Strawberry cake mix cookies are irresistibly soft with a decadent cheesecake filling. The powdered sugar crackle on the outside is the perfect finish and make them extra cute and sweet. These pretty-in-pink strawberry cookies are special enough for a Valentine’s Day or Easter dessert, but they are delicious anytime. The rich cheesecake center cuts the sweetness, which can sometimes be problematic with cake mix cookies. Stuffed cookies are a fun way to level up your baking game! Some of our other favorite stuffed cookies recipes are Biscoff Cookie Butter Cookies, Big Blue Monster Stuffed Cookies, and Dulce de Leche Stuffed Cookies.
Why this Recipe Works
These strawberry crinkle cookies have a slightly crisp edge, soft middle, and overall chewiness. They are fun to fill, shape, and roll in the powdered sugar, so they are a great cookie to get kids involved with. Plus, with just five ingredients in the cookie dough, they are easy to throw together. You could really use any cake mix you like with the cream cheese filling to change up the flavor profile of these cake mix cookies. Lemon, funfetti, chocolate, red velvet – all of them would be delicious!
Ingredient Notes
This is a quick overview of some of the important ingredients you’ll need for this strawberry cake mix cookie recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Strawberry cake mix: Using a cake mix really simplifies this recipe and makes it a great one for beginners. Disregard the package instructions and just use the dry mix the with the other ingredients listed in the recipe card here to make these strawberry cake mix cookies. Cream cheese: I recommend using full-fat cream cheese softened to room temperature for best results. Powdered sugar: This is used with the cream cheese to make the filling, but it also adds a pretty crackled finish and texture to the outside of the cookies.
How to Make This Recipe
In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, remaining powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy and smooth. If the cream cheese is too cold, this might be difficult to do without ending up with lumps of plain cream cheese in the filling. Drop by 2-3 teaspoon-sized mounds onto a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper and refrigerate freeze for 15 minutes while making the cookie dough. Or refrigerate for an hour or more until firm. Beat the cake mix, additional flour, eggs, half of the powdered sugar, and melted butter together in a large bowl until combined. This is easiest with a hand mixer, but can definitely be done by hand as well. Chilling the dough for an hour is optional, but it does make for easier handling when shaping the cookies. Scoop the cookie dough into balls using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, then flatten them into discs. Place one of the mounds of chilled cream cheese mixture into the center of each cookie, then wrap the dough around the filling, rolling it into a ball between your palms to seal the edges. Roll each stuffed cookie dough ball in additional powdered sugar to create the crinkle finish, them space them a few inches apart on a baking sheet so they have room to spread while they bake. Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes until they are set around the edges and lose their glossy sheen on top. These cookies don’t brown much, so you are looking more for things like texture with the crackle finish on top and for the cookies to look baked through. Let the cookies cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet to finish setting up before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Storage & Freezing
Storage: Because the cream cheese is mixed with powdered sugar and baked, it technically is safe to leave them out on the counter for a few days in an airtight container, but we recommend storing them in the fridge for about 10 days just because we like these cookies best when chilled. Freezing: You can freeze the cookies for up to 3 months. Just thaw in the fridge or on the counter before serving.
Recipe Tips
If you prefer to make these without the filling, you can just scoop, roll, and bake. Or try filling with Nutella or stuffing with a golden Oreo instead. You might have cream cheese filling leftover. It can be stored in a freezer-safe plastic Ziploc bag in the freezer for 3 months for making more cookies or stuffing into any other favorite cookie dough like chocolate chip or peanut butter. Don’t skip chilling the cream cheese filling. It helps ensure the cookies bake evenly. If your dough is too sticky to handle, try chilling it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up the melted butter in the dough before filling and shaping. Try other cake mix flavors like chocolate, red velvet, or funfetti!
More Cookie Recipes
Copycat Crumbl Cinnamon Swirl Cookies Peanut Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookies Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies Soft Banana Pudding Cookies Cool Whip Cookies Cake Mix Cookies
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Muddy Buddies Cookies
Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies
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