Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookies
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These strawberry frosted sugar cookies are thick and tender with the perfect melt-in-your mouth consistency and creamy strawberry frosting. The strawberry buttercream is made from real berries – so it actually tastes like strawberries.
I’m always looking for an excuse to make my favorite strawberry buttercream frosting – and these strawberry frosted sugar cookies will not disappoint! The recipe starts with extra tender, cakey sugar cookies that are reminiscent of Lofthouse cookies. They’re perfectly thick, not too sweet, and never dry or flavorless. Then the real strawberry frosting really takes these to the next level.
I like an extra thick layer of frosting – so I decided to pipe on the frosting using a piping bag and tip. You can easily frost these with a flat-edge knife or the back of a spoon.
For the Sugar Cookies
As mentioned, this sugar cookie recipe makes thick and cakey cookies. Therefore, I do not recommend trying to use ornate or intricate cookie cutters. The dough will need to chill for at least 4 hours before rolling it out and cutting into circles – so make sure you allocate enough time.
You’ll start by sifting together the dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Using cake flour (not self-rising) is key for delicate, cakey sugar cookies. Then in a separate bowl you’ll cream together the butter and granulated sugar, then mixing in the egg, cream cheese, vanilla extract and almond extract. The addition of cream cheese makes these cookies extra soft – and the touch of almond extract really takes the flavor to the next level. Then you’ll carefully mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.
From there, it’s time for the dough to chill. Divide the dough in half and form each into a ball. Place each ball on a piece of plastic wrap, then press down into a disc shape (about 1 inch or 2-3 cm thick), wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
After the dough has sufficiently chilled, it’s rolled out on a floured surface using a floured rolling pin. You want it to still be about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick for extra thick cookies. Then you’ll cut the cookies into rounds, transfer to your lined baking sheet and bake.
Recipe Tip
Watch the cookies carefully as they bake – you want the tops to look set when you take them out of the oven, but they shouldn’t be starting to brown on the bottom. With sugar cookies, it’s really important to go by look and not just time.
For the Strawberry Frosting
As mentioned, the strawberry frosting is made with real strawberries. If using frozen, it’s easiest if you thaw the berries first – you can easily speed this up with 1 minute intervals on medium power in the microwave.
Before making the frosting, you need to concentrate the strawberries so that the flavor is stronger and there isn’t excess liquid added that can make the frosting watery. You’ll first pulse the strawberries in a food processor or blender until you have a smooth puree – then pour the puree through a metal sifter to remove the seeds.
From there, you’ll boil down the puree while gently stirring until its about 1/3 of the original volume and has a consistency that’s almost as thick as jam. It will need to cool completely before adding to the butter when you make the frosting.
Once fully cooled, it’s just like making any American-style buttercream. You’ll beat the butter until fluffy, then mix in the powdered sugar, reduced and cooled strawberry puree and a touch of salt. If needed, just a little cream gets whipped into the mixture.
When decorating, I transferred the frosting to a piping bag using a 1M tip. Starting in the middle of each cookie, I traced a spiral to create a rose shape on each cookie. It’s important to use constant pressure and release the pressure slowly as you approach the end of your spiral. Alternatively, you can always decorate these cookies using an offset spatula or the back of spoon.
Make Ahead Tips
The cookie dough (divided into 2 round discs, with each disc wrapped in plastic) can be stored in the fridge for up to 48 hours before rolling, cutting and baking into round cookies.
Baked and fully cooled cookies can be frozen. Place sheets of wax paper or parchment paper in between layers of cookies and freeze in a freezer safe container. Always thaw in the fridge.
For the strawberry frosting, make the puree and boil it down up to 2 days in advance. Cool fully, place in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
More Strawberry Recipes to Love
- Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Frosting
- Strawberry Cupcakes
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
- Strawberry Sauce – perfect for ice cream sundaes!
Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Sheets
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 3 cups cake flour (360 grams), for extra thick cookies – add 2 extra tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams), softened but not starting to melt
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 ounces cream cheese (56 grams), full-fat, brick style
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- extra cake flour, for rolling out the cookies
Strawberry Frosting
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams), slightly softened
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar (330-440 grams), sifted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons whipping cream (15-30 ml), if needed
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk for 20 seconds and set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamed – about 2-4 minutes.
- Beat the cream cheese into the butter mixture until smooth. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Mix the egg, vanilla extract and almond extract into the butter mixture until combined.
- With the mixer on a low speed, mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until all the flour is incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half. Dump each half onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form each half into a disc shape that's about 1 inch thick. Wrap each with the plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate the dough discs for at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃) and line cookie sheets with baking paper or silicone baking mats. If the dough has been in the fridge overnight, let it sit on the counter to warm up slightly before using.
- Work with 1 disc of dough at a time (leave the other in the fridge). Lightly flour a clean kitchen work surface and dust a rolling pin. Unwrap the disc of dough and lightly dust with flour. Place on the floured work surface and roll out until it's about ⅓ inch thick (about 5-8 mm). Using a circular cookie cutter, cut the cookies into rounds and carefully transfer to a lined cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 1½ inches apart. Form the scraps into a ball and repeat the process.
- Bake 1 cookie sheet at a time in the middle of the preheated oven. Bake for about 11-13 minutes, or until the tops look set. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets.
Strawberry Frosting
- Puree the sliced strawberries in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- Pour the puree through a metal sifter to remove the seeds. I recommend using the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to push the seeds through the sifter. Transfer the puree into a medium saucepan.
- With the saucepan over low-medium heat, bring to a gentle bowl while stirring constantly. The puree will start to thicken and darken in color. Be sure to constantly stir (I always use a rubber silicone spatula) to prevent burning. When it's about ⅓ to ¼ of the original volume – it should be thick, almost like jam – remove from the heat. This process will take about 20 minutes. Cool fully.. YOu can speed up the process by transferring to a heat safe container and popping it in the fridge.
- When the reduced puree is fully cooled (no longer warm to the touch) – continue the frosting. In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Then beat in 2 cups powdered sugar. Add in 3 tablespoons of the fully cooled, reduced strawberry puree and salt. Beat together, starting with the mixer on a low speed. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with 1 extra tablespoon of reduced puree or cream until the desired thickness and sweetness is reached.
- If using a piping bag, transfer the frosting to the piping bag fitted with your tip of choice (I used a 1M Wilson tip). Frost the cookies – I used a circular motion, starting in the center of each cookie and going outwards. Alternatively, decorate with an offset spatula or butter knife.
Notes
- Cake Flour: Do not use self-rising cake flour. If you do not have cake flour on hand, measure out 2⅔ cups of all-purpose flour. Add in ⅓ cup cornstarch. Sift together 3 times.
- Cream Cheese: Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese.
- Almond Extract: This is optional but recommended. It can typically be found near the vanilla extract in your grocery store.
- Strawberries: Fresh or frozen work, but if using frozen, be sure to thaw first for easier blending.
- Frosting: You many have some leftover frosting – it is difficult to predict the amount needed, as everyone likes a different amount of frosting on their cookies.
- Make Ahead Tips: Make the cookie dough (steps 1-7) up to 48 hours before you plan to serve. Roll out the dough and bake the day you plan to serve or 1 day before. Store baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. For the frosting, make the puree and boil (steps 1-3) up to 48 hours before you plan to serve. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Complete the frosting (steps 4-5) the day you plan to serve the cookies.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in a single layer at room temperature for up to 8 hours, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let the cookies sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before enjoying if they’ve been in the fridge.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only, based on 1 cookie, assuming the recipe yields 20 uniform cookies and all the frosting is used. This is obviously a bit challenging to estimate, as the number of cookies will vary depending on the size of your cookie cutter.
