Soft & Chewy Pink Strawberry Sugar Cookies: An Easy, Naturally Flavored Recipe for Every Occasion

Get ready to discover what might just be your new favorite sugar cookie recipe! These incredibly soft and perfectly chewy pink sugar cookies are not only delightful to look at but also burst with a natural strawberry flavor, thanks to the star ingredient: freeze-dried strawberries. They are surprisingly simple to whip up, requiring just about 10 minutes of active preparation time and a mere nine staple ingredients. Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, a special birthday, or simply want to add a touch of cheerful pink to your day, these cookies are an absolute winner.

Baking sugar cookies has always been a joy of mine, especially since they tend to be forgiving and consistently delicious. Recipes like these chocolate chip sugar cookies are a testament to how effortlessly you can create something truly special. These pink sugar cookies, with their vibrant hue and sweet, fruity aroma, are particularly ideal for festive occasions or simply to brighten a gloomy afternoon. While the freeze-dried strawberries naturally impart a lovely subtle pink, a touch of pink food coloring can make that characteristic color truly pop, transforming them into eye-catching treats perfect for any celebration.

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Discover What Makes These Pink Sugar Cookies So Special!

These aren’t just any ordinary sugar cookies; they’re an experience! We’ve thoughtfully crafted this recipe to ensure every bite delivers a delightful texture and an unforgettable flavor profile. Here’s a closer look at the unique elements that elevate these pink sugar cookies above the rest:

• Naturally Bursting with Strawberry Flavor: The secret to their incredible taste lies in ground-up freeze-dried strawberries. Unlike artificial flavorings or fresh strawberries (which add too much moisture), freeze-dried berries offer an intense, concentrated strawberry punch without compromising the cookie’s texture. You can easily find these at major retailers like Target and Trader Joe’s, health food stores, or through online platforms like Amazon. If you’re keen to experiment, freeze-dried raspberries make a fantastic alternative, lending a slightly tarter, equally vibrant flavor to your cookies.
• Achieving the Perfect Pink Hue: While the freeze-dried strawberries naturally tint the dough, I personally love to add a bit of pink food coloring to make the color truly vibrant and festive. My go-to food dye is Americolor in the shade ‘Soft Pink’ for its consistent and beautiful results. However, if you prefer to keep your cookies entirely natural, feel free to omit the food dye. Just be aware that without it, your cookies will bake to a more subtle beige color with delicate flecks of pink from the strawberries, which is still lovely!
• The Magic of Chilling: After rolling the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar for a beautiful sparkling finish, they are chilled for approximately 20 minutes. This crucial step is a game-changer for several reasons. Firstly, chilling helps the butter in the dough solidify, which in turn prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven, allowing them to maintain their shape and thickness. Secondly, it contributes significantly to their final texture, ensuring they emerge from the oven wonderfully soft and delightfully fluffy.
• A Unique Texture Profile: This recipe shares some similarities with my beloved sprinkle sugar cookie recipe, but with a few key modifications that make all the difference. We incorporate an extra egg yolk, which adds richness and moisture, guaranteeing an exceptionally tender crumb. Additionally, we use baking powder instead of baking soda. Baking powder provides a more even and gentle lift, contributing to the cookies’ characteristic soft and slightly puffy texture, perfect for those delightful cracks on top!

Essential Ingredients for Your Pink Sugar Cookies

The printable recipe card with the full list of ingredients and detailed instructions can be found conveniently at the bottom of this post.

Gathering the right ingredients is the first step towards baking success. Here’s a detailed look at what you’ll need and why each component is vital for these delicious strawberry sugar cookies:

• All-Purpose Flour: This forms the foundational structure of our cookies. I always recommend using standard all-purpose flour for this recipe, as it provides the perfect balance of gluten to create a soft yet structured cookie. Measuring your flour accurately, ideally by weight, is crucial to prevent dense or crumbly cookies.
• Unsalted Butter: For superior flavor and texture, I exclusively use European-style unsalted butter, such as KerryGold, in my baking. This type of butter boasts a higher butterfat content compared to standard American butter, which translates to a richer, creamier, and more luxurious taste in your finished baked goods. Always ensure your butter is at room temperature for optimal creaming with sugar.
• Baking Powder: This leavening agent is essential for creating the delicate lift and slightly puffy texture we’re aiming for. It reacts with moisture and heat to produce carbon dioxide gas, which helps the cookies rise and develop those charming cracks on the surface. Always double-check that your baking powder is fresh and within its expiration date for the best results.
• Granulated Sugar: We exclusively use white granulated sugar in this recipe to ensure a clean, sweet flavor that allows the strawberry notes to shine without interference from brown sugar’s molasses tones. You’ll need a portion for the cookie dough itself and an additional amount for rolling the cookie dough balls. Rolling them in sugar before baking not only adds a lovely textural crunch to the exterior but also creates a beautiful, sparkling finish that makes these pink cookies even more appealing.
• Freeze-Dried Strawberries: This is the star ingredient that provides the vibrant, natural strawberry flavor without introducing excess moisture. I prefer to buy whole freeze-dried strawberries and then pulse them into a fine powder in my blender or food processor. This method ensures maximum flavor dispersion throughout the dough. Remember to use *freeze-dried* strawberries, not frozen ones, as frozen berries will release too much water and alter the cookie’s consistency. These can typically be found in the snack aisle, health food section, or online.
• Egg and Egg Yolk: The whole egg contributes to the binding and structure of the cookie dough, while the extra egg yolk is specifically added to boost richness and moisture. This combination results in a remarkably tender and chewy cookie that resists drying out. Ensure both are at room temperature to emulsify properly with the butter and sugar mixture.
• Vanilla Extract: A touch of good quality vanilla extract enhances all the other flavors, adding a warm, aromatic depth that beautifully complements the sweetness of the sugar and the fruitiness of the strawberries.
• Fine Salt: Just a half teaspoon of fine salt balances the sweetness and brings out the complexity of all the flavors, making the cookies taste more nuanced and delicious.
• Pink Food Coloring (Optional): As mentioned, this is entirely optional but highly recommended if you desire a more vivid, Instagram-worthy pink hue for your cookies. Add it gradually until you achieve your desired shade.

Step-by-Step Guide: Crafting Your Perfect Pink Sugar Cookies

Baking these pink strawberry sugar cookies is a straightforward and enjoyable process. Follow these easy steps to create a batch of irresistible treats that will surely impress.

Step 1: Prepare Your Workspace and Dry Ingredients. Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. This prevents sticking and ensures even baking. In a medium bowl, whisk together your all-purpose flour, baking powder, and fine salt until thoroughly combined. This ensures the leavening agent is evenly distributed. Separately, take your freeze-dried strawberries and pulse them in a blender or food processor until they form a fine powder. Set both aside.

Step 2: Cream the Butter. In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat your room-temperature unsalted butter on medium speed. Continue beating for about 1 minute, or until the butter is noticeably creamy and smooth. This aeration is the first step to a light and fluffy cookie.

Step 3: Add Sugar and Cream Until Fluffy. Now, pour your granulated sugar into the bowl with the creamed butter. Beat this mixture on medium-high speed for a full 3 minutes. This extended creaming time is essential; it incorporates air into the mixture, resulting in a light, fluffy, and pale-colored base for your cookies.

Step 4: Incorporate Wet Ingredients. Add the room-temperature egg, extra egg yolk, and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Continue mixing on medium speed until all these wet ingredients are fully incorporated and the batter appears cohesive. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is evenly mixed.

Step 5: Combine Dry Ingredients and Add Color/Flavor. Gradually add your whisked dry ingredients to the wet mixture in the stand mixer. Beat on the lowest speed until there are just a few streaks of flour remaining. At this point, add your freeze-dried strawberry powder and, if you’re using it, a few drops of pink food dye. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold everything together by hand. Continue folding until the batter is uniformly combined and achieves an even pink color. Start with a small amount of food coloring and add more if you desire a deeper shade.

Step 6: Shape, Chill, and Bake! Scoop out approximately one and a half tablespoons of sugar cookie dough for each cookie. Roll the dough between your palms to form smooth, round balls. Then, roll each dough ball generously into your extra granulated sugar, ensuring it’s fully coated for that beautiful sparkle. Place the sugar-coated cookie dough balls on a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat this process with all the dough. Once all balls are shaped and coated, chill them in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (or even overnight for best results). When ready to bake, place 4-6 cookies at a time on your prepared baking sheet (depending on its size) and bake for 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look slightly puffed in the middle, and the edges will be set. Crucially, they will continue to bake and set on the baking tray once removed from the oven, which is when those characteristic cracks will form. Keep any remaining unbaked cookie dough in the fridge while you bake subsequent batches to maintain their chilled state.

Expert Tips for Perfect Pink Sugar Cookies Every Time

Even the simplest recipes benefit from a few expert insights. Follow these tips to ensure your pink strawberry sugar cookies turn out flawlessly, soft, chewy, and utterly delicious:

• Precision is Key: Measure by Weight: I cannot stress this enough – I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring all your ingredients, especially flour, using metric grams. This is by far the most accurate and consistent way to bake. Volume measurements (like cups) can vary significantly depending on how ingredients are scooped, leading to inconsistent results. A kitchen scale eliminates this guesswork and ensures baking success.
• Room Temperature Ingredients: Always ensure that all your dairy ingredients, particularly butter and eggs, are at room temperature before you begin the recipe. This allows them to cream together properly, creating a smooth, emulsified batter that traps air efficiently. Cold ingredients won’t mix as well, leading to a denser, less airy cookie. Plan ahead and pull your ingredients out of the fridge at least 30-60 minutes before you start baking.
• Choose the Right Baking Sheet: For optimal baking results and to achieve that perfect soft and chewy texture without excessive spreading, I strongly recommend using a light-colored metal baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Through extensive testing, I’ve found that silicone baking mats can sometimes cause cookies to spread more than desired due to their insulating properties. Parchment paper on a light metal sheet provides the ideal environment for even baking and minimal spread.
• Gradual Food Coloring Application: If you opt to use food coloring for a more vibrant pink, remember to add it a little at a time. Start with just a few drops, mix thoroughly, and then assess the color. You can always add more to deepen the shade, but you can’t take it away! This allows you to achieve your perfect desired pink hue, from a delicate blush to a bold fuchsia.
• Don’t Overmix the Dough: Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix only until just combined. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour too much, which can lead to tough, rather than soft and chewy, cookies. Stop mixing as soon as you see no more streaks of flour.
• The Importance of Chilling: The chilling step isn’t just a suggestion; it’s vital. Chilling allows the butter to re-solidify and the flour to fully hydrate, preventing the cookies from spreading too thinly in the oven and ensuring they maintain their delightful thickness and texture. Don’t skip it!

Frequently Asked Questions About Pink Sugar Cookies

Got questions about these delightful pink strawberry sugar cookies? We’ve got answers! Here are some common inquiries to help you master this recipe.

Expand Your Baking Repertoire: More Delicious Cookie Recipes to Try!

If you’ve fallen in love with these pink sugar cookies, you’ll be thrilled to explore more of my favorite cookie creations. Each recipe offers a unique flavor and texture profile, perfect for any craving or occasion. From classic comforts to exciting new twists, there’s always something delicious to bake next!

Have you tried this delightful pink strawberry sugar cookie recipe? I’d absolutely love to see your creations! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @alpineella and leave a review below if you have! Your feedback and photos truly make my day. If you’re looking for even more baking inspiration and delicious dessert ideas, don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest. Happy baking!

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