Strawberry Cookies with Strawberry Buttercream
Searching for a delicious strawberry cookie recipe? These Strawberry Cookies with Strawberry Buttercream are worth baking! They are made without food dye and without fresh strawberries. The secret ingredient? Freeze-dried strawberries! These tasty cookies give a strawberry cereal vibe and are delicious with a glass of cold milk. And you can make them any time of the year--even when berries are out of season!
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories: 268kcal
Ingredients
Strawberry Cookies:
- 1 ounce freeze-dried strawberries (about 1 full cup)
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled for 10 minutes
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 5.25 ounces
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups flour 6.65 ounces all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Strawberry Buttercream:
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar 10 ounces
- ½ ounce freeze-dried strawberries (about ½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
- ⅛ teaspoon salt regular table salt
Instructions
Strawberry Cookies:
- Pour 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries into a ziptop bag and close. Pound or roll with a rolling pin until the berries are crushed into small pieces (not powder). Leave some larger pieces if you'd like. Set berries aside.
- Add granulated sugar to melted and cooled butter and whisk until the mixture is totally combined. It should be thick and shiny. Whisk in egg and vanilla until combined and smooth, about 60 seconds.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl with the other ingredients and use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Dough will be very soft. Add freeze-dried strawberries and gently fold in until evenly distributed.
- Chill dough for a minimum of 2 hours or up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a #40 (1.5 tablespoon) scoop to scoop the cookie dough and arrange 2” apart on baking sheet. Flatten scoops slightly with fingertips or the back of a measuring cup.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10-11 minutes, or until cookies have puffed, spread, and appear just slightly golden on the edges and set in the centers. Don’t overbake. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Strawberry Buttercream:
- Using a ziptop bag and rolling (as described above), crush 1/2 cup of freeze-dried strawberries very fine and set aside. Beat butter with hand mixer until smooth and gradually add the powdered sugar in ½ cup increments (incorporating each addition fully before adding the next).
- Add the salt. Use the beaters on medium speed as you add the heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached (you'll use about 3-4 tablespoons of cream or milk). Turn the mixer speed up to medium and beat another minute or two until fluffy.
- Gently fold in the crushed strawberries with a spatula. Frost cooled cookies as desired.
Notes
Make Ahead Frosting
If you need to make this frosting ahead of time, store it in the fridge. Plan to remove from the fridge about 60 minutes in advance of using (to allow time for it to soften). Beat with an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer) until soft and fluffy and then pipe as desired.
Tips for Piping the Frosting
To pipe the frosting, you'll want a large piping tip like a 2A (large star). Regular size piping tips used with a coupler will be too small for the particles of berries and you'll get frosting jams--very frustrating!
Adjusting the Flavor of Strawberry Buttercream
I tested the strawberry buttercream with a variety of amounts of freeze-dried strawberries. You can use as little as a 1/4 cup (very light flavor and light pink color) or as much as 1 cup (very bright pink and stronger strawberry flavor). Feel free to adjust as needed. As for the cookies, I would suggest keeping the amount of strawberries in the cookies the same, because it will affect the texture of the cookies to mess around with it too much.
Frosting Quantity
This recipe makes about 2 cups of frosting. I used about 1.5 cups to frost a batch of cookies with a large piping tip in rosettes or as shown in the photos with a thick flat swirl. You'll have a extra for additional decorating, taste-testing, or adjustments. It's also delish on pancakes or waffles for a special treat.
How to Store
Store the cooled unfrosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. Or, freeze in freezer safe packaging for 1-2 months. The frosting can be stored in the fridge for up to five days. Frosted cookies should be refrigerated (up to five days) or frozen (up to 1-2 months). The cookies will soften slightly after being frosted.
Nutrition
Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 500IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg