Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 creams cheese , softened
• 0.25 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
• 0.75 cups granulated sugar
• 0.25 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg , at room temperature
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2.75 cups all-purpose flour
• 0.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 0.5 teaspoons baking soda
• 0.25 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries

Instructions

1. 1

   Gather all ingredients. Line a small rimmed baking sheet withparchment paper; set aside.

2. 2

   Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Scoop cream cheese mixture into 16 portions (about 1 teaspoon each), and place onto prepared baking sheet. Freeze, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

3. 3

   Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) with racks in top third and lower third positions. Line 1 large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

4. 4

   Whisk together melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until mostly combined (mixture will look broken). Add egg and vanilla, and whisk until mixture looks homogenous.

5. 5

   Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to butter mixture; whisk until almost fully incorporated and a few dry streaks remain, about 1 minute. Fold freeze-dried strawberries into flour mixture until fully combined and strawberries are broken up into smaller bits.

6. 6

   Scoop dough into 16 portions (about 3 tablespoons each). Working with 1 dough portion at a time, use your hands to flatten dough into a 1/2-inch thick disk. Place a frozen cream cheese ball in center of dough disk, and carefully wrap dough around cream cheese ball to enclose. Transfer cookie to prepared baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining dough and cream cheese balls. Chill cookies, uncovered, 30 minutes.

7. 7

   Line a second large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer 8 of the cookies to the second sheet, spacing all cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake in preheated oven until edges are golden and the tops are set, about 12 minutes, rotating baking sheets between top and bottom racks halfway through bake time. Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.