These heart shaped strawberry shortbread cookies are tender and buttery, loaded with strawberries, drizzled with strawberry white chocolate and topped with crushed freeze dried strawberries. So, SO good.
The star of these cookies are freeze dried strawberries. They have a super concentrated strawberry flavor and are mixed into the cookie dough, white chocolate drizzle and sprinkled on top. Using freeze dried strawberries helps to get as much real strawberry flavor as possible, without compromising the texture of the shortbread cookies.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- So delicious and packed with real strawberry flavor.
- Loved by both adults and kids. My kids go crazy for these cookies.
- Perfect for Valentine's Day!
- These cookies are everything a shortbread cookie should be, buttery, tender, crumbly and not overly sweet.
- This recipe is simple and the dough is easy to roll out.
- Easy to follow recipe with step by step instructions.
Recipe Ingredients
All purpose flour
Fine sea salt
Unsalted butter
Confectioners' sugar
Vanilla extract
Freeze dried strawberries
White chocolate - I recommend using white chocolate wafers (I like the Ghirardelli brand.) because they have a thinner melting consistency, unlike white chocolate chips that tend to be thicker when melted.
Recipe Instructions
Before beginning the recipe, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together dry ingredients, flour and salt.
- Beat together butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla, until smooth and creamy. You can do this with a stand or hand mixer.
- Beat in the flour and salt.
- Stir in the crushed freeze dried strawberries.
- Shape the dough and chill. Form the dough into a disc shape and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for 20 minutes.
- Roll out the dough to ¼" thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out the cookies and place them on the lined cookie sheets. Re-roll and cut out the remaining dough.
- Chill the cookies for 45 minutes. While chilling, preheat your oven to 350F.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the edges are light golden brown.
- Melt the white chocolate and stir in the strawberry powder. Melt the chocolate in 15 second increments in the microwave until smooth and melted. Stir in the strawberry powder.
- Transfer the strawberry white chocolate to a piping bag or zip top bag. You can also drizzle the chocolate with a fork or spoon.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.
- Sprinkle with crushed freeze dried strawberries. Let the chocolate firm up a bit, about 10 minutes, before serving.
Baking Tips
- For the white chocolate drizzle, the strawberries have to pulverized to a powder before being mixed into the white chocolate. If the pieces are too big, they will block the piping bag.
- The best white chocolate for dipping is either white chocolate bars or white chocolate wafers as they melt into a thin and smooth consistency. You can use white chocolate chips but the chocolate will be considerably thicker, due to the anti-melting properties that are in chocolate chips.
Storage and Freezing
These cookies can stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
They can also be frozen, stored in an airtight container, for up to 3 months.
Substitutions and Variations
- You can use any freeze dried fruit in place of strawberries. These are particularly good with raspberries.
FAQs
Most large grocery stores carry freeze dried strawberries. I get mine from Target or Trader Joes.
This recipe will make 12 large (3- 3 ½") cookies. If using a smaller cutter (2"), you can get 20 cookies out of the recipe.
I hope that you enjoy these strawberry shortbread cookies as much as I do! If you make them, let me know and leave a comment, or tag me on Instagram.
Enjoy!
More Cookie Recipes to Try
Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Butter Maple Pecan Cookies
Recipe
Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
For the strawberry shortbread cookies:
- 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup freeze dried strawberries, crushed
For the strawberry white chocolate:
- ½ cup white chocolate ( I recommend bars or wafers)
- 1 tablespoon freeze dried strawberries, pulverized to a fine powder
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.2 ¼ cup all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla and beat together on medium speed until smooth and creamy.1 cup unsalted butter, softened, ½ cup confectioners sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- With the mixer speed on low, beat in the flour until just combined.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir in the freeze dried strawberries.⅓ cup freeze dried strawberries, crushed
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press the dough together to form a disc shape and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 20 minutes.
- Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Roll out cookie dough to about ¼ inch thick.
- With the a 3" heart cookie cutter, cut out the dough and place 2" apart on prepared cookie sheets. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used.
- Place the cookies into the refrigerator to chill for 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F while the cookies are chilling.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to turn a light golden brown, rotating the pans halfway through baking.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Melt the white chocolate in 15 second increments, stirring after each, in the microwave until smooth and melted.½ cup white chocolate ( I recommend bars or wafers)
- Stir in the strawberry powder.1 tablespoon freeze dried strawberries, pulverized to a fine powder
- Pour the strawberry white chocolate into a piping bag (or a zip top bag) and drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.
- Sprinkle crushed strawberries over the cookies. Let the chocolate firm up for 10 minutes before serving.
Michelle says
Do you think fresh strawberries would work for the dough? I don’t have freeze dried! And I’m not sure where to get it.
Ashley says
Unfortunately no, the dough would be too wet. Freeze dried strawberries can be found at Aldi, Trader Joes and World Market.
Joann says
Hi. I’m wondering if these cookies would work for cut out cookies decorated with royal icing. Or… Do you think they are too delicate?
Ashley says
Hi Joann, I think you could, though they will be more delicate than a sugar cookie. I definitely wouldn't stack them because they could crumble. Ash xx
Pinar says
Mine didn’t come together. Felt like baking cookies for the first time in my life. Love the taste of the dough. I will give a try with more butter maybe? I used the exact amount in this one though.
Ashley says
Hi Pinar! Did you use 2 sticks (1 cup of butter)? This is a very buttery and moist dough so if it's not coming together, I'm wondering if maybe not enough butter was used, or maybe too much flour? We can try to troubleshoot it so you have perfect cookies next time. Ash xx
Linda says
I made these yesterday as a thank you gift. They turned out amazing! Pretty, well balanced, not too sweet, perfectly crumbled. Thank you for the recipe. Wouldn't change a thing!
Ashley says
Wonderful! I'm so happy you enjoyed them!