Mini Strawberry Shortcake Cups– the most fun way ever to eat strawberry shortcake! A sugar cookie cup with creamy cheesecake filling and fresh strawberries. Who can resist?
Cookie cups are an easy but impressive dessert. We also love Cherry Cheesecake Cookie Cups and Candy Bar Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups. Delicious!
I love and adore strawberries, and I wish they were in season all year round! When summer rolls around, I am always looking for yummy recipes featuring berries. This recipe was inspired from a photo I saw in a magazine. It was a flat sugar cookie with strawberry frosting and a strawberry on top.
I decided to make sugar cookie cups in mini muffin pans so I could use filling instead of frosting. Sometimes my cooking creations don’t turn out quite right the first time, but these were fantastic on the first try. Even better than I imagined! I used homemade dough, but you could use store bought if you prefer.
The filling for these cute little treats is simple to make- only four ingredients! But it is so yummy I could eat it by the spoonful. The cream cheese balances out the sweetness, and it is a perfect compliment to the berries.
I wanted mine to look a little fancy, so I piped my filling in. But if you prefer, you can just spoon the filling into the cups. You want them to be really full, so make sure you use a good sized dollop.
Aren’t they the cutest little strawberry shortcakes you’ve ever seen? There’s something about mini foods that just make them fun to eat. Be careful though, you could pop a dozen of these babies in your mouth if you aren’t careful. They are unbelievably yummy!
How to make Mini Strawberry Shortcake Cookie Cups
- butter
- sugar
- egg
- almond extract
- vanilla
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
- whipping cream
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
- fresh strawberries
Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl till creamy. Add egg, almond extract, and vanilla. Beat well. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and stir till well combined. Roll into 1″ balls and place in well greased mini muffin pans. Make an indentation in the dough with your thumb or the back of a teaspoon.
Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes, or till lightly browned on the edges. Use a spoon to press the dough down in the middle, forming a cup. Remove to cooling racks and cool completely.
Beat whipping cream till stiff peaks form. Set aside. Beat cream cheese till smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Add whipped cream, and beat till well combined.
Fill cups with filling. Top with diced strawberries.
Can I make Strawberry Cheesecake Cups ahead of time? Yes, they are a perfect make-ahead dessert. You can make the cookie cups a couple days in advance and store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
If you want to make them even earlier, you can store them in the freezer. The filling can also be made up to two days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Just assemble the cookie cups right before serving, and you have an easy dessert!
Handy supplies for making strawberry shortcake cookie cups:
Hand Mixer – A powerful hand mixer makes whipping cream so much faster. I love my Cuisinart mixer. I’ve had it for six years, and it’s still going strong.
Cake Decorating Bag and tips – You can of course just spoon the filling into the cookie cups, but they are sure pretty when you pipe it in. I like to use a star tip.
A FEW MORE STRAWBERRY DESSERTS TO CHECK OUT:
Strawberry Shortcake | Blue Ribbon Strawberry Cake | Strawberry Cheesecake Pizza
Just be warned- these cookie cups are so good no one can stop eating them, so you may want to make a double batch if you plan on serving a crowd. 🙂
CROWD PLEASING DESSERT RECIPES:
- Banana Cream Brownie Squares
- Churro Cheesecake Bars
- Cheesecake Brownies
- Rice Krispie Oreo Treats
- Sugar Cookie Bars (with cream cheese frosting)
- Peanut Butter Cake
- Mini Trifles
- Cinnamon Roll Cake
Strawberry Shortcake Cups Recipe
Strawberry Shortcake Cookie Cups
Sugar cookie cups filled with creamy cheesecake filling and topped with fresh strawberries.
Ingredients
Cookie Cups
- 6 Tbsp butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Filling
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup strawberries, diced
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl till creamy. Add egg, almond extract, and vanilla. Beat well.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and stir till well combined.
- Roll into 1″ balls and place in well greased mini muffin pans. Make an indentation in the dough with your thumb or the back of a teaspoon.
- Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes, or till lightly browned on the edges. Use a spoon to press the dough down in the middle, forming a cup. Remove to cooling racks and cool completely.
- For filling: Beat whipping cream till stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Beat cream cheese till smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Add whipped cream, and beat till well combined.
- Fill cups with filling. I piped it in, but you can just spoon it in if you prefer.
- Top with diced strawberries. Serve immediately or chill.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 105Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 69mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 1g
I made these yesterday for my family, they were so easy to make and so so yummy! My family couldn’t get enough! This recipe will definitely be a keeper!
So happy to hear that Theresia! Mini desserts are always a hit at my house as well, they are so fun!
Hi Kara
Can I use cool whip instead?
I’m not a fan of Cool Whip, but if you love it, you can definitely use it in place of the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. You’ll need about a cup. 🙂
Could I use regular muffin tin cups? How should I alter the recipe?
Regular muffin cups are three times the size of mini muffins, so you would only get 8 shortcake cups. Because they are larger, they will need a little more time to bake. Maybe 15 minutes, but I’d start checking them at 12 minutes. Other than that, I think the filling and topping would still be enough.
These were a hit at the baby shower yesterday. Though the cookie dough filled in on itself in the oven instead of making a cup. I just stuck my thumb in them as they came out of the oven and made an indentation for the cream to go into. I think maybe my dough needed a little more flour or a smaller egg. I use ones from my chickens and they are somewhat inconsistent in size.
Sometimes I have to make an indentation as well. And yes, fresh eggs can be different sizes, but man they are tasty!
I made these for Mothers Day but I used store bought cookie dough and everyone is racing about them!
That’s a great shortcut, glad they were such a hit!
Did you use heavy whipping cream or cool whip?
My whipped topping was not very firm, it turned out messy. Did I whip to much or not enough? It taste good, but really sloppy
If it was runny, it was probably not beaten enough. If it starts to separate, it’s been beaten too much. My guess is that you just needed to whip it a little bit longer.
Can I take out the almond extract? Serving someone else with a nut allergy. Anything I could replace it with?
You can either use imitation almond extract, or just use vanilla extract.
These turned out INCREDIBLE! The cookie base is delicious with the hint of almond. I am definitely going to make these again, maybe trying them with a pumpkin pie type filling for the fall. Thanks for this recipe!
So glad you enjoyed them! I love the idea of using a pumpkin type filling. I’ll have to give that a try!
Is it 350 Celsius or fahrenheit?
Mini anything catches my attention and how could these not — adorable! My kiddos will love these
These look so delicious! I am thinking they will be great for my next get together.
I always eat way more than I should of these! They are just so good!
Same here! It’s just so easy to pop them in your mouth, and they are so tasty it’s hard to stop!
How cute! These look perfect for the summer.
These are such a fun and unique dessert – we loved filling up cookie cups as much as eating them!
Have you ever made them in regular size muffin pans? If so what temperature did you cook them at and how long? Would you recommend making the larger size?
I haven’t tried them in the regular muffin pans, but I’m sure they would work. I’d keep the temperature the same, but I’m not sure on the time. Maybe 15-20 minutes?
Followed everything and for some odd reason they didnt rise into cupcakes, more like cookies. Any idea why this could have happened?
They are cookie cups, so they shouldn’t rise like cupcakes. 🙂
I made this for a school event and it was a favorite! I didn’t have a lot of time so I skipped making my own dough and just bought the premade sugar cookie dough and each square is perfect for each cup!
Has has anyone used little cupcake papers? I can’t wait to make these for the 4th of July. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I don’t like using the cupcake papers for cookie cups, because after they bake the papers look greasy. You have to peel them off, or place them in another cupcake paper for serving. If you want to use cute cupcake papers, I would just place them in the papers after they are baked. That would be super cute!
I made these! Fantastic! I doubled the filling to get lots! Xtra I mixed with a vanilla (greek) yogurt and blueberry compote to use for somethingvelse I had in mind! Will continue to make in future! Again fantastic. ?, read maybe on different site sbout cooling cups in tin atleast 30mins. Is that right or getting two recipes mixed up?
I only let mine cool for a few minutes, but 30 minutes might be fine. Just don’t forget about them. I did that once and they were hard to get out!
how many calories is this product
If I made these the night before, would you wait to fill them?
Yes, I would definitely wait to fill them.
Hi Kara,
may i ask what size egg did you use?
Thank you.
When I buy eggs I get large, but we often get farm fresh eggs from a neighbor, so sometimes I don’t know what size they are. But most often I use large, so I’d recommend that size. 🙂
When you say flour, what kind of flour? All purpose or self rising
Hi Kara, can you please advise assembly and storage instructions if these can be made the day before. Thanks
You could make up the cookie cups and the filling a day ahead. Store the cups in an airtight container and the filling in the refrigerator. Just assemble them before serving, they should work just great!
These look amazing, im going to try them tomorrow.
Do you think the cups would freeze okay without the filling of course.
Is this salted or unsalted butter?
I always use salted butter.
Hi Kara, I am making these for a baby shower I am hosting tomorrow. I am baking the cookie cups today and I wanted to know if you have ever prepared these ahead of time and what the best way to ensure the best taste. Should I mix up the filling and store in refrigerator and fill the cookie cups tomorrow or fill today and cover and store in refrigerator?? I didn’t want the cookie to get soggy. Thank you
This recipe only made 20 1″ balls. Is the flour measurement correct?
Yes, 1 1/4 cup flour is the correct amount. Mine made 24 balls of dough, but I bet it will work fine with just 20. It can be tricky to get them all exactly the same size and end up with exactly 24. No worries.
What am I missing? The recipe says it make 36?
Danggit, that was a typo. It makes about 24 cookie cups. Sorry about that.
Ok thanks. Have a crowd coming to the lake this weekend. This will be fun with strawberries and blueberries for 4th of July!
I’m going to make these for a Relief Society “extra meeting” this month. I saw some similar ideas on another website where people were complaining the cookies stuck to the pan. Have you ever had that issue with your recipe? I’m trying to plan ahead to be prepared! Thanks!
I used a non-stick muffin tin and sprayed it with non-stick spray. I didn’t have any trouble with them sticking. Good luck!
Hi Kara, I made the cookies today but am putting the filling on them tomorrow. How should I store the cookies? They will be used on Saturday morning at my daughter’s bday party.
These look delicious, Kara! Thanks so much for sharing at our party! Featuring you on Thursday 🙂 Have a great week!