Strawberry Shortcake Cookies Are A Crunchy Take On A Delicate Dessert

It wasn't long ago that bakers seemed to rediscover their love of strawberry shortcake. Variations of the dessert began popping up at bakeries, on Instagram, and in recipe blogs, whether as cupcakes, scones, pancakes, or even strawberry shortcake s'mores. Pretty soon, the popular Crumbl cookie shop began selling strawberry shortcake cookies, and something clicked. Strawberry shortcake cookies are the perfect crunchy take on the typically delicate dessert.

Trader Joe's is almost always on point with its selling of items based on whatever is popular at the moment, whether it's the pickle craze or ube-flavored anything. So, it wasn't unexpected when, in January 2023, the grocer began selling strawberry shortcake sandwich cookies, described as "butter cookies studded with strawberries and filled with buttercream." But while they looked delicious, many complained that the strawberry tasted artificial.

So, what did Trader Joe's do wrong? The key to delicious strawberry shortcake cookies is in the ingredients, and artificial strawberry flavor shouldn't be one of them. There are plenty of options to make your own strawberry shortcake cookies, whether you choose a cakey cookie like Crumbl or a buttery cookie such as Trader Joe's, but fresh or frozen berries are key.

Everyone has their own idea of what a strawberry shortcake cookie is. No one is wrong. It simply depends on what you're going for. Perhaps one of the simplest styles is to use either a vanilla sugar or cake-type cookie, top it with either a cream cheese frosting or whipped cream, and finish with chopped fresh strawberries. Another all-in-one strawberry shortcake cookie would be to bake the chopped strawberries into the cookie dough and fill the cookies with cream cheese or whipped cream topping.

Prefer a sandwich cookie? Shortbread makes the perfect cookie outside, with a strawberry buttercream center. Simply cook either fresh or frozen strawberries until they thicken, and add the puree to a buttercream mixture. Pipe the frosting onto one cookie, and gently press the other cookie on top. You could also embellish your cookies by mixing in bits of strawberry or some white chocolate.

If you really want to impress, you may want to consider delicate strawberry shortcake macarons. The almond flour, egg white, and confectioner sugar macaron cookie is an ideal platform to house the strawberry buttercream center and will dazzle your guests, or whoever it is you want to show off your creation to.