Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

These strawberry shortcake cookies take everything you love about the classic summer treat and packs it into a portable, bite size dessert. Starting with an easy drop cookie dough, these cookies are packed with fresh strawberries and crunchy bits of wafer.

Juicy strawberries. Crispy, crunchy bits of cookie. A chewy cookie center that might make your eyes roll into the back of your head in pure joy.

Have I said too much? Or just enough to convince you to make these strawberry shortcake cookies?

Here’s how to make these cookies

First, make the cookie batter.

In a bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar, stirring until there are no clumps of brown sugar. I personally like to use a silicone spatula for this.

Pro tip: If your brown sugar has hardened since the last time you used it, you can soften it back up by putting it in a bowl, placing a damp paper towel over the top, and microwaving it using 10 second increments until it’s soft.

Stir in the egg and vanilla extract until combined.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until the ingredients are just incorporated.

Dice the strawberries and blot them with a paper towel to pick up any excess juice. Too much juice can make the cookies watery.

Fold in the diced strawberries and a half cup of the coarsely crushed Nilla wafers.

Finally, scoop and bake the cookies.

Using a cookie scoop or tablespoons, scoop three tablespoon balls of dough and gently roll the tops in the leftover crushed wafers.

Place the cookies onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets leaving about two inches of space between cookies.

Bake at 350F for about 11 minutes, or until the cookies are no longer shiny on top. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet.

If you plan on using the freeze dried strawberries, which I like to add for a little pop of color more than anything else, you’ll want to sprinkle those on right after removing the cookies from the oven. Do not add them to the cookies prior to baking as they’ll burn.

Expert tips

• Blotting the strawberries: After dicing the strawberries, you’ll want to blot them to remove any excess juice. Excess juice can cause the cookie dough to become watery and prevent it from baking correctly.
• Using frozen fruit: I found these cookies turned out best with fresh strawberries, but if frozen is what you have available, you can substitute 2/3 cup fresh for 2/3 cup frozen. I don’t recommend thawing them before adding them to the batter.
• Bake the cookie dough immediately: While many kinds of cookie dough can be refrigerated prior to baking, the juicy fresh fruit changes the dough consistency if it’s allowed to sit for too long. I recommend baking the cookies immediately for this reason.
• The importance of leaving cookies on the baking sheet: The goal of taking the cookies out when they’re no longer shiny is to keep them from becoming too browned or drying out. At this point, they’ll be slightly under-cooked, and leaving them on the hot baking sheet allows them to finish cooking through without browning further.
• Storage: These cookies can be kept in an air tight container at room temperature for up to a week or frozen (I like to individually wrap mine in plastic wrap) for up to 6 months.

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it went in the comments below. Better still, snap a photo and tag it on Instagram with #thesimplesweetlife. I love seeing your creations!

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If you liked this, you might also like…

• Easy strawberry crunch cake
• Strawberry champagne cake
• Strawberry shortcake cupcakes