Strawberry Shortcake Cookies: A Fresh Twist on a Classic

elysefrey32
Apr 22
7 min read

Updated: May 14

These cookies are seriously something special. They strike the perfect balance of soft and sweet with just the right hint of crunch. Packed with all the nostalgic flavors of classic strawberry shortcake, they’re a fresh and fun twist that feels just right for spring and summer. Everything you love about the dessert — in an easy, irresistible cookie.

I was heading to my boyfriend’s friend’s house recently to watch the Phillies game and knew I couldn’t show up empty-handed. I love any excuse to bake something sweet for friends and family, so I jumped at the chance. With the weather warming up, strawberries have been calling my name — they just scream spring and summer. So, I thought: why not turn a classic strawberry shortcake into a cookie? Trust me, you’re going to want to try this one.

Okay, full credit where it’s due — this isn’t my original recipe! I found it on Molly’s Home Guide blog, and I haven’t tried any of her other recipes yet, but based on how these turned out, I definitely will. These cookies came out so well — soft, sweet, and full of that classic strawberry shortcake flavor in a fun new form.

I love discovering home bakers and recipe creators through social media, and this one stopped me in my scroll. It’s such a crowd-pleaser because people aren’t expecting a strawberry shortcake cookie — it’s a twist that feels impressive without being over-the-top effort-wise.

Let’s get into it, because you’re going to want to try these!

Ingredients:

Granulated White Sugar: You’ll use this for the cookie crumble and the cookies themselves.
Brown Sugar: I ended up using dark brown sugar instead of light, which is what the original recipe calls for. Honestly, I didn’t notice much of a difference aside from the cookies looking a little darker — the flavor was still spot on!
Vanilla: Adding vanilla to recipes is one of my favorite tricks — it really elevates the flavors and adds a warm, rich element that ties everything together.
All - Purpose Flour: For all recipes, flour is such a staple to ensure you’re getting the structure you want.
Baking Powder: Baking powder is typically used to create fluffier cookies because it's a rising and leveling agent.
Canola Oil: You could probably use whatever oil you’ve got, but canola is usually the best bet since it won’t mess with the flavor. It just does its job and lets the strawberry shortcake vibes take the lead.
Strawberries: The star of the show: fresh strawberries. You’ll definitely want to use fresh for this recipe — they bring that bright, juicy flavor that really makes these cookies pop. You might be able to get away with frozen strawberries, but I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t say for sure how they’d turn out. If you give it a shot, let me know how it goes!
Lemon Juice: You can use either fresh or bottled lemon juice for this step — whatever you have on hand works just fine. You’ll toss the chopped strawberries in the juice and set them aside. This not only helps keep the berries fresh, but also gives them a chance to soak up and enhance their flavor. Think of it like a quick little marinade for maximum strawberry impact.

Unsalted Butter: I’m team unsalted butter when it comes to baking — it just makes it easier to control the salt. That’s what Molly calls for in her recipe too, so you’re good to go with that one.
Egg and Egg Yolk: I’ve read that using just an egg yolk instead of a whole egg can really add richness and improve the texture of a recipe. I’d never tried it in a cookie recipe before, but it worked out great! The cookies turned out wonderfully soft and flavorful.
Salt: The recipe calls for fine sea salt, but I ended up using regular table salt, and everything turned out just fine. Feel free to use what you have!

How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl combine your sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, oil and vanilla. It’ll turn into almost a soft dough consistency that can easily break apart.
Using your hands, break apart the soft dough into clumps on your baking sheet.
Bake for around 18 minutes, until the clumps have turned golden brown and feel hard. Once done cooking, set them aside to cool. Note: Keep an eye on these because depending on your oven they may bake quicker or slower. Also, don’t worry if any of your clumps are bigger than you’d like, you’ll be able to break them apart when you top your cookies later on in the process.
Now let’s get started on the cookies themselves. You can turn your oven off at this point because you’re going to put your cookies into the freezer to chill before baking them.
Chop up your strawberries and toss them in the lemon juice. You want them to be well coated, but not sitting in too much of the juice. Set aside.
In a larger bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. Note: Molly’s recipe calls for softened butter. I usually never remember to leave my butter out to soften so instead I microwave in 10 second increments. I will say that I may have over softened my butter, but it didn’t cause my cookies to spread out too much.
Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla to your bowl and mix.
In a separate bowl whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then add your dry ingredients into your wet. Note: You’ll want to do this step gradually to prevent your flour getting everywhere as well as to make sure it’s fully incorporated.
Fold the crumbs and strawberries into your dough. Note: Make sure to save some crumbs to top your cookies before baking and for after baking. I also drained my strawberries before adding them to my dough.
Using a ¼ cup, scoop of dough balls onto your baking sheet. This dough was particularly sticky so if you’re struggling with the fourth cup you can also grab about palm sized pieces of dough and roll them into balls.
Now, chill the tray in the freezer. I let mine chill for about 2 and a half hours, but felt I definitely could have let them go longer. Molly’s recipe recommends giving them a full 24 hours. With that said, I know some people don’t have the time for that. The longer you chill them the less chance your cookies have of spreading out too much.
Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C). As your oven is preheating, sprinkle more of your crumb mixture on top of your cookies. Put the tray of frozen dough into the oven and cook for about 15-18 minutes. Again, times can vary depending on your oven so just try and keep an eye on them.
You’ll know your cookies are done when the edges are golden brown and the center does not look as wet and moist as it does during the first few minutes of baking.
Take your cookies out of the oven and top with more of the crumb mixtures. Note: I decided to slice my strawberries and put them on top of the cookies once they finished cooking. Also, I found that if you decide to put the whole slice on top that it’s better to take the cookies out about midway through, top with the strawberry, then allow to finish baking.
Note: If your cookies have spread out a bit too much, don’t worry — you can easily fix that! While they’re still warm, take a large round cup and gently bring the edges of the cookie together. If you’re not too worried about keeping the edges perfectly intact, you can also use the cup to cut around the edges for a neat, uniform shape. I recommend moving the cup in circular motions to ensure you get a perfectly round cookie.

Comment below if you give this recipe a try! Also, message me if you’ve discovered your own tips and tricks for making these Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

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...Don't forget to check out Molly’s Home Guide!!

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

servings: 10 cookies

prep time: 25 minutes cook time : 18 minutes

total time: 43 minutes

Ingredients

Shortcake Crumbs:

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (14g) brown sugar
6 tablespoons (47g) all - -purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons (56g) canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cookies:

2/3 cup (133g) chopped strawberries
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (230g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups and 2 tablespoons (270g) all - purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Recipe

Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl combine your sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, oil and vanilla.
Break apart the soft dough into clumps on your baking sheet.
Bake for 18 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Chop strawberries and toss them in lemon juice. Set aside.
In a large bowl ream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until it becomes light and fluffy.
Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and mix.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add your dry ingredients into your wet.
Fold the crumbs and strawberries into your dough.
Using a ¼ cup, scoop dough balls onto your baking sheet.
Chill the tray in the freezer for a minimum of 2 hours.
Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C).
Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of dough balls.
Bake for 18 minutes until golden brown.
Take cookies out of oven and top with more crumbs and strawberry slices (optional).
Allow to cool and enjoy.