Soft and buttery with a creamy surprise inside, these Strawberry Cheesecake Drops are a cozy twist on classic cookies. Each one wraps a tangy cream cheese center in a dough filled with white chocolate and bits of dried strawberry—like a little drop of dessert heaven. They bake up golden-edged and tender, perfect with tea, or just slightly warm from the oven.

Fluffy Strawberry Cookies with a Creamy Heart

Fluffy, golden, and sweet in all the right ways, these strawberry cookies hide a creamy cheesecake heart inside. Dotted with white chocolate and bursts of dried strawberry, each bite is soft and rich with just a hint of tang. They’re the kind of cookies that feel extra special—like dessert and comfort rolled into one. Best enjoyed warm, when the centers are perfectly tender.

Ingredients:

• 170 g cream cheese
• 30 g powdered sugar
• 150 g white sugar
• 55 g light brown sugar
• 225 g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 345 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 60–70 g dried strawberries
• 170 g white chocolate (roughly chopped from a bar, or use chips)

Instructions:

1. Make the cream cheese filling:
Mix cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth. Spoon into small mounds and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

2. Prep the dough:
In a bowl, cream together softened butter, white sugar, brown sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until light and fluffy.

3. Add dry ingredients:
Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until combined.

4. Fold in mix-ins:
Gently stir in the dried strawberries and chopped white chocolate.

5. Assemble cookies:
Flatten about 2 tablespoons of dough, place a frozen cream cheese mound in the center, then wrap and roll into a ball.

6. Chill before baking:
Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined sheet and chill for 10–15 minutes while the oven preheats.

7. Bake:
Bake at 175 °C (350 °F) for 13–15 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are still soft.

8. Cool:
Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

A Note on Powdered Sugar Flavor

If you’ve ever made icing and thought it tasted a little soapy or lotion-like, the culprit is often the cornstarch added to most commercial powdered sugars. Manufacturers blend in a small amount (usually 2–5%) of starch to prevent clumping, but cornstarch can leave that faintly chalky aftertaste when the sugar isn’t cooked.

A simple fix is to look for powdered sugar made with tapioca starch instead of cornstarch. Tapioca starch dissolves more smoothly and has a cleaner flavor, making it perfect for glazes, buttercreams, and icings where the sugar isn’t heated.

Another option is to make your own powdered sugar by blending granulated sugar in a high-speed blender until fine, then adding a pinch of tapioca starch to keep it from clumping. For certain recipes, you can even use superfine (caster) sugar, which dissolves quickly and doesn’t need starch at all.

If you’d like to try it yourself, I recommend keeping an eye out for brands that use tapioca starch powdered sugar — here’s one I suggest [this powdered sugar].

Why Metric?

For clarity and consistency, I use metric measurements in my recipes. It's more accurate (especially for baking), easier to scale up or down, and ensures better results — no guessing whether your "cup" is packed or level. But don’t worry, US equivalents are included below so you can bake with whatever you have on hand.

Storage:

• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
• Cookies can be frozen for up to 1 month. Reheat gently to soften the centers

Notes:

• Freeze the cream cheese filling so it stays firm and creamy inside.
• The dough is soft and slightly sticky. Lightly flour your hands if needed when shaping.
• Cookies may look a little underbaked in the center—that’s perfect. They’ll set as they cool, and using dried strawberries helps keep the texture just right.
• Dried strawberries are more reliable for texture, flavor concentration, and shelf life—which is why they’re used in this recipe.
• If you’d like to try these with fresh strawberries instead, chop them small, pat them very dry, and use only a little—just note the cookies will be softer and best eaten the same day.

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Thank you for being here as I start this journey. I can’t wait to share more recipes, tips, and stories with you — one crumb at a time.

Stay tuned,
~ Clever Crumbs