Soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth Amish Sugar Cookies, stuffed with a potent punch of strawberries, and slathered with thick, fluffy Strawberry Frosting! Intense, fresh strawberry flavor abounds in these Strawberry Amish Sugar Cookies, but they are no more work than standard sugar cookies, and require only one special ingredient.
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You probably saw this coming. Both because I am pretty obsessed with making any and all flavor imaginable of Amish Sugar Cookies, but also because I just posted this Strawberry Frosting recipe the other day, and you might’ve noticed that I sneak-peaked these cookies in that post.
As well as a bundt cake. A Strawberry Bundt Cake is also forthcoming.
I was planning to make some sort of Strawberry Frosted Cookies either way, and I thought I was going to stop there: vanilla cookies (not even necessarily the Amish ones), and strawberry frosting.
But then I started rounding out this idea more fully, and thought: I might as well use my favorite sugar cookie recipe. Why not? They’re soft, puffy, rich, buttery, and have a melt-in-your-mouth quality, but they’re also sturdy enough to stand up to a thick layer of frosting and a good amount of mix-ins.
They’ll be a beautiful canvas for a strawberry cookie. Amish Sugar Cookies are nothing if not versatile, and for the foreseeable future, I’ll come back to that recipe time and time again. They make for an amazing launching pad for all manner of cookie variations.
Baking with fruit can be tricky, and certain fruits are especially finicky in baked goods, strawberries being a culprit. I’ve discovered that one of the best methods to bake with persnickety fruits is by using them in their freeze-dried state.
Freeze-dried strawberries (note: not simply dried, but freeze-dried) are absolutely phenomenal for achieving robust and intense strawberry flavor that is fully authentic and not remotely artificial.
Fresh or frozen strawberries can sometimes get weird and mushy, and they often aren’t tasty enough to add punch. Freeze-dried strawberries are so concentrated in flavor. You can crush them into small crumbs, or even dust, and not only is the flavor still plenty robust, but then it’s also very well-dispersed. Strawberries find their way into the smallest nooks and crannies.
Additionally, while I crush most of the freeze-dried strawberries to dust and fine crumbs, a few chunks are great because they tend to plump up and soften as they hang out in the cookie dough. They pull in a bit of moisture and get a little soft and chewy.
The Strawberry Cookies themselves are quite nice on their own. Tasty and simple, yet sophisticated. But what isn’t made better with frosting?
For the same reason that freeze-dried strawberries are incredible in these Strawberry Amish Sugar Cookies, they are as remarkable in frosting too. They achieve the most concentrated, fresh, and authentic strawberry flavor in this thick and fluffy Strawberry Frosting recipe.
This Strawberry Frosting is positively bursting with robust, bona fide strawberry flavor. It’s interesting how it works, but it really has a few distinct layers of flavor to it.
First, it tastes like jam was added to it. Frosting crossed with jam. But a seriously strong and intense jamminess. Not diluted or weak like when I tried to add actual jam to frosting and it failed horribly.
Other strawberry recipe faves!
Strawberry Amish Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For Strawberry Amish Sugar Cookies:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 oz. freeze-dried strawberries NOT dried strawberries, must be freeze-dried!
For Strawberry Frosting:
- 1 oz. freeze-dried strawberries NOT dried strawberries, must be freeze-dried!
- 1 cup butter softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 - 5 tbsp. heavy cream
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
For Strawberry Amish Sugar Cookies:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, oil, and sugars until combined.
- Beat in eggs and vanilla.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
- In two additions, add flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until just combined. Do not overmix. Dough will be kinda fluffy and light!
- Fold in strawberry dust.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets.
- Bake at 375 for 8-11 minutes, or until edges and bottoms are lightly browned.
- Remove to wire racks to cool.
For Strawberry Frosting:
- Place freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor or blender, and process until they resemble fine crumbs and powder. A few small chunks are fine. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy and smooth.
- Add powdered sugar, 3 tbsp. heavy cream, vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and strawberry dust.
- Beat until thick and fluffy, at least 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Add additional 1 - 2 tbsp. heavy cream, as needed, to achieve desired consistency. It should be thick, fluffy, and hold shape so that it can be pipable, if needed.
- Spread frosting generously onto cookies, and allow to set.
- Store in airtight containers in a cool, dry place for up to a week at room temperature. If stacking cookies, layer foil or parchment paper in-between.
Notes
- These are good for at least a week, but best within the first 3-4 days. After a few days, they get crumbly -- still delicious though.
- I like to let the frosting set, then I stack cookies into tightly covered 9x13 pans with layers of foil or parchment paper in-between.
- These freeze really well! Iced or plain, they freeze beautifully. I like to freeze cookies and frosting separately, and then thaw before assembling, but you can freeze them fully assembled too.
- This recipe calls for freeze-dried strawberries, not simply dried strawberries. Specifically freeze-dried. In my experience, they are easy to find at most major grocery stores, including Publix, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Target, and I've even found them at CVS. They are usually very accessible in stores.
To peruse through every other variation of Amish Sugar Cookies that I’ve come up with, take a look below:
- Iced Vanilla Amish Sugar Cookies
- Cherry Almond Amish Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Cherry Amish Sugar Cookies
- Pecan Praline Amish Sugar Cookies
- Iced Maple Amish Sugar Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Amish Sugar Cookies
- Iced Chai-Spiced Amish Sugar Cookies
- Thin Crispy Amish Sugar Cookies
- Iced Almond Sugar Cookies
- Iced Lemon Amish Sugar Cookies
- Toasted Coconut Amish Sugar Cookies
- Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies
- Peppermint Amish Sugar Cookies
- Butter Pecan Amish Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Amish Sugar Cookies
- Pistachio Coconut Amish Sugar Cookies
- Eggnog Amish Sugar Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies
- Brown Butter Amish Sugar Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Amish Sugar Cookies with Cinnamon Icing