An adorable little cookie that boasts fresh strawberries blended right into the frosting, these vanilla cookies with strawberry buttercream are sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Summer is not my favorite season. Now I truly enjoy living in southern Oregon. We get all four seasons, and I do love something about each one. But our summers have been brutal. We get wildfires that blow toxic smoke into our valley, and it feels downright apocalyptic. This generally occurs in August, which is what we are smack dab in the middle of. But I promise that this isn’t a sob story about how I long for fall so it cools down below triple digits and we can clearly see the gorgeous mountain ranges again… though all of that is true. 😉 This is about what I DO like about summer: BERRIES. Fresh, organic, sweet and juicy berries. I love them all, and these vanilla cookies with strawberry buttercream are a true testament to that.
What you’ll need to make these vanilla cookies with strawberry buttercream:
Salted butter
Granulated sugar
Pure vanilla extract
Large eggs
Baking powder
All purpose flour
Fresh strawberries
Powdered sugar
Edible black marker, optional
Strawberry cookie cutter, optional
All natural red and green food coloring, optional
The Cookie
This cookie is my standard vanilla cutout cookie. It is no-chill, no-spread, and comes together quickly with only a handful of pantry staples. You do not need to add the food coloring if you prefer your cookies to be a natural color. You can still cut the strawberries out with a cookie cutter, and fill them with the buttercream. They will have the same great taste with or without the color (or shape for that matter!).
For the strawberry cookies as pictured, you’ll want to dye the dough red as instructed in the recipe box. Use a strawberry shaped cookie cutter, and then draw little “seeds” onto the top cookie with an edible black marker. I used a Wilton brand marker that I found at Michaels. I linked it above in the ingredient list, along with the same cookie cutter I have if you’d like to use the same products! Piping a bit of green vanilla buttercream on top of the cookie for the “leaf” effect is the perfect finishing touch.
The Strawberry Buttercream
This strawberry buttercream is the EASIEST. Truly. I simple mashed a handful of small fresh strawberries, and then added them to the butter / powdered sugar mixture. It is a lovely balance of sweet and fruit, and I love the pieces of fresh fruit that stand out in this frosting. It’s truly a perfect filling for the vanilla cookies.
The Dietary Substitutes
I love providing gluten and dairy free substitutions so that those with alternate dietary needs can enjoy my recipes to their fullest! These are subs that I have either use and continue to stock in my own home, or that have come highly recommended from others. I want your baking experience to be the best it can be, and avoiding gluten or dairy shouldn’t hinder that process in the slightest.
As always, here is a list of tried and true dietary substitutes, so that you can enjoy this recipe without the additions of gluten or dairy:
Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour is a wonderful all-purpose sub, and it’s cup for cup, so use the same measurements as you would all-purpose flour.
Miyokos Butter is a plant based brick that closely resembles dairy butter not only in its look, but it’s taste as well. It melts, browns, and spreads just like real butter, and truly is a fantastic substitute in this recipe. Use it as a 1:1 ratio sub, same as the flour, so the recipe measurements will not change.
If you love these little gems, definitely try my Vanilla Pineapple Sandwich cookies!
Happy Baking!
XO,
Heather
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Vanilla Cookies with Strawberry Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 cup, 2 sticks, salted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 5-7 drops all natural red food coloring, optional
- ½ cup, 1 stick, salted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup mashed fresh strawberries
- ¼ cup, ½ stick, salted butter, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 drops all natural green food coloring, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add flour plus baking powder and mix well. Add red food coloring. Dough should be soft but not sticky.
- Do not chill dough ~ roll out in one big or several smaller batches, to about ½ inch thick. Cutout cookies in whatever shapes you desire, and bake for 6-8 minutes. Allow cookies to cool slightly them move to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- In a small bowl combine ingredients for the strawberry buttercream blend with a hand mixer or standing mixer for about 30-45 seconds. Frosting will retain chunks of fruit. Spread or pipe frosting onto cooled cookies. Draw strawberry “seeds” onto top cookie and pipe green tinted vanilla frosting for leaves if desired. Sandwich on top of frosted cookie. Repeat with remainder of cookies. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to four days. Enjoy!
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