Strawberry cheesecake cookies

I am hesitant to post this recipe. It's kind of magical. 
I should have taken lovely pictures from when they were first baked, or frosted...er, cheesecaked. Alas, all I have are morning after pics. They were very popular.

Strawberry cookies are not all that common, as strawberries are difficult to cook with. Too wet, not enough flavor comes through. Most recipes call for strawberry jello or cake mix, all with artificial flavoring, bleh. much bleh. These cookies use powdered strawberries, nothing added to them whatsoever. No extra sugar preservatives flavors etc. Freeze dried strawberries are sold in 1.2oz bages at Trader Joes, Target, and Aldi for about $3 each. This recipes requires 2 bags, up to half a bag more, if you're feeling wild. 
Instead of a traditional frosting, I used Tosi's liquid cheesecake. Tastes like cheesecake, spreads and (supposedly) pipes like frosting! I however overcooked it by 40 minutes, so no piping, but i did manage to make it work. Kind of magical. 

Milkbar inspired Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies 

Strawberry Cookies

Makes approx 15 large or 30 small


225 g / 16 tbsp butter, at room temp
300 g / 1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
270 g / 1 1/2 cups + 4 tsp flour
68 g freeze-dried strawberries, 2 packages
3 g / 3/4 tsp baking powder
1.5 g / 1/4 tsp baking soda
6 g / 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1. Combine strawberries and flour in food processor, blend until thoroughly mix. It will be rather pink. This helps keep the strawberries from turning into a deadly airborne poison. Okay not a poison but the powder is so fine and light that it flows out of the machine and directly into your sinuses. It hurts. Then you sneeze strawberry. 

2. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes. Seems like a long time, but it helps with emulsification, gives the cookie a distinct texture.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour strawberry mix, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Using a 1/3-cup measure for larger cookies, or a tablespoon for smaller, portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature-- they will not bake properly.

5. Heat the oven to 350°F.

6. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart for large cookies, 2 inches for smaller, on parchment or Silpat-lined sheet pans. Bake 18 minutes for large, 14 for small. The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. After 18 minutes, they should be faintly browned on the edges, still very pink. They go from perfect to overbaked very quickly, they should not be dark or brownish.

7. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or to an airtight container for storage. At room temp, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.


8. After they are cool, spread on or pipe liquid cheesecake.

Liquid Cheesecake 

Makes approx 3 cups

450 g / 8 oz cream cheese (2 packages)
300 g / 1 1/2 cups sugar
12 g / 1 tsp cornstarch
4 g / 1 tsp kosher salt
50 g / 2 tbsp milk
2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.

2. mix the cream cheese with the paddle attachment and low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. add the sugar and mix for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar has been completely incorporated. scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. whisk together the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. whisk in the milk in a slow, steady stream, then whisk in the egg until the slurry is homogeneous.

4. with the mixer on medium-low speed, stream in the egg slurry. paddle for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and loose. scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. line the bottom and sides of a 8 x 8 (or similar) baking pan with parchment, or just grease with your preferred greaser. pour the batter into pan, and bake for 15 minutes. gently shake the pan. the cheesecake should be firmer and more set toward the outer boundaries of the baking pan but still be jiggly and loose in the dead center. if the cheesecake is jiggly all over, give it 5 minutes more. and 5 minutes more if it needs it, but it’s never taken me more than 25 minutes to underbake one. if the cheesecake rises more than a ¼ inch or begins to brown, take it out of the oven immediately.  (Note: If you overbake the hell out of it, it's saveable. let it cool completely, add to bowl with paddle attachment, add 1/4 cup of milk. mix on medium until smooth. Not as nice but still tasty and spreadable.)

6. cool the cheesecake completely, to finish the baking process and allow the cheesecake to set. the final product will resemble a cheesecake, but it will be pipeable and pliable enough to easily spread or smear, while still having body and volume. once cool, the cheesecake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up 1 week.



The base recipes is Christina Tosi's famous Corn Cookies, specifically from the cookbook Momofuku Milk Bar. Great cookbook if you really want to make something different. and complicated.