This soft and chewy strawberry sugar cookie recipe is made with freeze-dried strawberries for a concentrated all-natural fruit flavor and a naturally pink color, and there’s no chilling required. The dough uses egg whites to keep the strawberry flavor bright and clean. Rolling the dough in strawberry sugar adds another layer of strawberry flavor, making these cookies both simple and pretty.
Once I nailed my vanilla sugar cookies, I knew I wanted to create a strawberry version. I love working fruit into desserts, and strawberries are one of my favorite fruits.
If you enjoy this style of cookie, you might also like my lemon poppy seed cookies for another variation on soft, flavorful drop cookies. And if you’re leaning more toward buttery textures, my strawberry shortbread cookies and raspberry shortbread cookies are worth a try too.
Why I Use Freeze-Dried Strawberries
Fresh strawberries add too much liquid and their flavor concentration varies. Strawberry extract gives you flavor but not the natural pink color.
But, freeze-dried strawberries give you all three which is why I love them. Intense consistent flavor, a vibrant pink color, and no added liquid, all in one ingredient. Plus they allow you to make these cookies any time of the year and still get the incredible strawberry flavor.
I usually get my freeze-dried strawberries at Trader Joe's. You can also find them at Kroger, Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.
My Recipe Testing Notes
- Processing strawberries with flour. Mixing the strawberries with part of the flour prevents clumping and ensures the flavor is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Egg whites for better flavor. In developing this cookie, I knew I wanted a strong strawberry flavor and I guessed that using egg whites only would give me that flavor while still having a soft cookie. And I was right - without the custard flavor of the egg yolk, the egg whites create a chewy soft cookie with a clean and bright strawberry flavor.
- Proper emulsification of butter and egg whites. When the egg whites are added to the creamed butter and sugar, it's like trying to mix water and fat. Therefore it takes a little more mixing time to fully incorporate the egg whites and prevent a broken dough. Don't rush this step.
Strawberry Sugar Cookie Ingredients
Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Strawberry Cookies
Step 1: Place the freeze-dried strawberries and a portion of the flour in a mini food processor and process until the strawberries are ground into a powder.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and lighter in color.
Step 3: Add the egg whites one at a time, until each one is completely mixed in.
Step 4: Add all of the dry ingredients at once and mix on low speed
Step 5: The dough should be pink and somewhat stiff.
Step 6: Roll each ball of dough in the strawberry sugar
Step 7: Arrange the balls of dough and use a glass to flatten each one.
Step 8: Arrange 6 unbaked cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Step 9: Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will be slightly puffy in the center, but flatten as they cool.
Step 10: Let the cookies cool then move them to a wire cooling to finish cooling.
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Strawberry Sugar Cookies (No Chill)
Equipment
- #40 Cookie Scoop optional
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 2-1/4 cups (281 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 30 grams freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 teaspoon Diamond kosher salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons (6 grams) baking powder
- 2 large (60 grams) egg whites
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
Strawberry Sugar Topping
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 8 grams freeze-dried strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 half-sized baking sheets with parchment paper.
Make the Cookie Dough
- Place the 1 cup of the flour and the freeze-dried strawberries in the bowl of the food processor. Process until the freeze-dried strawberries are completely ground up and the flour has turned pink. Pour this strawberry flour into the bowl of flour. Add the baking powder and salt and whisk until the ingredients are well combined.
- Separate the eggs. Place the egg whites in a bowl and add the vanilla extract.
- Place the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine the ingredients, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes until the mixture is creamy, well combined, and lighter in color. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and mix on medium for 10 seconds to ensure the ingredients are combined.
- Add the egg whites one at a time. Mix on medium-high speed until the egg white is fully incorporated and the dough doesn’t appear shiny. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and repeat with the second egg white.
- Add all the flour mixture at once. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix until the flour is incorporated and the dough forms into one or two large clumps.
Make the Strawberry Sugar Coating
- Place 1/4 cup sugar and 8 grams of freeze-dried strawberries in the bowl of mini-food process. Process until the strawberries are powdered with just a few small pieces visible. Alternatively, place the freeze-dried strawberries in a quart sized freezer bag and pound with a rolling pin until it is pulverized. Whisk with the sugar in a small bowl.
Bake the Cookies
- Divide the dough into 2+ tablespoon portions, about 50 grams each. Roll each piece in your hands into a ball and roll each ball in the strawberry-sugar mixture. Place 6 cookies on each baking sheet, evenly spaced apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and the edges are slightly browned. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. As the cookies cool, they will deflate. Move the cookies to a wire rack to completely cool.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. If you only have one cookie sheet, let it cool completely before baking the next batch of cookies.
- At this point the cookies are ready to eat.
Storing the Cookies
- Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. The cookies are best if eaten within the first few days.
How to Freeze Unbaked Cookie Dough
- Portion and roll the cookie dough per the recipe directions, but do not roll in the sugar.
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze the cookies for at least 8 hours.
- Place the cookies in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Make sure to squeeze out as much air as possible from the freezer bag before sealing it tightly. Lay the bag flat in the freezer.
- Cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake the cookies directly from the freezer. Add 2-3 minutes to the baking time to account for the dough being frozen.
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