Double Cheesecake Cookies with Wild Strawberry Sauce

This fancy cookie takes three simple recipes- a cream cheese cookie, a no-bake cheesecake mousse, a fresh berry sauce -and combines them into one sweet and special treat.

A few weeks back, we went berry picking at our secret favorite wild strawberry patch. It was early in the season so we got about a pint of the little berries. Not enough to make a jam, really, so I used a super simple recipe to create a sweet and tangy sauce (just stir together 3 parts fruit and 2 parts sugar until the berries release their juice). I love this sauce over ice cream or pancakes, but today I was in the mood for cheesecake!

This recipe is basically a cream cheese sugar cookie dough that's rolled in graham cracker and baked into a thumbprint cookie, topped with a fruity cheesecake mousse, then a berry sauce. The mousse is light and flavored with strawberry milk and Tang. The treat as a whole is pleasantly not too sweet. I like them on a hot day like today after they've spent some time in the freezer!


Double Cheesecake Cookies with Wild Strawberry Sauce:

Wild Strawberry Sauce:

Stir together berries and white sugar at a ratio of one part berry to a little less than one part sugar. You can mix up to one part each if you want a sweeter sauce. Mix them together with a spoon until the berries release their juice and you can see only a few whole berries remaining in the mix. Pour into a jar, seal and place in the refrigerator for about a week, stirring every couple days before using. Best if used up within the next few weeks.


Graham Cracker Cheesecake Cookies:
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen via Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 ounces cream cheese at room temp
1 1/4 cup butter at room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
5 whole graham crackers, crushed into crumbs

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl. In a larger mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. On low, gradually add the dry mix until it all comes together in a stiff dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350F and line sheet pans with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into walnut sized balls and roll each in graham cracker crumbs. Space them out several inches apart on the sheet pan. Press a well into the center of each cookie using your thumbs or the back of a soup spoon.**

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the cookies are a golden brown. Cool on the pan for a few minutes then cool completely on wire racks before filling.

**Save the paper wrapper from your stick of butter to lightly grease the back of your spoon to prevent sticking.


Fruity No-Bake Cheesecake Mousse:
Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

Mix into soft peaks:
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

Gradually add:
1/4 cup strawberry milk powder
1/4 cup Tang orange drink powder

Mix in, until combined and stiff peaks form:
8 ounces cream cheese at room temp or a bit cooler

Chill for up to an hour if desired. Pipe onto cookies, leaving a well in the center for your sauce. Or simply dollop the mousse onto each cookie and spoon sauce over. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Enjoy!