I Hate Baking, but These Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies Were Worth It

By Bailey Smith

My great grandma’s dying words were, “preheat to 350”. Ever since that tragic day, I have kept her spirit alive by preserving her famous cookie recipe. Just kidding. The truth is, no matter how much I tell myself that baking is relaxing, I just can’t bring myself to enjoy it. I do, however, find joy in creating tasty meals and treats for others, and these strawberry cheesecake cookies did just that. 

If you’re anything like me, something always goes wrong when you do reluctantly decide to bake. And it wasn’t any different for this recipe. It all started going downhill when the strawberries came into the picture. I was using frozen strawberries, so I assumed that the dough would moisten once they melted a little, but after five minutes of mixing, the bowl still looked like a powdery mess. I sort of gave up at this point and started adding water to the mixture. It was time to get creative. 

Of course, this made the dough super hard to work with. By now it was nine p.m., and I was still fighting with these sticky cookies. And as if I needed something else to worry about, the cream cheese scoops were rapidly melting. There I was, trying to transfer these dripping cream cheese balls into the cookies. Finally, all of them were filled and sealed, and I shoved them into the oven, hoping for the best. 

The following morning, I pulled one of the cookies out of the fridge to give it a try. I’m not going to lie, it was nothing special. They were kind of hard and a little dry. However, later I discovered that this was mainly just because they were straight out of the fridge. All they needed was a little time at room temperature. Overall, I would say the struggle led to success!

First, line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, use a whisk or mixer to mix the cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth.

Next, place 12 loaded teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture onto the baking sheet. Freeze for at least an hour, or until the scoops are frozen almost completely solid.

Once the cream cheese scoops are frozen almost solid, line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the salt, flour, and baking soda. 

In a large bowl, use a handheld mixer or standing mixer to beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Then, mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Add in the flour, salt, and baking soda, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over-mix! 

Dice the strawberries and fold them in, making sure to work gently so that the juice doesn’t seep into the dough.

Distribute 12 heaping tablespoons of dough across the two baking sheets. Press the back of a teaspoon slightly into the top of the balls to make an indent.

Remove the cream cheese scoops from the freezer and place one into each of the cookies. Take a second ball of dough and place it over the cream cheese, pinching the edges to seal in the filling. 

Refrigerate the prepared cookie dough balls and repeat the filling process with the second cookie sheet and remaining dough. Preheat the oven to 350°F and leave the cookie dough in the fridge while it preheats. Once preheated, place the first sheet of cookies in the oven.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven one sheet at a time for 13-17 minutes (or until the edges are slightly golden brown and the tops are set). Remove from the oven and leave them on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!