I've been making these pink strawberry sugar cookies on repeat, and I can't get enough of them! They're soft, chewy, and packed with real strawberry flavor from freeze-dried berries (which you totally need to keep stocked in your pantry after trying this). The dough chills for just 20 minutes, so you're not waiting forever, and rolling them in sugar before baking gives them that sparkly, bakery-style finish!
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I love making these when I want something that feels special but doesn't require a ton of effort. The freeze-dried strawberries do all the work; you just blend them into a powder and mix them in. The result is a fruity cookie without being overly sweet, with that perfect soft center and slightly crisp edge combo.
They're great for Valentine's Day, spring gatherings, or honestly any time you need a pink pick-me-up. Barbie movie party anyone??
One reader made these for a family birthday and the entire batch was eaten by four people within 5 hours - that's how good they are!
Grab Your Ingredients!
- Freeze-Dried Strawberries: This is where all the magic happens! The freeze-dried strawberries give you that natural pink color and intense strawberry flavor. You'll need to blend them into a fine powder before adding to the dough. I find mine at Trader Joe's, Target, or you can order them online. Make sure you're using freeze-dried and not fresh or dried strawberries!
- Egg + Egg Yolk: Using a whole egg plus an extra yolk makes these cookies extra soft and chewy. Don't skip the yolk!
- Pink Food Coloring: Technically optional since the strawberries already make the dough pink, but adding a few drops gives you that really vibrant pink color. The cookies here don't have any food coloring, but in the past I have used Americolor gel in Soft Pink.
- Granulated Sugar for Rolling: This creates a slightly crispy exterior that contrasts perfectly with the soft, chewy center. You could add a tiny bit of pink food coloring to the sugar if you want to be extra!
Let's Make These Cookies!
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Pulse your freeze dried strawberries in a blender or food processor and set aside.
- In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat your butter on medium speed until it is creamy. This will take about 1 minute. Pour your sugar into the bowl with the butter and beat for 3 minutes until it is light and fluffy
- Add your egg, egg yolk and vanilla to the batter and mix until it is completely incorporated.
- Add your dry ingredients and beat on your lowest speed.
- When there are just a few streaks of flour left, add your freeze-dried strawberry powder and pink food gel (if using). Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together until the batter is evenly pink.
- Scoop out one and a half tablespoons of sugar cookie dough and roll it into a ball between your palms. Roll the cookie dough balls into your extra sugar and then place on a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with all the cookie dough, then chill for at least 20 minutes. Bake the cookies one baking sheet at a time for 9-12 minutes. Keep the remaining cookie dough in the fridge while you're baking your cookies. The cookies will be puffed in the middle and have set edges.
Why Use Freeze-Dried Strawberries?
You might be wondering why this recipe calls for freeze-dried strawberries instead of fresh or frozen ones. The reason is moisture! Fresh and frozen strawberries contain a lot of water, which would throw off the balance of the dough and lead to cookies that spread too much or have an unpleasant texture.
Freeze-dried strawberries, on the other hand, have had all the moisture removed, so you get all of that intense strawberry flavor without any extra liquid. Plus, you can make these strawberry cookies all year long if you're using freeze-dried strawberry powder!
I've used freeze-dried strawberries in my strawberry frosting recipes, like my chocolate strawberry cupcakes, because it's a simple way to add so much strawberry flavor without artificial extracts or dyes.
Ella's Baking Tips & Tricks!
- Use a kitchen scale: I always recommend weighing your ingredients for the most accurate results. It's really easy to add too much flour, which will give you dry, dense cookies.
- Room temperature ingredients: Make sure your butter, egg, and egg yolk are all at room temperature before you start. Pull them out at least 30-60 minutes ahead.
- Use a light-colored metal baking sheet: I tested this recipe with silicone baking mats and found the cookies spread much more. A light-colored metal pan with parchment paper is the way to go!
- Adding food coloring: I have tested these cookies with and without pink food gel (I used Americolor Soft Pink). If you make these without food gel, as I have in the above images, you'll get a very pale pink with flecks in it.
- Perfect rounds: Once out of the oven, place a large round cookie cutter over each cookie and scoot it gently in a circular motion to neaten any uneven edges.
Try these cookie recipes next!
Made This Recipe?
Make sure to leave a ⭐️ rating and review below! You can tag me on Instagram @alpineella or follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok!
Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Pink Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 320 grams (2 ½ cups) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 227 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 350 grams (1 ¾ cups) granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 24 grams (1 ½ cups) freeze dried strawberries
- ½ cup granulated sugar for rolling the cookies
- pink food coloring optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a blender or food processor, blend your freeze dried strawberries until you have a fine powder.24 grams (1 ½ cups) freeze dried strawberries
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.320 grams (2 ½ cups) all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon fine salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until soft and creamy.227 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- Add your sugar and beat on medium-high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.350 grams (1 ¾ cups) granulated sugar
- Add your egg, egg yolk and vanilla, then beat until it is well combined.1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add your dry ingredients and beat on low, stop as soon as the flour is combined.
- Add your strawberry powder and food dye and mix with a rubber spatula until evenly pink. Only add the food coloring a bit at a time, add a few drops until you have the shade of pink you want.pink food coloring
- Scoop out the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon balls and roll in the extra granulated sugar. Chill for at least 20 minutes, or up to overnight.½ cup granulated sugar
- Bake one sheet at a time for 9-12 minutes. While you're baking those, keep the others in the fridge. The cookies will be slightly puffed and the sides should be set.
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Moore says
Katie
Lexi says
can i also do this with fresh strawberries? and are the calories per piece?
Ella says
Hi Lexi, I don't recommend making this recipe with fresh strawberries as they have too much moisture in them! The calories are per cookie 🙂
Sofia says
Thank you for this recipe! I made these to celebrate the release of the Barbie movie, and they were a hit at the office! Everyone loved the texture and the fact that it wasn’t too sweet. I doubled the recipe and expected to get 36 cookies, but it actually made 56! 😂
Ella says
Thank you so much for your review!! I just saw Barbie today and absolutely loved it, I definitely think she would enjoy these cookies 😂
Jamie says
I've made these twice. The first time they were too sweet and adding the strawberry powder and food coloring at the end was difficult to mix. Second time around reduced sugar to 200gr, added strawberry powder to dry ingredients and added food coloring with vanilla. Much more uniform and better flavor. A great treat at a Peppa Pig themed birthday party.
Tina says
My cookies didn’t spread out as much as yours. Is it because I chilled them overnight? They tasted delicious though! I also added 5 more grams of strawberry.
Ella says
Hi Tina! Yes, the longer you chill them the less they will spread out. Chilling them for longer will give them a better flavor though!
Abigail says
I made these for a coworker’s birthday and they were a hit! Everyone loved them! I accidentally doubled the strawberry though but it wasn’t overpowering at all. They came out soft and chewy and perfect! I will definitely be making them again ☺️
Ella says
Thank you so much for your review!! 🙂
Brittani says
Hello, Do I need to flatten the dough before baking?
Brittani says
So, you added 2 1/2 cups freeze dried strawberries? I bet the taste is lovely!
Naty says
Hi. I am craving for strawberry cookies and these look delicious! Do you think i can add white chocolate chips to this dough? Thank you!
Ella says
I haven't tested it but I think you can!
Mandie says
Could this work as rolled dough instead of drop cookies?
Ella says
Hi! I haven't tried rolling it out but I don't think it would work, so sorry about that!
Aaliyah says
Can I leave out the strawberries? I don’t mind if the sugar cookies aren’t strawberry flavoured I just need pink sugar cookies. (Im using food colouring)
Ella says
Hi! Yes you can!
Mp says
It does, thanks! These cookies are getting baked this weekend 😁
Katie says
I made a batch of these for a family birthday and the entire batch was eaten by four people within 5 hours. Everyone loved these cookies. Texture, taste, everything 5 stars
Ella says
Thank you so much for your review!!
Mp says
Hi Ella,
Is the 24gr of strawberries whole or after blended to powder? I have some powder left from the strawberry filled cupcakes so was wondering if I can use that instead.
Thanks,
Ella says
It'll be the same weight before and after blending, it only changes in volume! Hope that helps 🙂