STRAWBERRY COOKIE CUPS

Strawberry Cookie Cups are soft, buttery cookie cups filled with a dreamy strawberry buttercream made from real, fresh strawberry purée! Every bite is bursting with fresh strawberry flavor.

These Strawberry Cookie Cups are one of my absolute favorite desserts—especially in the summer… though honestly, I make them year-round. Are they cookies, or are they just the perfect little vessels for a generous swirl of fresh strawberry buttercream? Either way, they’re irresistibly delicious, incredibly easy to make, and guaranteed to disappear fast.

Highlights of this recipe

• Real Strawberry Flavor: Fresh strawberries are puréed and reduced, giving the buttercream a bold, natural strawberry taste you just can’t get from extracts or mixes
• Perfect Cookie-to-Frosting Ratio: The soft, buttery cookie cups are baked with a built-in center, making them the ideal base for holding a generous swirl of strawberry buttercream in every bite.
• Easy but Impressive: Simple ingredients and straightforward steps create a dessert that looks bakery-worthy without requiring advanced skills or special equipment

Cookie Cups Ingredients

Butter: Adding 1 cup butter creates rich flavor and a soft, tender cookie texture. I prefer salted butter, but you’re welcome to use what you like.

Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the dough and helps create lightly crisp edges.

Egg: 1 egg binds the ingredients together and adds moisture for a chewy bite.

Extract: Enhance the sweetness and round out the overall flavor by adding 2 tsp vanilla extract.

Flour: Provides structure so the cookie cups hold their shape while baking.

Baking powder: Help the cookie cups rise slightly by using baking powder.

Salt: Add salt to enhance all the other flavors.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Butter: ½ cup softened butter forms the creamy, rich base of the frosting and allows it to be whipped smooth.

Extract: Vanilla extract adds depth and complements the fresh strawberry flavor.

Sugar: Adding 4 cups powdered sugar sweetens the frosting and thickens it to a pipeable consistency.

Strawberry puree: Make a fresh strawberry puree to provide natural strawberry flavor and color while keeping the frosting fresh and vibrant.

How to make the Pureed Strawberry Reduction

The secret to the bright, fresh strawberry flavor in these cookie cups is starting with real strawberries and reducing them into a concentrated purée. This process gently cooks out excess water, leaving behind an intensely flavored strawberry base that’s perfect for buttercream frosting. The reduction takes about 30 minutes to cook and must be fully chilled, so it’s a great step to make ahead of time.

Prep the strawberries: Wash, core, and slice 30–35 fresh strawberries.

Purée the strawberries: Blend the sliced strawberries using an immersion blender or food processor until completely smooth with no chunks remaining.

Reduce the purée: Pour the strawberry purée into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced by about half. (For reference, just over 2 cups of purée will reduce down to about 1 cup.)

Cool completely: Transfer the reduced purée to the refrigerator or freezer and chill completely before using it in the strawberry buttercream frosting.

How long are these Cookie Cups good for?

Strawberry Cookie Cups with frosting will stay fresh for about 3–4 days when stored properly. Because the frosting is made with real strawberry purée and butter, the cookies should be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator; let them sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes before serving so the cookie softens and the frosting is creamy again.

Can you freeze frosted Strawberry Cookies?

These cookie cups can also be frozen, preferably unfrosted, for up to 2 months—store them in a freezer-safe container, then thaw at room temperature and frost before serving. If they’re already frosted, you can still freeze them, but the frosting texture may soften slightly once thawed.

Can I use frozen strawberries instead of fresh?

Yes! Frozen strawberries work well for the purée—just thaw them completely and drain off excess liquid before blending and reducing.

Why do I need to reduce the strawberry purée?

Reducing the purée removes excess water and concentrates the flavor, giving the frosting a bold strawberry taste without making it runny.

Do I have to use a mini muffin pan?

Yes, a mini muffin pan is key for creating the cookie cup shape; a regular muffin pan will make them too large and affect baking time.

My frosting is too soft—how can I fix it?

Add powdered sugar a little at a time until the frosting thickens, or chill it briefly in the fridge before piping.

Try some of these other amazing cookie cup recipes:

• Cherry Pie Cookies are everything you love about cherry pie—wrapped up in a soft, buttery sugar cookie and finished with a sweet white chocolate drizzle. Easy to make and impossible to resist!
• Banana cream pie—turned into soft, bite-sized cookies! These Banana Cream Pie Cookies are easy, family-favorite treats packed with banana flavor.
• Fudge Peanut Butter Cookie Cups are soft, buttery peanut butter cookies baked in a mini muffin pan and filled with rich, chocolatey fudge!
• These bite-sized delights have a gooey mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup hidden inside! Reese’s Chocolate Cookie Cups are impossible to resist.
• Our Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are festive Christmas cookies! Sugar cookie cups filled with fudge, mini marshmallows & sprinkles. Perfect for the holidays!

These Strawberry Cookie Cups are seriously irresistible! Soft strawberry cookie cups filled with fresh buttercream frosting—perfect for everything from Valentine’s Day treats to summer picnics.