Easy Strawberry Crunch Cookies (Without Cake Mix)
These chewy Strawberry Crunch Cookies taste just like those classic strawberry crunch ice cream bars you use to love as a kid, but in cookie form!! Bursting with strawberry flavor, these buttery soft cookies are made from scratch (no box mix here!!) and filled with tart freeze dried strawberries and Golden Oreos. Best part? They are topped with a generous sprinkle of strawberry crunch topping and a creamy vanilla glaze. These delicious cookies are perfect for any occasion from spring and summer to any time of the year!!
Ingredients
For The Strawberry Crunch Cookies
- 2 ¾ cup (344 g) All purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 cup (227 g) Unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup (220 g) Light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup (100 g) Granulated sugar
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- 1.2 oz bag Freeze dried strawberries crushed into pea size pieces
- 8 Golden Oreos crushed
For The Strawberry Crunch Topping
- 10 Oreo cookies
- 0.6 oz (¼ cup) Freeze dried strawberries ½ of a 1.2 oz bag
- ½ teaspoon Granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) Unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
For The Vanilla Glaze
- ½ cup (60 g) Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons (45 g) Heavy cream
Instructions
For the strawberry crunch cookies
- Cut butter into 1 inch slices and melt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow the butter to cool while you prepare the dry ingredients. Alternatively, you can melt the butter in the microwave in 30 second intervals.1 cup (227 g) Unsalted butter
- Using a ziplock bag with a rolling pin or a food processor, crush the Oreos until small and medium in size. Crush or blend the freeze dried strawberries until you have small pea sized pieces.
- In a medium bowl, shift together the flour, cornstarch, and baking soda. Whisk in the kosher salt.2 ¾ cup (344 g) All purpose flour, 1 teaspoon Baking soda, 1 teaspoon Cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
- In the stand mixer bowl with the melted butter, beat the melted butter and both sugars with the paddle attachment on medium high until the mixture is thick, creamy, and resembles a paste like consistency. About 2 minutes. Stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl after 1 minute.1 cup (220 g) Light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) Granulated sugar
- With the mixer on medium speed, add in the eggs one at a time mixing until fully combined. Add in the vanilla extract with the last egg.2 large Eggs, 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, mixing until just combined. After adding the last of the flour mixture, mix until you only see a few streaks. Remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer and add in the crushed Oreos and freeze dried strawberries. Using a rubber spatula, fold everything together until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.1.2 oz bag Freeze dried strawberries, 8 Golden Oreos
- Line a plate with wax paper and set aside. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and using a large cookie scoop, measure out 2.5 oz of dough per cookie. Lightly roll the dough into balls using the palms of your hands, they do not have to be perfect. Smooth out any cracks. Place the dough balls on the wax paper lined plate and place in the fridge uncovered to firm up, about 10 to 15 minutes, while the oven preheats.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 5 balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, about two inches apart. Leave the remaining dough balls in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Bake the cookies for 12 – 14 minutes depending on the texture of cookie you like. 12 minutes will yield a soft, gooey cookie while 14 minutes will give you a firmer cookie (don't worry it will still be soft). Remove the cookies from the oven halfway through baking and firmly tap the baking sheet on a heatproof surface to deflate the cookies. Rotate the baking sheet and return cookies to the oven and continue to bake. The cookies are ready when they are a light golden brown on the edge but pale and slightly wet in the middle. The cookies are better when they are slightly underbaked and will harden as they cool. While the cookies are baking, make the strawberry crunch topping.
For the strawberry crunch topping
- Combine the Oreo cookies, freeze dried strawberries, sugar, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Slowly stream in the melted butter and pulse the mixture until you reach pea sized crumbs. If using a food processor, do not over-process the crumble or you will be left with tiny crumbs. Refer to post instructions above if using a ziplock bag and rolling pin to make the strawberry crumble.10 Oreo cookies, 0.6 oz (¼ cup) Freeze dried strawberries, ½ teaspoon Granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons (28 g) Unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
- Remove the cookies from the oven and using a small bowl or biscuit cutter, scoot the cookies in a circular motion until perfectly round. Top the cookies with strawberry crunch topping, pressing down lightly so the topping adheres to the cookies. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are cooling, make the vanilla glaze .
For the vanilla glaze
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream until smooth.½ cup (60 g) Powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, 2-3 tablespoons (45 g) Heavy cream
- Drizzle the cooled cookies with the vanilla glaze in a zigzag motion. Sprinkle a little of the leftover strawberry crumble on top of the glaze. Allow the glaze to set then enjoy!!
Notes
- Properly measure the flour - Use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour. If you do not have a food scale, use a fork to first fluff the flour, then spoon it into your measuring cup. Level the excess flour in the measuring cup with back of a butter knife.
- Use parchment paper - Baking the cookies on parchment paper prevents the cookies from spreading too much.
- Use cool melted butter - Using warm butter will cause the cookies to be greasy and spread more.
- Underbake the cookies - Underbaking the cookies helps maintain their gooey center. The cookies should appear slightly wet and doughy in the center while the edges should appear just set when removed from the oven.
- Don't over mix the cookie dough - To retain a tender texture, add the freeze dried strawberries and crushed Oreos when there are still a few streaks of flour. Then, fold everything together and stop mixing when the flour and mix ins are just combined.
- Don't make smaller cookies - These cookies are larger than the average homemade cookie and have more of a bakery style quality. With larger cookies, it takes longer for the heat to reach the center allowing the edges to bake first until they are golden and crisp while the center stays gooey and soft. Baking smaller cookies does not ensure the same texture.