Instructions

How To Make Homemade Strawberry Jam

1. Wash, dry, and hull the strawberries. Place finely diced strawberries and light brown sugar in a medium pot and stir well.
2. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until very thick, and reduce to about 1/3 -1/4 cup. Set aside to cool. Measure out ¼ cup of strawberry jam, transfer it to a small bowl, and chill it in the fridge. In this recipe, you will use ¼ cup of the jam.

Prepare Cheesecake Filling

1. Beat softened cream cheese, vanilla extract, and sugar.
2. Line a tray with baking paper and scoop out 12 portions of filling (about one Tablespoon per cookie).
3. Slightly flatten each ball and place in the freezer for an hour, or until firm completely.

Make Strawberry Cookie Dough

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Bake 6 cookies at a time because the cookies are large.
2. In a bowl, combine melted butter, vanilla extract, and sugar. Whisk until dissolved, then add one egg and whisk well.
3. Using a spatula, fold in the mixture of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. The dough is very thick and seems dry, but that’s OK.
4. Scatter the strawberries and fold them into the dough.
5. Push about 3/4 of the dough to the side of the bowl. Flatten out the remaining dough on the bottom of the bowl. Using a teaspoon, dot about 1/3 of the jam onto the bottom and sides of the dough. Scrape downd about half of the batter from the sides and cover the dough on the bottom, again doot with 1/3 of the jam. Then repeat the process with the remaining dough on the sides and the remaining jam. You should evenly disperse the jam and diced strawberries without tinting the whole dough in pink. It should stay swirled.
6.  Scoop the dough into 12 portions and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Assembling The Cookies

1. After chilling, flatten out each portion of the dough, then place a frozen cheesecake disc in the center. Seal the cheesecake in with the cookie dough to cover completely. Shape each cookie dough section into a ball and arrange on the prepared cookie sheet 4 inches apart. If the batter is sticking too much on your palms, wet your hands with water, or you can spray your hands with a little non-stick spray, and that should help.
2. Slightly flatten each ball and sprinkle granulated sugar on top.
3. Bake 13-16 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. They are too soft to move straight out of the oven.
4. Keep them on the counter for up to one day. For longer storage, keep them in an air-tight container in the fridge because of the cream cheese filling.