Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

What are the Ingredients in Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies?

• Neufchatel cheese
• Butter
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Sugar
• Sugar-free strawberry jello
• Sea salt
• Baking powder
• All purpose flour

How do you make Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies?

These cookies are very easy to make, and, aside from some chilling time, they come together very easily.  

• To start, cream together the softened neufchatel, softened butter, egg and vanilla using an electric mixer.
• Add the granulated sugar, sugar-free jello, sea salt, baking powder and flour and mix until fully combined with no flour showing.
• Lay out a piece of plastic wrap.  Transfer the full contents of the mixing bowl and wrap up to seal.  Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 24 hours.
• When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Use a Tablespoon to scoop out the dough.  Gently roll between your palms to form a ball (dough will be rather sticky).  Place on a baking sheet about one inch apart (these cookies do not spread a great deal while cooking).
• Lightly flatten the cookies (*see notes below for ideas on thickness and possible additions).
• Bake for 10-12 minutes until fully set.  Allow to fully cool on the sheet pan before removing.

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Customizations

So I think these cookies come out really nice as written, but I do have some ideas for ingredient swap to fit your preferences or the materials you may have on hand.

First for swaps you can make with the ingredients:

• I used neufchatel cheese as I prefer the flavor and like that it slightly lightens up a dish over traditional cream cheese; however, regular or light cream cheese could be substituted and the cookies would turn out just fine.
• Feel free to use your favorite butter: traditional, olive oil, plant based, etc
• The vanilla extract could be swapped with almond extract if that is your preference
• One of the best ways to customize these cookies if you really want to make a swap.  Blueberry or raspberry flavored sugar-free jello would both be very interesting to try.

Other ways to customize Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies:

• Consider pressing the cookies out a bit thinner if you prefer a bit of a stiffer cookie, as these have a fudg-y cheesecake-like texture.
• Consider adding a bit of crust:  Mix crushed graham cracker crumbs with some melted butter.  Dip one side of the cookies before baking to give a bit of a cheesecake crust feel to the cookies.
  • Another way to accomplish this would be by mixing some graham cracker crumbles directly into the mix before chilling to give bits of crust “feel” much like a strawberry cheesecake ice cream may have.

How to store Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies?

• As stated above, make sure the cookies are fully cooled before attempting to remove them from the pan.  This will prevent the cookies from wanting to tear or crumble with the spatula.
• When the cookies have finished cooling, they are ready to serve or store for later.
• To store:  put the cookies into an airtight container.  They will keep for up to a week.

What are some Dinner ideas for which Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies would make a great dessert?

• Creamy Kale Pasta is a light, easy to make, very fresh tasting pasta dish for which a little dessert after words would not feel too heavy.
• Instant Pot Pepper & Mango Fajitas would also be great with these cookies for a light dinner or lunch.
• These Roasted Balsamic Vegetable Flatbreads would be great as part of a brunch bar served along with the strawberry cheesecake cookies.

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

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Ingredients

  

• 6 oz neufchatel cheese softened
• ¼ cup butter softened
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1 package sugar-free strawberry jello
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup all purpose flour

Instructions

 

• Add neufchatel, butter, egg and vanilla to a mixing bowl. Cream together until well combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the bowl.
• Mix until fully combined and smooth.
• Place mixture in plastic wrap and seal. Chill for at least 30 minutes (up to 24 hours).
• Preheat the oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Use a Tablespoon to scoop out balls of the dough. Roll between your palms and place on the prepared baking sheet 1” apart.
• Lightly press cookies with your palm to flatten slightly.
• Bake 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the pan.