I will make the Oreo cheesecake cookie next!! Thank you for this recipe!!🥰
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Sharae! 🙂
Ann Scheider
I do love recipes like this. Very tasty and very good. Thank you for that recipe. I am going to enjoy every bit of it because I love things like this and I will make them all the time. Thanks again!
Joe
Really quite good cookies. That graham cracker dough’s really nice, good texture, soft while tasting pretty distinct and elevated beyond normal cookies.
Only thing I’ll say is I personally think the written amount of jam is a little too much, at least for how we formed it. Our first two cookies the jam was almost overflowing out of the seal. We switched it to 1/2 teaspoon from 1 1/2 and it worked out great for us; maybe our craters weren’t accommodating enough, I’ll be the first to admit my family and I aren’t the best ever at cooking.
Thank you and keep the good recipes coming!
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed them overall, Joe! 🙂
K
Cookies are delicious. I used raspberry jam due to having some on hand. Will definitely make again. Thank you soo much for this recipe. 💕
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Tamicka Wright
I absolutely loved your video & the talking. Very easy to understand especially having video, audio and a written recipe. I need to check out other recipes from you. I’m softening butter & cream cheese as I text. Can’t wait for the outcome.
Sam
I hope you love them, Tamicka! 🙂