Stir together the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until lump-free.
Add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until just combined.
Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt until just incorporated.
Fold in the strawberries and 1/2 cup crushed Nilla wafers.
Scoop three tablespoon balls of dough and gently roll the tops in the remaining crushed Nilla wafers.
Place the cookies onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets leaving about two inches of space between cookies.
Bake at 350F for 11 minutes or until no longer shiny on top.
Remove from oven, immediately dust with crushed freeze dried strawberries (if using) and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets.
Notes
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.