Strawberries and cream cookies were created on a whim–but boy do they rock! They are chewy on the inside, with caramelized edges and use freeze dried strawberries, not a cake mix, for the amazing flavor.
This is my strawberries and cream cookies version of the classic macadamia cookies with white chocolate chips. They are perfectly dotted with bursts of real strawberry and creamy white chocolate. They will be a favorite, just like many of my other cookies!
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I used the cookie base in this macadamia cookie recipe which is similar to my Award-Winning Chocolate Chip Cookies. It has a nice balance of brown sugar and granulated sugar to make it soft and chewy, and flavorful. If you like these you'll love my Chipless Chocolate Chip Cookies too!
Why you'll love this strawberries and cream cookies recipe
Everyone loves a good cookie, especially when it has sweet white chocolate and yummy strawberries in it. I used my skills as a cookie recipe developer to come up with a strawberry white chocolate chip cookie recipe that you'll want to make again and again!
These cookies are packed with the sweet taste of strawberries and creamy white chocolate chips. The intense flavor comes from pieces of freeze-dried strawberries.
I've made sure this recipe works perfectly by testing it a lot. You'll find some helpful tips for baking cookies in the article below.
The best part? You don't need to put the cookie dough in the fridge before baking. Just mix everything together and start baking.
They look pretty with red strawberry pieces and white chocolate, making them great for sharing at the pool, baby showers, on Mother's Day or Easter, at a graduation party, or even at a cookie swap.
What are freeze dried strawberries
Freeze dried strawberries are real fruit that has been processing in a freeze-drying machine. They are light, crisp and crunchy.
Freeze drying is rapidly freezing something then subjecting it to a vacuum process to remove all the moisture. This preserves fruit (and vegetables, meat, even cheese and candy) at peak quality.
You can reconstitute freeze dried food by soaking it in water or another liquid. While it will never reconstitute to be just like the original, this does soften the food.
For these strawberries and cream cookies just use the crisped, dry strawberries. Crush them gently into smaller pieces (but not fine dust) for the best distribution and flavor.
Ingredients in strawberry white chocolate chip cookies
For great Strawberries and Cream macadamia nut cookies you need some basic baking ingredients.
- Unsalted Butter: For a rich, creamy base. This can be substituted with a high quality dairy-free butter option like Miyoko's brand.
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs: Use large size eggs as the standard.
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour: You can sub a good quality gluten-free flour here, like Cup4Cup or King Arthur GF flour.
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt: If you use salted butter, you can leave this out.
- Nutmeg
- Ground Ginger
- White Chocolate Chips: You can use a dairy-free option if needed.
- Macadamia Nuts: Try dry-roasted, salted nuts for the best salty-sweet flavor. Pecans or almonds can be substituted for a different kind of crunch.
- Freeze-dried Strawberries: Gently crushed into small pieces.
Tara's Tip
To crush freeze dried strawberries, place them in a ziptop plastic bag and carefully smash them with a spoon or small rolling pin, making sure to leave plenty of large pieces rather than dust.
You can dump the contents of the bag into a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl and sift out the majority of the dust so your cookies don't turn pink. Use the larger pieces in the sieve.
Reserve and use the dust for pancakes, sprinkling on yogurt, or mixing into butter.
How to make Strawberry White Chocolate Cookies
- Heat the oven: Set the oven to 375°F (190°C) and position a rack in the middle. This ensures even heat distribution during baking. Make sure to let the oven heat for at least 30 minutes before baking. I always suggest having an oven thermometer in your oven to check the temperature.
- Prepare baking sheets: Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. This prevents sticking but also allows for easy cleanup and cookie removal. These are my favorite cookie baking sheets.
- Creaming the butter and sugars: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well combined and slightly fluffy. This process should take 2 to 3 minutes.
- Incorporate Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, beating the mixture on medium speed until it is light and smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Mixing Dry Ingredients: To the creamed mixture, add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Mix on low speed just until the dough comes together.
- Add Ins: Fold in the white chocolate chips, chopped macadamia nuts, and crushed freeze-dried strawberries until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Scoop and Arrange the Dough: Using a 2-tablespoon scoop, portion out the dough and place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake the cookies one sheet at a time. They should bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the edges are golden and the centers are just set. Check them early to prevent over-baking if you want soft-baked chewy cookies.
- Cooling: Immediately after baking, slide the parchment paper with the cookies off the baking sheet onto a cool surface. This stops the baking process and prevents the bottoms from becoming too hard.
- Storage: Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep fresh for up to 2 days.
Expert tips for recipe success
For this strawberry macadamia cookie recipe you'll follow some basic cookie baking rules for the best results!
- Don't over bake the cookies. Pull them out of the oven, even a little bit early, and let the just-done cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes to finish cooking out of the oven to produce chewy cookies.
- Measure flour properly. Fluff or sift your flour before spooning into your measuring cups.
- Cream butter and sugar correctly. Mix until the combination is lightened and creamy to aerate the mixture. This helps with leavening.
- Chill the dough as desired. This recipe works right away but you can chill the dough if you want.
- Use a cookie scoop for uniform size. You can make large or small cookies, but using a cookie scoop ensures they will all bake the same.
- Use your choice of white chocolate. You can use white chocolate chips, or chopped white chocolate.
Cookie Variation
For this cookie recipe you can substitute chopped pecans or blanched almonds if you'd like. While the texture and taste won't be exactly the same, they are some tasty alternatives.
Storage and freezing leftovers
Store baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days. They are best eaten the day of baking.
A great alternative to baking all of them at once is freezing the dough. Portion cookie dough balls onto a small tray, then freeze solid. Pack the frozen balls in a ziptop freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
To bake, let the frozen dough sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes while the oven heats. Bake as directed in the recipe, possibly leaving in for an extra minute.
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FAQs
Yes. The nuts are rich in oils that can go rancid over time. You can store them wrapped airtight in the fridge or freezer to prolong their freshness.
You can chop, break or crush freeze-dried fruit into the desired size pieces and simply add them to a cookie recipe. They won't stay crispy as they'll absorb moisture from the cookie ingredients, but the fruit will add flavor and color to the cookies.
Freeze-dried food can last for years in it's original, unopened bag. Once the bag is opened make sure to seal any leftovers airtight. They will last several months after they've been opened if stored properly.
More easy cookie recipes
- Pecan Crisp Cookies
- No Bake Pumpkin Cookies
- Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
- Classic Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
📖 Recipe
Strawberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter ((softened))
- 1 cup light brown sugar ((lightly packed))
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅕ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1½ cups white chocolate chips
- 1 cup (5 ounces) macadamia nuts ((roughly chopped))
- 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries ((roughly crushed makes ¾ cup))
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375ºF with rack in the middle. In a large mixing bowl beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until mixed well.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until mixture is lightened and smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix to combine into a dough. Stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
- Stir in the crushed freeze-dried strawberries.
- Scoop 2-tablespoon-sized balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time, until cookies are golden around the edges and just set in the middle, 9 to 11 minutes. Slide parchment with the cookies on it off the baking sheet and let cookies cool.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Cookie Recipes from Tara Teaspoon
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Julie
Just made these cookies. I completely forgot about the coconut (oops) but love them anyway. The extra spices really make this have a bakery taste. Thx!