These little cookies are the most perfect little sweet treat. Chewy and soft, and bursting with so much strawberry flavor! Reduced strawberry purée is added to the dough, then before baking, they are tossed in a strawberry sugar that gives the cookies an irresistible sweet and tart crust!
Here’s what you need:
The butter must be room temperature.
It needs to be completely softened before mixing it with the sugar, so take it out of the fridge at least a couple hours before making the cookies.
Cook the strawberry purée first, so it has time to cool.
Purée the thawed strawberries in a food processor until completely smooth. Pour the purée into a small saucepan with the lemon zest, lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the sugar. You could use fresh strawberries for this recipe, just make sure they weigh 8 ounces after the hulls have been removed.
Reduce the purée for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring pretty regularly to prevent sticking. When it is ready, it will be very thick and jam-like with no liquid remaining.
It should measure about 1/3 of a cup when fully reduced. Allow this jam to cool completely before adding it to the cookie dough.
Make a sugar cookie dough.
To make the cookies, whisk together all of the dry ingredients and set aside, then cream together the room temperature butter and 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg, then use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
I do this in my stand mixer but this recipe can be made just as easily with a hand mixer if that is what you have or prefer to use.
Add the dry ingredients to the dough a little at a time until all incorporated. Again, use rubber spatula to scrape down when needed.
Finally add the cooled strawberry jam to the dough and mix until combined. It should be soft pink in color. At this point, I take the whole bowl off the mixer and use my spatula to scrape up any bits of dough hanging out at the bottom that don’t want be mixed in with the rest.
Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.
This firm the dough up, making it easier to form into perfectly round cookies. It also helps create cookies that are nice and chewy. Warm cookie dough will flatten out in the oven, making cookies that are thin and crisp. Sometimes that is a good thing, but not what we are shooting for here.
Make a strawberry sugar.
You can find freeze-dried strawberries at most grocery stores in the same isle as raisins and other dried fruit. Or if you can’t find them, you could easily order them online. This recipe could be made with any fruit, really. You could use raspberries, mangoes, peaches, etc… Just make sure, for the sugar coating that you use the hard, freeze-dried fruits.
There are a number of ways you can crush the freeze-dried strawberries, such as: in a food processor, with a mortar and pestle or you could place them in a sealed ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. But be sure what ever you crush them in is very dry. Any amount of moisture will cause it to clump up.
Pour the ground freeze-dried strawberries into a bowl with a half cup of granulated sugar and whisk them together.
Once the dough is firm, use a 1 ounce ice cream scoop to scoop the dough and drop it directly into the strawberry sugar mixture. Use your hands to quickly form the dough into a ball and shake off any excess strawberry sugar.
Arrange the dough balls on a sheet pan covered with parchment and allow a couple inches in between each cookie because they do spread out slightly while baking.
Bake the cookies for 15 minutes at 325 degrees.
Let the cookies cool before handling. Keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature. These little gems are the perfect treat for a spring birthday party or day at the park! Wrap them up in cellophane for a great gift! Or just enjoy them all yourself!
More recipes to try:
Strawberry Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, unsalted room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar divided between the jam, the cookie dough and the sugar crust
- 1/2 lemon zest
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 8 ounces frozen strawberries (could use fresh strawberries as well)
- 1 cup freeze dried strawberries
Instructions
Make the Reduced Strawberry Purée
- Purée the strawberries in a food processor until completely smooth. Pour the purée into a small saucepan with 1/4 cup of sugar, the lemon zest and fresh lemon juice. Heat on medium until very reduced and thick, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent sticking. The reduced purée will measure about 1/3 of a cup when ready. Allow to cool completely before adding to the cookie dough.
Make the Sugar Cookies
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside. Cream the room temperature butter and 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the mixer going at low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients until the dough just comes together. Once the strawberry purée has cooled, add it to the cookie dough and mix until it just comes together. Again, use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl. Place the dough into the fridge for a about 30 minutes to firm a bit. This will make the balls of cookie dough hold their shape best.Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the freeze dried strawberries and 1/2 cup of sugar into a very dry food processor and crush to a fine pink powder. You could instead place the strawberries in a sealed ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Pour the strawberry sugar into a small bowl.Use a 1 ounce ice cream scoop to scoop the dough and drop it directly into the strawberry sugar. Roll the dough in the sugar mixture, then form them into balls in the palms of your hands. Arrange the cookie dough balls a couple inches apart on a sheet pan lined with parchment Bake the cookies in two batches and refrigerate the dough in between the bakes. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes at 325 degrees then let them cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.