From strawberry filled cupcakes to a strawberry cake and even a strawberry mascarpone cheesecake, my love for strawberry desserts runs deep. That’s why I’m extra excited to share the recipe for these delicious and soft strawberry sandwich cookies! A strawberry and cream cheese frosting holds them together, and a roasted strawberry filling is nestled between the cookies. Below you’ll find tips and a few shortcuts for making these delicious cookies.
Ingredients for Vanilla Sandwich Cookies
Below are key ingredients that bring flavor and character to this easy sandwich cookie recipe:
- Fresh strawberry filling – By roasting strawberries, we soften their texture and release some of their water, leaving us with lots of pure strawberry flavor. But if you have another strawberry filling you’d prefer to use – like a store-bought jelly or jam – that works, too.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste – In an online baking class I took once, Christina Tosi of Milk Bar taught us that you don’t need expensive vanilla extract for good flavor. So the extract from your local grocery store is perfectly fine for this recipe. I never taste much difference between pricier extracts and more basic ones.
- Freeze dried strawberries – Freeze dried strawberries have a concentrated, more intense flavor than fresh or even dried fruits. They work well in frosting because they don’t add any excess moisture. Be sure to grind them into a fine powder before incorporating them into the frosting. This yields a smoother, more uniform distribution of flavor.
No-Chill Cookie Dough
Some cookie recipes call for resting your cookie dough before baking it.
Here, though, you don’t need to chill or rest the dough ahead of baking this strawberry cookie sandwich recipe.
You can learn more about the merits of resting your dough in this post from Bon Appétit. The bottom line is that if a recipe does ask you to rest your dough, do it.
Baking these Strawberry Filled Cookies
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Cream melted unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and sugars together in your mixing bowl for 3 minutes.
Stop the mixer and add salt, baking powder, and baking soda as well as half of your room temperature eggs and flour. Mix for about 45 seconds on medium speed before stopping the mixer to add the remaining egg and flour, beating again for 30 seconds.
Scoop small (about ⅔ the size of a golf ball) round portions of your cookie dough onto ungreased aluminum baking sheets. That said, you may want to use parchment paper or nonstick silpat mats if your baking sheets are old and/or don’t conduct heat as well as they once did. Leave about 2 inches between each cookie on your pan.
Bake for 14-15 minutes. Transfer them to cooling racks after they’ve sat on the baking sheets 5 or so minutes outside of the oven and are firm enough to handle.
Tips for the Strawberry Filling
Roasted strawberries make for a delicious filling for these cookies. The process of roasting them in the oven softens the berry and yields a sweet result. The steps below guide you through the steps for roasting strawberries at home.
But if you’re short on time or just feel like skipping this step, a store-bought jelly, preserves, or jam will work well. Strawberry jam cookie sandwiches would also taste amazing!
You could also omit the filling. Fill the cookie sandwiches with only frosting instead.
Filling for Strawberry Cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F and toss fresh strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, and salt in a bowl before spreading berries out onto an aluminum or metal pan to bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping berries halfway through.
Bake time varies depending on the baking vessel and how it conducts heat – metal will be faster than glass, for instance.
Once they have a soft, syrupy consistency, remove from oven and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Let cool in refrigerator. I like to roast the strawberries one day and assemble the strawberry sandwich cookies the following day.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
This frosting is a hybrid strawberry buttercream frosting. It combines unsalted butter with cream cheese for a bit of tanginess.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment — or in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer — beat the cream cheese until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and mix for another 1 minute or until fully combined.
Turn off mixer and add salt, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to bowl. Mix on low setting to slowly incorporate powdered sugar before increasing to high setting for another 2-3 minutes. Add lemon juice if needed to cut sweetness (personal preference).
Add finely ground freeze dried strawberries to mixing bowl and mix until well-combined.
Put frosting into a piping bag, fitted with a decorating tip of your choice.
How to Make Strawberry Cream Sandwich Cookies
Once you’ve made your filling, cookies and frosting, match your cookies in pairs based on their size and set them out on a clear space in front of you.
On the flat side of half of all of your cookies, pipe a thick circle of strawberry cream cheese frosting that reaches the edge of the cookie. Depending on the size of your cookies, place 1-3 teaspoons of your roasted strawberry in the middle.
Put matching cookie on top to form the sandwich, with the filling and frosting inside.
FAQ
Cookies are common in America, but Europeans sometimes call the same food “biscuits.” A sandwich cookie in America may be considered a sandwich biscuit in other parts of the world.
Cookies can spread if the dough is too moist, without enough dry ingredients to hold it together. It can also spread due to an excessive amount of baking soda.
If you follow the steps in this recipe, though, you won’t have that issue.
In general, adding a bit of baking powder or flour to a cookie’s dough can help prevent them from spreading as much.
If a recipe calls for you to refrigerate any kind of dough before baking it, do it! This is a no chill recipe, though, so that isn’t necessary here.
I love the taste of roasted strawberries inside these vanilla sandwich cookies. However, if you’re short on time or prefer not to make this step for any reason, you could always buy your favorite strawberry jam, jelly, or preserves at the store. Use one of those options instead for a quick substitution here.
Tips for Best Cookies
Below are some general tips to keep in mind when baking these homemade strawberry cookies and any baking recipe, really:
- If you aren’t already, use a scale for accuracy in your baking. This ensures you’re following the exact measurements and your cookies will turn out how the recipe intended them.
- Periodically check the freshness of your leavening agents. Mix a pinch of baking powder with hot water to see if it reacts. For baking soda, you can mix a pinch of it with a few drops of something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice. If your leavening agents have no reaction (i.e. you see no fizzing or bubbling), it means they also won’t help your ingredients rise during the baking process.
- Before diving into the recipe, clear your workspace and set out all your ingredients in front of you. This will make it less likely that you’ll forget to leave something important out of your mixing bowl!
Storing and Freezing Your Strawberry Cream Filled Cookies
While these easy strawberry cookies will stay fresh at room temperature for a day or two, I find that they taste best if stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, and brought out about half an hour before serving.
If you forget that step before you want one, you can also place them in the microwave on a low setting for 5-10 seconds to warm them just a bit. Be careful about overheating as the frosting will melt!
You can also store these cookies fully baked and assembled in your freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw before eating.
More Dessert Recipes
Looking for more ideas like this like this easy strawberry cookie recipe? Check out these Biscoff butter cookie sandwiches. The recipe includes all the steps for how to make sandwich cookies but with a Biscoff twist!
Or if you’re more in the mood for something a little different, check out my homemade Funfetti muffin recipe – these muffins would be perfect for a birthday celebration!
Strawberry Sandwich Cookies
This easy recipe for strawberry sandwich cookies uses a juicy roasted strawberry filling and a tangy strawberry buttercream frosting.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Frosting Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 75 minutes
- Yield: 20 small cookie sandwiches 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Cookie Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 12 T butter (170 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) white sugar
- 3/4 cup (115 grams) firmly packed (either light or dark) brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs (about 50g), straight from the fridge
Strawberry Filling Ingredients
- 8 oz fresh strawberries, diced into small pieces
- 3 T granulated sugar
- 1 T lemon juice, bottled or fresh
- Pinch of salt
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3/4 stick (85 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (420 grams) of powdered sugar
- 1/2 block (115 grams) cream cheese
- 1 1/3 cup (1 oz/30 grams) freeze dried strawberries, finely ground into a powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: A few drops of lemon or lime juice (or white vinegar) to cut sweetness; add to your preference
Instructions
Baking the Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Cream butter, vanilla extract, and sugars together in your mixing bowl for 3 minutes.
- Stop the mixer and add salt, baking powder, and baking soda as well as half of your eggs and flour. Mix for about 45 seconds on medium speed before stopping the mixer to add the remaining egg and flour, beating again for 30 seconds.
- Scoop small (about ⅔ the size of a golf ball) round portions of your cookie dough onto ungreased aluminum baking sheets, with about 2 inches between each of them. Bake for 14-15 minutes. Transfer them to cooling racks after they’ve sat on the baking sheets 5 or so minutes outside of the oven and are firm enough to handle.
Making the Strawberry Filling
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Toss berries, lemon juice, sugar, and salt in a bowl before spreading them out into a dish or pan to bake for about 20 minutes, flipping berries halfway through. Use an aluminum tray or dish. Bake time may vary depending on the baking vessel and how it conducts heat – metal will be faster than glass, for instance.
- Once they have a syrupy consistency, remove from oven and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Let cool in refrigerator. I like to do this step on one day and assemble cookie sandwiches the following.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment — or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer — beat the cream cheese until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and mix for another 1 minute or until fully combined.
- Turn off mixer and add salt, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to bowl. Mix on low setting to slowly incorporate powdered sugar before increasing to high setting for another 2-3 minutes. Add lemon juice if needed to cut sweetness (personal preference).
- Add finely ground freeze dried strawberries to mixing bowl and mix until well-combined.
- Put strawberry frosting into a piping bag fitted with a tip of your choice (2D forever!).
Assembling your cookie sandwiches
- Match your cookies in pairs based on their size and set them out on a clear space in front of you.
- On the flat side of half of all of your cookies, pipe a thick circle of strawberry cream cheese frosting that reaches the edge of the cookie. Depending on the size of your cookies, place 1-3 teaspoons of your roasted strawberry in the middle.
- Put matching cookie on top to form the sandwich, with the filling and frosting inside.
Keywords: cookie sandwiches, strawberry filling, strawberry cream cheese frosting, strawberry dessert, roasted strawberries
I love this recipe, thank you! I don’t know what it is, but these Strawberry Sandwich Cookies reminds me of summer and picnic time. Love me some strawberry dessert with black tea and cream 🙂
★★★★★
Aww I love that. The perfect little treat for summer!