Strawberry shortbread cookies

Buttery, with a tender texture and fantastic strawberry flavor, these strawberry shortbread cookies are small delicious, and not overly sweet treats you can make at home in no time.

Why you should try this recipe

• Not overly sweet – This recipe will be perfect for those who don’t like overly sweet desserts.
• Prominent strawberry flavor – Just like my Strawberry cookies, these shortbread cookies are made with freeze-dried strawberries. Freeze-dried strawberry powder provides a very strong strawberry flavor which is 100% natural.
• This strawberry cookie recipe can be made without special equipment – If you don’t have a stand mixer or a hand mixer, you still can make this cookie recipe by working the butter into dry ingredients using a rubber spatula, spoon, fork, or your hands. 

Ingredients you will need 

• Freeze-dried strawberry powder – I make these cookies with freeze-dried strawberry powder for a mind-blowing strawberry flavor. You can buy it in a store or make it by pulsing freeze-dried strawberry wedges in a blender or a food processor. If you're interested in what else to make with freeze-dried strawberries, check out these Strawberry cupcakes or my favorite no-bake Strawberry tiramisu.
• Flour – I use all-purpose flour but pastry flour will work in this recipe too.
• Sugar – I use granulated sugar but you can use powdered sugar instead. The cookies that are made with powdered sugar will be more hard and crispy.
• Salt – Salt makes a huge difference in the flavor of these shortbread strawberry cookies.
• Vanilla extract – It’s an optional ingredient but I think vanilla compliments the flavor in this strawberry shortbread cookies recipe.
• Butter – Use room temperature unsalted butter. 

Cooking tips

• Don’t overmix the dough. The more you mix the dough the more the butter is melting and hydrating the flour which can create too much gluten. It can create dense cookies which we don’t want.
• Chill the dough well. Take your time and form a dough log that will be easy to cut and chill it well. I place it in the freezer for 20 minutes to save some time, but you can leave it in the fridge for 1 hour instead. Once the butter in the dough is solidified, it will be very easy to slice the log and lift the cookies with your hands.
• Chill the cookies once more before baking. If you desire cookies with minimal spreading, it is necessary to refrigerate or freeze them until they become firm prior to baking. This step is particularly crucial if you wish to maintain a specific shape, such as these Valentine cookies that I chilled before baking.
• Cool down before decorating. Whether you want to decorate these strawberry cookies using chocolate, or you want to apply sugar icing on top, you need to cool down your cookies first. Once your cookies are not warm to the touch and firm, you can start decorating them.

How to make strawberry shortbread cookies

Preparing the cookie dough

1. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the flour, freeze-dried strawberry powder, and salt and sugar. Mix well.
2. Add the butter and vanilla and mix until the dough has formed.
3. Shape the dough into a 2 ½” (6cm)  thick log and wrap it with plastic wrap. Let it chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Cutting out the cookies and baking them

1. Preheat the oven to 355F (180C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Slice the dough log into 14-16 slices approximately ¼” ( ½ cm) thick.
3. Place the cookies on the baking sheet leaving 1” in between (bake in two batches if needed) and bake for 10 -12 minutes. 
4. Allow your strawberry shortbread cookies to cool down for 10 minutes on a baking sheet before transferring them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Decorating shortbread strawberry cookies

1. Place ⅔ of the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in short increments, mixing well in between, until 90% of the chocolate has melted.
2. Fold the rest of the chocolate and mix until all chocolate has melted and the mixture looks homogenous.
3. Dip each cookie halfway in the chocolate and shake off the excess. Place them on the parchment paper and sprinkle with freeze-dried strawberries. Let the chocolate set at room temperature. 

How to make the cookies dough in a food processor

Add all dry ingredients to your food processor and pulse to combine. Then, add the butter and pulse just until the dough has formed. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill.

Now you can roll out the dough, cut out the cookies and bake them!

Possible variations 

• Lemon strawberry shortbread cookies - Add the zest of one lemon to the cookie dough for a refreshing twist. The bright citrus flavor pairs beautifully with the strawberry.
• Strawberry shortbread sandwich cookies - Bake the cookies as directed and let them cool completely. Then, spread a layer of strawberry cream cheese or strawberry buttercream frosting between two cookies to create a delightful sandwich.
• Royal Icing - Prepare a batch of royal icing by combining powdered sugar and a little water or lemon juice. Add a drop of pink food coloring to achieve a light pink shade. Decorate the cookies with piping designs, such as swirls, lines, or dots, using a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.

FAQ

More cookie recipes you may like

Raspberry cookies

Lemon cookies

Honey cookies

Recipe card

Strawberry shortbread cookies

Buttery, with a tender texture and fantastic strawberry flavor, these strawberry shortbread cookies are small delicious, and not overly sweet treats you can make at home in no time.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Chilling: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 cookies

Calories: 207kcal

Author: Anna

Equipment

• Digital kitchen scale
• Stand mixer with a paddle attachment or hand mixer and a large mixing bowl
• Parchment paper

Ingredients

• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon freeze-dried strawberries
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 190 g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 90 g white granulated sugar softened
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Decoration (optional)

• 100 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Freeze-dried strawberry crushed

MetricUS Customary

Instructions

For the cookies

• In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a bowl and a hand mixer), add the flour, freeze-dried strawberry powder, salt and sugar. Mix well.
• Add the butter and vanilla and mix until the butter has incorporated completely into the dry ingredients and the dough has formed.
• Shape the dough into a 2 ½“ (6cm) thick log and wrap it with plastic wrap. Let it chill in the freezer for 20 minutes or in the fridge for one hour. You can also store the dough in the fridge overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 355F (180C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• When the dough is hard enough to cut with a knife, remove from the freezer and slice it into 14-16 slices approximately ¼” ( ½ cm) thick.
• Place the cookies on the baking sheet leaving 1” in between (bake in two batches if needed) and bake for 10 -12 minutes or until the cookies are not shiny anymore, puffy, a bit spread out and golden around the edges.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool down for 10 minutes on a baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Decoration (optional)

• Place ⅔ of the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in short increments, mixing well in between, until 90% of the chocolate has melted.
• Fold the rest of the chocolate and leave it to sit on the kitchen counter for 1 minute. Then, mix until all chocolate has melted and the mixture looks homogenous.
• Dip each cookie halfway in the chocolate and shake off the excess. Place them on the parchment paper and sprinkle with freeze-dried strawberries. Let the chocolate set at room temperature.

Video

Notes

Store completely cooled cookies on a plate loosely covered with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 10 days. 

Store the dough in the fridge for 4 days.

Freeze the dough for 2 months.

Freeze the cookies for 2 months.

 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Strawberry shortbread cookies

Serving Size

 

1 cookie

Amount per Serving

Calories

207

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

12

g

18

%

Saturated Fat

 

8

g

50

%

Trans Fat

 

0.4

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

3

g

Cholesterol

 

26

mg

9

%

Sodium

 

75

mg

3

%

Potassium

 

80

mg

2

%

Carbohydrates

 

22

g

7

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

9

g

10

%

Protein

 

2

g

4

%

Vitamin A

 

300

IU

6

%

Vitamin C

 

23

mg

28

%

Calcium

 

10

mg

1

%

Iron

 

2

mg

11

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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