Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies
Buttery and sweet strawberry shortbread cookies are filled with lemon buttercream filling. These Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies are the best lemon sandwich cookies to celebrate spring!
If you love sandwich cookies as much as I do, be sure to check out some of my other favorites like Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies, Lemon Rosemary Sandwich Cookies, Homemade Peanut Butter Oreos, or Earl Grey Sandwich Cookies.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Makes: 12 sandwich cookies
- Main Ingredients: salted butter, powdered sugar, all purpose flour, freeze dried strawberries
- Flavor Profile: strawberry lemonade in a creamy filled sandwich cookie
- Dietary Info: eggless, no seed oils
- Difficulty: Medium
- Why You’ll Love It: Oreo style sandwich cookies made with strawberry and lemonade
Summarize & Save This Content On
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Spring Flavors: This spring cookie recipe is full of fruity flavors. Buttery and crisp strawberry shortbread cookies are filled with lemon filling for a spring cookie recipe that’s fruity and delicious!
- Light & Sweet: These are the best lemon sandwich cookies because they are light and sweet. The strawberry shortbread cookies are filled with lemon buttercream filling for a spring cookie recipe that has a light and sweet flavor profile.
- Naturally Eggless: No eggs needed for these Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies. The cookies are shortbread so they’re buttery and crisp, similar to Oreos, and they’re are naturally eggless!
Ingredients
- Vanilla Extract: Use a high quality vanilla extract, not imitation.
- All Purpose Flour: I use Cairnspring Mills, which is my fave!
- Freeze Dried Strawberries: These cookies are made with organic freeze dried strawberries. This allows them to get flavor and color without excess moisture. You don't want to use fresh strawberries in this recipe.
- Lemon: I use an organic lemon in the filling to create the flavor. We use both the lemon juice and the lemon zest. If you don't have a lemon, you could use a lemon extract or flavoring too but you usually end up with a sweeter frosting when you use a flavor or extract as those are usually a sweeter lemon flavor than a real tart lemon. Start with 1/2 teaspoon and taste, add more to your liking if you're going that route.
- Cane Sugar: I dust these cookies with a bit of organic cane sugar after they come out of the oven. Doing this immediately after baking allows the cane sugar to stick to the hot cookies. This also creates a nice texture! This part is option, feel free to skip it if you prefer.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- Make sure your butter is soft, this is crucial for this recipe! I prefer to leave butter out on the counter to soften naturally. But if you have to microwave it, only do 10 second intervals to prevent portions of it melting.
- If you don’t have a lemon, you can substitute an orange for it and you have strawberry orange cookies (also delicious)!
- Sifting powdered sugar is key for smooth buttercream filling, so sifting is a must!
- If you want to use a cream cheese frosting instead, try my lemon version of Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting.
- You don't need to pipe the filling with a decorating tip, this part is optional. You can use a piping bag without a tip or even a spoon a dollop of frosting on top of the cookie and sandwich together. Or use a butter knife to add frosting onto the edge of the cookie and sandwich together. They don't be a pretty, but it works!
- Make sure to store these in a cool, dry place so they stay crispy. You can also store them in the refrigerator so they last longer.
- High Altitude – Bake at 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes minutes or until golden brown on the bottoms and edges.
How to Make Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2
To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined and you don’t see powdered sugar anymore, there will still be a few chunks of butter but that is okay because it’s very soft.
Add the flour and freeze dried strawberries into the butter mixture and mix on low until combined and smooth. The dough should feel like play dough in your hands.
Using your hands, form the dough into 24 balls and place them on each prepared baking sheet, you'll have 12 cookies per sheet. Flatten each one slightly so they are about 2-inches in diameter.
Step 3
Bake for 18 to 21 minutes or until golden brown on the bottoms and edges. Sprinkle with cane sugar immediately after coming out of the oven. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
Step 4
To make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the powdered sugar, butter, zest of half a lemon, and the juice of half a lemon, and mix on low until combined. Speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Put in a piping bag with Ateco tip #864.
Step 5
Turn over every other cookie so they are all paired. Pipe a swirl of filling onto each cookie and sandwich them together.
Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies FAQ's
Freeze dried strawberries allow us to get concentrated strawberry flavor and natural color without added moisture. This is why I use them in this recipe as these are a shortbread cookie, so we want to keep them buttery and crisp.
No, fresh strawberries (and frozen) won’t work in this recipe because they have so much moisture. So freeze dried strawberries are best!
Freeze dried strawberries provide a naturally bright strawberry flavor and natural color!
Yes, if you only have unsalted butter, you can use that. If you do that be sure to add ½ teaspoon fine sea salt to the recipe.
No, feel free to skip the tip if you don’t have one! The decorating tip is just that, purely decorative.
If you use melted butter, your cookies can spread and look “hole-y” as the melted butter causes this. Be sure butter is soft, room temperature, for the best results.
Make sure to store in a cool, dry place to prevent them from getting soggy. I live in a dry climate, so I leave mine out on the counter (not covered!). You don't want to store in an airtight container as this can make the cookies soggy. If you are in a humid climate, leaving out will not work. You're better off storing in the fridge.
Yes, you can use a lemon extract for flavor in addition to a fresh lemon. Feel free to add as much as you like to suite your preference, as you can taste the frosting and adjust as needed.
They do not need to be refrigerated if you're going to enjoy with a few days of baking. But, they will last longer in the fridge.
Yes, these are a great cookie to bake ahead of time! I love making the day before a party as you can just leave them out on the counter and they will be just fine.
These cookies are buttery and crisp, so they are best stored in a cool dry place. I leave these out on a plate on the counter for a few days while we eat them. A cookie jar that is not sealed or airtight (like an old fashioned ceramic jar, with just a lid) also works.
I think these are best eaten within 5 days of baking if you just store at room temperature. They will last for up to a week in the fridge. And, you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Yes, just freeze in an airtight container or freezer safe bag. They will last for up to 3 months in the fridge.
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Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer
- Half Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper Sheets
- Piping Bag
- Ateco Tip #864
Ingredients
Dough
- 226 grams salted butter (softened)
- 142 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 255 grams all purpose flour
- 30 grams freeze dried strawberries
- cane sugar
Filling
- 170 grams salted butter (softened)
- 340 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- ½ lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined and you don’t see powdered sugar anymore, there will still be a few chunks of butter but that is okay because it’s very soft.
- Add the flour and freeze dried strawberries into the butter mixture and mix on low until combined and smooth. The dough should feel like play dough in your hands.
- Using your hands, form the dough into 24 balls and place them on each prepared baking sheet, you'll have 12 cookies per sheet. Flatten each one slightly so they are about 2-inches in diameter.
- Bake for 18 to 21 minutes or until golden brown on the bottoms and edges. Sprinkle with cane sugar immediately after coming out of the oven. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- To make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the powdered sugar, butter, zest of half a lemon, and the juice of half a lemon, and mix on low until combined. Speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Put in a piping bag with Ateco tip #864.
- Turn over every other cookie so they are all paired. Pipe a swirl of filling onto each cookie and sandwich them together.
- Store in a cool dry place, or in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Notes
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- Make sure your butter is soft, this is crucial for this recipe! I prefer to leave butter out on the counter to soften naturally. But if you have to microwave it, only do 10 second intervals to prevent portions of it melting.
- If you don’t have a lemon, you can substitute an orange for it and you have strawberry orange cookies (also delicious)!
- Sifting powdered sugar is key for smooth buttercream filling, so sifting is a must!
- If you want to use a cream cheese frosting instead, try my lemon version of Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting.
- You don't need to pipe the filling with a decorating tip, this part is optional. You can use a piping bag without a tip or even a spoon a dollop of frosting on top of the cookie and sandwich together. Or use a butter knife to add frosting onto the edge of the cookie and sandwich together. They don't be a pretty, but it works!
- Make sure to store these in a cool, dry place so they stay crispy. You can also store them in the refrigerator so they last longer.
- High Altitude – Bake at 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes minutes or until golden brown on the bottoms and edges.
Nutrition
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Light and sweet, love these!