Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake Cookies

By srumbel

A cheesecake flavored cookie bursting with strawberry and lemon flavor with actual strawberry chunks. These cookies are incredibly soft, thick, and chewy.
from chelseasmessyapron.com

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cheesecake flavored pudding mix, dry
• 1/2 cup strawberries, stems removed and chopped
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• Optional: extra lemon zest and sugar for sprinkling on the tops

Preparation

Step 1

**Make sure the butter, cream cheese, and egg are all at room temperature before starting. Don’t melt any of these ingredients in the microwave!**
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add in the cream cheese and continue to beat until the batter is completely smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch. Stir together and then slowly add to the wet ingredients.
In the same bowl you used for the dry ingredients, combine the strawberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon flour.
Lightly stir and add more lemon if desired.
Very gently fold the strawberries into the batter being careful to not overmix.
Using a cookie scoop pack it full with the batter and place on a cookie sheet.
Optionally garnish with about 1/2 teaspoon white sugar and a pinch of lemon zest.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10-13 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned.