Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies - Gluten Free, Eggless

My strawberry cream cheese cookies are unbelievably soft and make for the perfect summer treat!

There's something about summer that has got me playing around more and more with incorporating fruit into my bakes -- as evidenced by my blueberry donuts, pineapple upside down cake, blackberry pie, and, most recently my dark chocolate raspberry bread.

In this case, I decided to make a batch of simple drop cookies packed with tons of frozen strawberries (though you could also use fresh; I just happen to have frozen fruit in my freezer pretty much at all times). Rather than making traditional cookie dough, I decided to add a special little ingredient: cream cheese.

And let me tell you... it really makes all the difference! The resulting strawberry cream cheese cookies are unbelievably soft and moist, and the cream cheese flavor goes incredibly well with the tartness of the strawberries.

I'm already dreaming up the different variety of fruit/berries we could throw into these cookies. But for now, you really need to try this. It's a new classic, as far as I'm concerned.

Why You'll Love These Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies...

• This is a one-bowl recipe. I just add all of my dry ingredients directly into my mixer after blending my wet ingredients, and stir on low speed until it all comes together.
• They're easy drop cookies that come together in just a couple of steps and only require an hour of chill time. Sometimes, that's all you're really looking for, right?
• Did I mention they're soft? And that the strawberries give it that perfect hint of tartness?

What You'll Need...

• The fat: unsalted butter + a bit of cream cheese for even more flavor and moisture (but do not use the spreadable kind that comes in a tub).
• The flavor: sugar + vanilla extract + salt + frozen strawberries.
• The usual dry ingredients: gluten free flour + baking powder.
• The egg replacer: I'm going with my trusty Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer here, but you can always use 1 egg instead if you're not an eggless baker.

How To Make Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies...

To make my easy strawberry cream cheese cookies, you'll want to start by fully combining your softened butter with your cream cheese by beating the two together. Once it's all nice and incorporated, then you will cream with your sugar.

After that, simply add in the prepared egg replacer and vanilla extract and mix again. Then add the flour, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until you have your cookie dough. Add your chopped strawberries gently, then pop your dough into the fridge for about an hour.

Once the dough is nice and chilled, scoop onto a lined baking sheet and bake on 350ºF for about 16 minutes. Do NOT attempt to pull these off of the baking sheets too early, though, because they will likely fall apart (I learned that the hard way, but honestly, I just couldn't wait another minute to try them). Let them cool about 10 minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack.

Remember: if you're using frozen strawberries, like I do, there's no need to thaw them beforehand. In fact, it's better to keep them in the freezer right up until you're ready to use them. Either chop them up before getting started and throw them back in the freezer, or wait to take them out and chop until you're ready to stir into your dough.

How To Keep Cream Cheese Cookies From Spreading...

In general, the more fat and/or liquid you add to your cookies, the more they will spread when they bake. That's why some recipes (including this one) require you to chill the dough in the refrigerator for a specified amount of time before baking.

By chilling cookie dough, you're essentially solidifying the fat in the cookies. That means it will take longer to melt in the oven, thus not spreading as much.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies - Gluten Free, Eggless

Print Recipe

Deliciously soft and creamy cookies packed with juicy strawberries!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword cookies, cream cheese, eggless, gluten free, strawberry

Total Time 1 hr 30 mins

Servings 12 cookies

Author Taleen Benson

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer mixed with 2 tbsp water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups gluten free flour (I use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup frozen strawberries chopped

Instructions

• Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until combined. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating until creamy. Mix in the egg replacer and vanilla extract.
• Add the flour, baking powder, and salt into the wet ingredient mixture and stir on low speed until dough forms. Gently stir in the frozen strawberries using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Once dough has thoroughly chilled, preheat oven to 375°F. Remove dough from the refrigerator and scoop onto lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Notes

• Do not thaw the frozen strawberries prior to using. I recommend leaving them in the freezer until you're ready to mix them into your dough -- you can either chop them first, then put them back in the freezer while working on the dough, or remove and chop right before stirring in.
• Be sure to follow the instructions on the package of Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer. Once mixed with water, the egg replacer must sit for just a few minutes to thicken.
• If you are not looking to replace eggs, you should be able to use 1 egg instead of the egg replacer.
• Recipe may yield more or less than 12 cookies depending on how big you choose to make them. 

Did you make my strawberry cream cheese cookies? Tag me on Instagram @justastastyblog and #justastastyblog.