Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies with Cake Mix

5 from 35 votes

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies have a bright, fruity cookie outside with a creamy, tangy cream cheese filling. Made with cake mix & other simple ingredients!

three strawberry cheesecake cookies on a baking rack.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

You'll get the sweet tang of strawberry on the outside with a creamy, cheesecake-like filling. It's such a great combination of two flavor profiles that tastes just like a bite of strawberry cheesecake! (If you want a fall variety of these cookies, make sure you try my Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Cookies.)
They're so unique. Who knew that making stuffed cookies could be so easy? The secret to making sure the cookies have a soft texture on the outside and creamy filling on the inside is freezing that cheesecake filling before baking. I'll show you how in this post.
I love using cake mix to make a cookie - it's a great shortcut that gives you bakery-style cookies with much less work!

Ingredients & Variations

ingredients for strawberry cheesecake cookies.

Strawberry Cookies

15.25 ounce box of strawberry cake mix - This gives the cookies a pretty pink color and a perfect strawberry flavor. This is a standard-size box of cake mix; you can give or take an ounce of mix without really needing to change the recipe.
2 large eggs
1 stick salted butter - Room temperature butter works best for blending.
½ cup white chocolate chips - These can be omitted if you're not into them.
1 cup finely diced fresh strawberries - I recommend fresh strawberries as opposed to frozen ones. You'll get a much brighter flavor! You can add a crunchy element by using freeze-dried strawberries instead of fresh.

Cheesecake Filling

6 ounces of cream cheese - Again, room temperature works best for blending. Light cream cheese will give you the same flavor with less fat if desired.
½ cup of powdered sugar

Not a cheesecake fan? These make great plain strawberry cookies. Just use the cake mix cookie batter and omit the cheesecake filling.

How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

strawberry cake mix, butter, and eggs in bowl.

cream cheese tablespoons on a cookie sheet.

strawberry cookie dough on a baking pan.

cream cheese spoons in middle of cake batter cookie dough.

cookie dough folded around cream cheese.

Make the cookie dough: In a large mixing bowl, beat together 1 box strawberry cake mix, 2 large eggs, and 1 stick softened butter until smooth and well combined. Gently fold in ½ cup white chocolate chips and 1 cup diced strawberries. Tip: Pat strawberries dry with a paper towel to reduce excess moisture. Cover the dough and refrigerate until ready to assemble.
Make the cream cheese filling: In a separate bowl, beat together 6 ounces softened cream cheese and ½ cup powdered sugar until creamy. Scoop the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet in tablespoon portions (a small cookie scoop works perfectly). Freeze until firm, about 1 hour. This step is important - frozen filling is much easier to seal inside the cookie dough without leaking during baking.
Assemble the cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Scoop cookie dough into 2-3 tablespoon portions, spacing about 6 per parchment-lined baking sheet. Use your thumb or the back of a spoon to press a shallow indent into the center of each dough ball. Place one frozen cream cheese scoop inside each indent. Carefully fold the dough up and over the filling, sealing edges completely so no cream cheese is exposed. Tip: Chill assembled dough balls for 15 minutes if the dough feels sticky - this helps prevent spreading.
Bake: Bake at 350°F for 13-16 minutes, until the tops and edges just begin to turn golden. For perfectly round cookies, gently "scoot" a round cookie cutter around each cookie while still warm. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for at least 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack - this helps the filling set and keeps cookies from breaking apart.

Step-by-Step Video

FAQs

There are two reasons this might happen; 1) you didn't surround the cream cheese center in enough cookie dough prior to baking or 2) the cream cheese centers weren't frozen when you put them in the oven.

I like to chill the dough while preparing my other ingredients for the cookies; it gets it nice and firm, making it easier to work with. If you find it too flimsy to work with when you're trying to wrap the cookies, you can always pop it in the fridge or freezer for an extra 15-30 minutes to firm it up even more.

The final cookies should be cakey, but not soggy. If your cookies are a little soggy for your taste, make sure to pat the strawberries dry before adding them to your dough to reduce moisture.

strawberry cheesecake cookie broken in half.

Helpful Tips and Tricks

Make sure the cream cheese filling is frozen solid so it won't fall apart when you transfer it to the cookie. It will thaw and get ooey-gooey delicious while you're baking.
This recipe makes roughly a dozen cookies. I recommend cooking them in two batches of 6; they are pretty large in the sizes I've mentioned.
These cookies are on the cake-ier side (which works really well with the cream cheese center). If you want more thick, chewy cookies, only use 1 egg and melt the butter before mixing with the cake mix.
These are great served warm or cold!
Storage: Keep cookies in the refrigerator (because of the cream cheese filling) in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Freezing: Freeze flat on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container; thaw in the fridge for 12-24 hours before serving.

More Strawberry Desserts

I hope you love this unique show-stopper of a cookie! 🍪 🍓 If you give them a try, I would love for you to rate ⭐️ and review 💭 them in the comments below.

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

By: Leslie Lambert

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies have a bright, fruity cookie outside with a creamy, tangy cream cheese filling. Made with cake mix & other simple ingredients!

5 from 35 votes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Refrigeration Time 1

Total Time 1 25

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 312 kcal