Happy Summer! If you’re looking for the perfect summer cut-out cookie, I have the perfect recipe for you. These Strawberry Lemon Cut-Out Cookies are soft, naturally pink, and hold their shape beautifully which makes them perfect for stamping or decorating with royal icing.
Step 1: The Secret to the Strawberry Flavor
Okay, it’s not so secret, but seriously brilliant, it’s freeze dried strawberries! They give a big strawberry punch without adding the extra liquid like fresh or frozen berries do. I pulverize mine in a food processor until it’s mostly a fine powder.
I’ve also smashed the bag with a rolling pin when I was too lazy to pull out the food processor. It works, kind of. The powder isn’t as fine and the flavor doesn’t come thru as much but it’ll do in a pinch.
Step 2: Start with your dry ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch – this keeps the cookies soft and helps them keep their shape
- Freeze dried strawberry powder (I saw 1.2oz bags at Trader Joes for only $2.99. Buy an extra bag if you want to dip stamps in the extra powder)
- Salt
- Baking Powder
Whisk them all together and set the bowl aside.
Creaming the Butter, Sugar and Cream Cheese
I’m using a stand mixer, but a hand mixer works great too. Cream together
- Softened butter
- Softened cream cheese
- Sugar
Mix on medium speed until it’s just fluffy and slightly lighter in color. Don’t overdo it, overmixing can cause your cookies to spread in the oven.
Step 3: Add Egg and Extracts
Once it’s nice and creamy, scrape down the bowl and add:
- One egg
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon extract
Mix until it’s all smooth and combined.
Step 4: Add the Dry Ingredients
Add your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients slowly. And take a moment to admire the beautiful pink color of the dough. Gorg!
Step 5: Roll it Out
I roll the dough between two sheets of parchments paper. My rolling pin has 5/16th guides, but you can go thinner or thicker depending on your preference.
Step 6: Chill Time!
Pop your rolled out dough onto a baking sheet and chill it in the fridge for about an hour, or until it’s fully cold. Cold dough means clean cookie edges when you bake!
Step 7: Time to Cut and Stamp
Once the dough is chilled, cut out your cookie shapes. I used as strawberry stamp for some of mine and here’s a trick: dust the stamp in strawberry powder before pressing it into the dough. It adds a really pretty pink detail after baking. I also made some plain ones to decorate with royal icing later.
Step 8: Preheat and Freeze Before Baking
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While it’s heating, place your cut out cookies in the freezer. This quick chill helps them keep their shape even better in the oven.
Step 9: Bake
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes depending on their size and thickness. They’re done when the tops lose their shine and the edges are just set, not browned. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
The Final Result
Look how perfectly they held their shape! And the one I stamped in strawberry powder is my favorite. The pink detail makes it pop compared to the others.
Decorating
These cookies are adorable on their own, but they’re also amazing with royal icing. I decorated a few to look like strawberries and they turned out so cute!
Need a royal icing recipe? Find my recipe right here.
PrintSoft Strawberry Lemon Cookies – Perfect for Summer Baking
These Strawberry Lemon Cut-Out Cookies are soft, naturally pink, and hold their shape beautifully which makes them perfect for stamping or decorating with royal icing.
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1.2 oz. freeze-dried strawberries (I saw 1.2 oz bags at Trader Joe’s for only $2.99! Buy an extra bag if you want to dip stamps into extra powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (2 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- (optional) powdered sugar or a tiny bit of extra flour for dusting
Instructions
- Pulverize the freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor until they turn into a powder. It’s okay if there are a few chunky bits.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, strawberry powder, salt and baking powder. Whisk it all together and set aside.
- In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese and sugar. Mix on medium speed until just fluffy and slightly lighter in color. Try not to overmix. Too much air can cause the cookies to spread.
- Scrape down the bowl, then mix in the egg, vanilla extract and lemon extract. Mix until everything is nicely combined.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry mixture. I like to pour in a little of the flour, then turn the mixer on low speed, then slowly and gradually pour in the remaining mixture.
- Lightly dust a piece of parchment paper with powdered sugar or flour. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment. I like mine about 5/16″ thick, but you can go thinner or thicker if you want. A rolling pin with guides really helps here!
- Slide the parchment-wrapped dough onto a baking sheet and chill in the fridge for about an hour or until completely cold.
- Once chilled, cut out your shapes and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a perforated baking mat.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F . While the oven heats, place the cut-out cookies in the freezer. This final chill helps them bake with super clean edges.
- Once the oven is preheated, bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes (mine baked for 10 minutes), depending on size and thickness. They’re done when the tops lose their shine and look set but not browned.
- Let the cookies sit on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Eat as is or decorate with royal icing! Check out my YouTube Shorts for my Royal Icing recipe and stay tuned for the full-length video
Storage: Once completely cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh up to 5 days
Freezing: You can wrap the dough up in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to a month. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.
