These raspberry sugar cookies are like regular cut-out sugar cookies, but with two major upgrades in the dough: tangy cream cheese and freeze-dried raspberries. Naturally colored, these pretty pink cookies are beautiful right out of the oven, but feel free to garnish with melted chocolate or any other recommended toppings. You’ll love these for Valentine’s Day or any occasion where you crave a fun, berry-flavored cookie.
I originally published this recipe in 2021 and have since added new photos and helpful success tips.
Have you ever baked my regular sugar cookies before? They’re a traditional sugar cookie with soft centers and slightly crisp edges—definitely a favorite around here, especially when I make Valentine’s Day cookies, Easter cookies, and Christmas sugar cookies (same dough recipe). A recipe with year-round versatility!
It’s one of my most-used recipes, right along with chocolate chip cookies and pie crust. I also have a published recipe for cream cheese cut-out cookies with Nutella glaze, which takes sugar cookies to the next level. The cream cheese provides a creamy-like texture and slight tang in each bite. I might even prefer them over regular sugar cookies!
I took the same cream cheese sugar cookie dough and experimented with freeze-dried raspberries. The result was an extra tender berry-flavored cookie with the most gorgeous (and natural!) pink/magenta color.
One reader, Tierney, commented: “Thanks, Sally, for another awesome recipe! I was so pleasantly surprised at how much raspberry flavor these cookies had. I drizzled melted white chocolate on them and they were perfect. I will definitely be making them again. ★★★★★”
Another reader, Kathryn, commented: “These cookies are spectacular. I am posting this late, having made them last Valentine’s Day, but I cannot get them out of my mind. I took them to a special dinner and everyone loved them and they were so impressed. The balance is perfect for someone who prefers less sweet cookies. I dipped and drizzled some with dark chocolate (my preference) and some with white chocolate for those who prefer a slightly sweeter cookie. ★★★★★“
Tell Me About These Raspberry Sugar Cookies
- Texture: Cream cheese makes the dough extra soft and creamy, which I love in so many cookie recipes, like apricot cream cheese thumbprints and maple walnut tassies.
- Flavor: These cookies aren’t as sweet as normal sugar cookies. If you’re craving real fruit FLAVOR in your cookies, start here. We have a little tang from the cream cheese, but most of the flavor comes from the sweet-tart raspberries. I appreciate that we’re using real berries that have been freeze-dried, not artificial raspberry flavoring. Almond extract is completely optional, but it adds another level of flavor. For a little more sweetness, dip the cookies in chocolate or white chocolate.
- Ease: Cookie cutter sugar cookies, of any variety and flavor, aren’t quite as easy as drop cookies. However, if you’re comfortable using a rolling pin and cookie cutters, the process won’t seem arduous. This recipe requires an extra step but it’s pretty simple: grind the freeze-dried berries into powder before using.
- Time: The cookie dough comes together quickly. Roll it out, then chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Without chilling, the cookies will completely lose their shape. After that, cut the dough into shapes, then bake. Set aside a few hours to complete this recipe.
Freeze-Dried Raspberries Are the Secret
I love using freeze-dried berries in frostings. Have you tried this strawberry buttercream before? When you grind freeze-dried strawberries into a powder, you can easily use it in frosting. Freeze-dried berry powder—or “dust”—is perfect because it’s not wet and, therefore, doesn’t mess with the consistency of frosting. Real berry flavor without compromising texture. We also use it on the coating of chocolate raspberry crinkle cookies. And, as it turns out, you can do the same thing with sugar cookie dough, as long as you don’t go overboard with quantity. 2 cups (about 56g) of freeze-dried raspberries grinds down into 1/2 cup of powder, which is the perfect amount for this sugar cookie dough.
- Where to buy freeze-dried raspberries: I usually find them in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle. Keep your eyes peeled—they’re more common than you think. Trader Joe’s and Target carry them too. You can also purchase them online and here is a brand we’ve tested before. (They are much cheaper in stores if you can find them!) You need 2 cups, which is a little less than 2 standard 1.2-ounce bags.
- Can I do this with another type of freeze-dried fruit? Yes, absolutely. I’ve tested this sugar cookie dough with freeze-dried strawberries, blueberries, and mango. The mango flavor wasn’t as intense as the berries, though. Use the same amount—1/2 cup of the ground powder.
- Can I do this with regular dried fruit or frozen fruit? No, do not use chewy/gummy dried fruit and do not use frozen fruit. You need freeze-dried raspberries, which are raspberries with all of the moisture removed—that way they can grind into a powder.
Overview: Making Raspberry Sugar Cookies
- Grind freeze-dried raspberries into powder.
- Make sugar cookie dough. The recipe instructions below include creaming the butter and cream cheese together before adding sugar. (If you need extra help with this step, I have a complete tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar.) You also need 1 egg and vanilla extract. Almond extract is optional, but a tasty addition if you have some on hand. The dry ingredients include flour, the raspberry powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Divide into 2 pieces.
- Roll out cookie dough. Roll each piece of dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Have extra flour on hand because the dough is sticky.
- Chill rolled-out dough for at least 2 hours.
- Cut into shapes. Re-roll all your scraps—you’ll be surprised how many cookies you get from this amount of dough. I love these heart-shaped cookie cutters, but you can use whatever shape you’d like.
- Bake & cool. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets before decorating.
The Trick Is the Order of Steps
Notice how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it in the refrigerator? Let me explain why. To prevent the cookies from over-spreading, the cookie dough must chill in the refrigerator. Roll out the dough right after you prepare it, then chill the rolled-out dough. (At this point the dough is too soft to cut into shapes.) Don’t chill the cookie dough and then try to roll it out because it will be too cold and difficult to work with. Divide the dough in half before rolling it out because smaller sections of dough are simply more manageable.
I follow this same order of steps when making brown sugar cut-out cookies.
After chilling, cut into shapes, arrange on lined baking sheets, bake, and then cool.
Decoration & Topping Ideas
I love using royal icing on regular sugar cookies. That icing would definitely work here (and here’s my how to decorate sugar cookies tutorial if you want to do so!), but I didn’t want the tangy raspberry and cream cheese flavors to be overpowered by super-sweet icing. So instead I dipped them in melted dark chocolate and drizzled with melted white chocolate. So simple, so delicious. Here are some options:
- Melted chocolate (dark, milk, white)
- Royal icing or easy cookie icing (it’s what I use when I make these Christmas sugar cookies)
- Nutella glaze from these cream cheese cut-out cookies with Nutella glaze
- Cookie decorating buttercream (similar to these St. Patrick’s Day cookies) or chocolate buttercream
- Strawberry buttercream—you can replace the freeze-dried strawberries with freeze-dried raspberries to make a raspberry buttercream
Garnish the chocolate or icing with sprinkles or leftover freeze-dried raspberry powder:
Raspberry Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 36 3-inch cookies
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Ground freeze-dried raspberries add natural pink color and sweet-tart flavor to this tangy cream cheese sugar cookie dough. You can leave the cookies plain, but we love them garnished with melted chocolate.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (56g) freeze-dried raspberries
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 ounces (113g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: 1 teaspoon almond extract
Optional Chocolate Topping
- 4-ounce bar (113g) semi-sweet and/or white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- extra freeze-dried raspberry powder, for garnish
Instructions
- Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried raspberries into a powder. You’ll have around 1/2 cup. Feel free to grind extra and use as garnish in step 9.
- Whisk the raspberry powder, flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium-high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until mixture is fluffy and combined, about 1 minute. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using), and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Dough will be very soft and creamy.
- Generously flour your hands and rolling pin. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each portion out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat to about 1/4-inch thickness. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4 inch thick.
- Lightly dust one of the rolled-out dough portions with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the second rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it’s sticking to the parchment, run your hand under it to help remove it. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. (I like these heart cookie cutters.) Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with second piece of dough. Note: It doesn’t seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.
- Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 12–13 minutes until very lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet(s) halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
- For optional chocolate decorating: Melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler, or use the microwave. Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each until completely melted. Dip cooled cookies in the melted chocolate and/or drizzle with melted chocolate, then place back onto the lined baking sheets. I dipped the pictured cookies in melted semi-sweet chocolate and then drizzled melted white chocolate on top. If desired, sprinkle with extra freeze-dried raspberry powder (or sprinkles). Allow chocolate to set in the refrigerator (about 20–30 minutes) or at room temperature.
- Cookies stay fresh tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Plain or decorated sugar cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Wait for the chocolate/icing to set completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months before rolling it out. Prepare the dough through step 4, divide in half, flatten both halves into discs as we do with pie crust, wrap each disc in plastic wrap, then freeze. Thaw the discs in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 5, then chill rolled-out dough in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to 1 hour before cutting into shapes and baking. See this post on how to freeze cookie dough for a video tutorial.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin or Adjustable Rolling Pin | Heart Cookie Cutter | Freeze-Dried Raspberries | Cooling Rack | Double Boiler (optional)
- Cream Cheese: Want to leave out the cream cheese? Use this regular sugar cookies recipe and add 1/2 cup of the raspberry powder to that cookie dough. Whisk it in with the dry ingredients, just as you do here.
- Freeze-dried raspberries: I always find them in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle. Trader Joe’s and Target carry them, too. You can also purchase them online and here is a brand we’ve tested before. (They are much cheaper in stores if you can find them!) You need 2 cups, which is a little less than 2 standard 1.2-ounce bags.
- Can I do this with another type of freeze-dried fruit? Yes, absolutely. I’ve tested this sugar cookie dough with freeze-dried strawberries, blueberries, and mango. The freeze-dried raspberries gave the most potent flavor. Use the same amount—1/2 cup of the ground powder.
- Can I do this with regular dried fruit or frozen fruit? No, do not use chewy/gummy dried fruit and do not use frozen fruit. You need freeze-dried raspberries, which are raspberries with all of the moisture removed—that way they can grind into a powder.
- Other Toppings: See Decoration & Topping Ideas in blog post above.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking success tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These cookies are spectacular. I am posting this late, having made them last Valentine’s Day, but I cannot get them out of my mind. I took them to a special dinner and everyone loved them and they were so impressed. The balance is perfect for someone who prefers less sweet cookies. I dipped and drizzled some with dark chocolate (my preference) and some with white chocolate for those who prefer a slightly sweeter cookie.
I liked that these cookies aren’t too sweet! Mine were a bit of a lighter pink but still pink enough. I also drizzled Ruby Chocolate which is pink and fun to work with but may be hard to find!
Absolutely delicious. Perfect pairing with chocolate. It was difficult finding the freeze dried raspberries but I ordered the ones Sally recommended. Will definitely make them again!
I only have the light cream cheese; in a pinch does that work OK or is it going to throw off everything? Thanks!
Hi Julie, light cream cheese will work in a pinch! Enjoy!
I am going to make these for my husbands office next week for V -day, but have a question that i would like to through out there. I am new to the whole baking thing as I took it up during the last year of lock down. And I have had great success with Sally’s recipes and tutorials.
My question is about the sweetness of these cookies. Many of the comments are about these cookies suggest that they lack sweetness. When looking at other similar cookies they all seem to be more like a 2: 1 ratio of flour to sugar. Should I add aa additional 1/4 -1/2 cup of sugar and would that affect any of the other ratios and/or texture ect…..
any help or suggestions would be much appreciated!
Hi Seth, these are definitely more tart than other sugar cookies– but you can certainly add more sugar to the dough if you’d like. We haven’t tested it with additional sugar, but I would start with 1/4 cup extra (about 50g).
How many bags or ounces of freeze dried raspberries do I need to buy to make 2 cups? Thank you
Hi Margie! You need 2 cups, which is a little more than 1 standard 1.2 ounce (weight) bag.
These turned out beautiful and delicious! I like them on their own as well as drizzled with chocolate, yum!
One question though, I weighed out the freeze dried raspberries and then ground up in my food processor. However it couldn’t grind up the seeds, so I decided to sift the powder away from the seeds. This ended up producing less than 1/2 cup of powder, but the cookies were great anyway.
My question is, would you even bother getting rid of the seeds or would you add them in? Should I try to get a half cup of powder? I think that would’ve ended up being two bags of the raspberries though. Either way I thought they had good raspberry flavor anyway, so just curious what you’d do. Thanks!
Hi Sarah, We are so glad you enjoyed the cookies! We don’t sift out the seeds but you certainly can if you wish. You can actually see the seeds in the close up blender picture above and, if using a high power blender, they are small enough that they aren’t noticeable in the baked cookies.
Hi Sally,
So my Trader Joe’s was out of freeze dried raspberries. I made these with a berry mixture of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. They came out delicious and lavender colored.
Hi Sally,
Could these be made into mini muffin sized tart shells? And do you think a one-to-one GF flour blend would work?
Thank you!
Hi Carrie, We haven’t tested it but this cookie dough should work fine pressed into the bottom of mini tarts. We also haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour but other readers have reported the change with success. Let us know what you try!
I just wanted to share that I made these with freeze dried pineapple and they turned out great! Next time, I would probably add more pineapple because the flavor is pretty subtle. I also accidentally added a full block of cream cheese but the cookies still turned out just fine.
I made these on Sunday with my friend and they came out delicious! My only issue was with my oven – only the tops of the cookies started to turn brown (not the sides). I tried putting them on the lower rack, but then they didn’t turn brown at all. Any suggestions?
Hi Szandi! We suggest letting them bake on the lower rack until slightly golden on the edges next time. We always recommend an in-oven thermometer to help make sure you’re baking at the right temperature as well. Happy baking!
Another hit! The raspberry flavor was nice and intense, and the cookies were so pretty. I drizzled them with white chocolate from a squeeze bottle and they turned out superb.
I wonder if I can use freeze dried strawberries and white chocolate chips and scoop out into balls for just a round cookie? I would like to freeze and only cook amount I need.
Is this doable?
Hi Catherine, these are best as cutouts and won’t spread properly as dough balls. What you could try is making it into a log and freezing them like slice-and-bake cookies, so they’ll be like round cutouts. You may want to chop up the white chocolate chips before adding to the dough, or simply pressing a few into the top of your rounds before or after baking. If you give it a try, we’d love to know how it goes!
I loved these. They were just the right balance of tart and buttery and sweet for me, good alone or drizzled with chocolate (also good with cream cheese frosting, though I didn’t think they needed it.) I will say, none of my Valentine’s were fans, including the family we’re podding with, despite being a berry-loving people generally.
Thank you for all of your recipes, truly your cake recipes turn out better than any others and I love all of your tips and detailed descriptions. Thanks!
I made this recipe and was sadly disappointed on the results. The cookies had a hint of raspberry flavor, but were definitely lacking sweetness. The consistency of the cookies was not good either. I love crunchy cookies and soft cookies, but these were neither of them. The dough was very dense. I frosted them with dark chocolate frosting, and white chocolate frosting. I have loved all the recipes that I have prepared from your blog before, so I will try some of your other cookie recipes. Thank you. R. Musgrave
Hi Raquel, thank you for trying this recipe and for your feedback. Let us know any other cookie recipes you try out.
So strangely I couldn’t find freeze dried anywhere until after I made these. (I found them at a big lots of all places) what I did was dehydrated them in a air fryer and then put them in my food processor. It came out good but it was a long extra step that I couldn’t quite get all the seeds out of. All in all this recipe is a keeper! Also try making these with a raspberry buttercream you won’t regret!
I live in Hamilton Canada and also had a really hard time finding freeze dried fruit, but finally located a brand called CITY SNACKS at a grocery store called Longos. Don’t know if that store is in the Ottawa area, but perhaps you can look on the company’s website. I couldn’t get raspberry, but ended up with strawberries. Going to try this recipe out tomorrow.
I made these yesterday, and they turned out pretty dry. I followed the directions exactly and tried playing with the baking time. Any idea what I may have done wrong?
Hi Katie! Make sure you’re spoon and leveling the flour (or using a kitchen scale) when measuring. Otherwise you can end up with too much flour in your dough making it too dry.
I weighed the flour to 400g, so I’m not sure what I did wrong. They still taste great though!
Hi Sally!
I made these yesterday but I think I made them wrong.
Should it be 56g of powdered raspberries? Because I weighed 56g of frozen raspberries, made the cookies, and they only turned a lighting pink and didn’t really have any raspberry taste. Still tasted good though 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Franny! Thank you so much fro giving these cookies a try. You need freeze dried raspberries for this recipe. They’re different from frozen. See recipe notes for details!
These were a tremendous hit! I made them with the freeze dried strawberries, and added the zest of a lemon to enhance that bright berry flavor. (Plus, strawberry lemonade? Heck yeah.) I drizzled with white chocolate, and they were absolutely delightful.
I made these with freeze dried strawberries (as I have these on-hand for strawberry cake ) and these are A-maxing. They really are pretty and delicious all by themselves. They really don’t need frosting IMO. My husband (a non-strawberry person) said he loved how you taste sugar cookie first and then…wait for it…the delicious strawberry flavor hits you. Almost like an aftertaste but in a super good way. Another Sally recipe going into the SAVE column! Thank you!
LOVED this recipe! Super festive for Valentine’s Day with their pretty pink hue. The cookies were super flavorful and had a nice buttery tartness from the freeze-dried raspberries.
I did notice some weren’t as brightly pink as others. Any suggestions as to why? Other than that, I will be making these again and again! I can’t wait to try other fruits.
I had the same issue. The thinner cookies turned out more pale/brown, and the thicker ones turned out beautiful and bright. I ordered one of those rolling pins that helps you roll dough to an exact thickness so will definitely be using that the next time I make these. And there will most assuredly be a next time!!
Raspberry flavor wasn’t very strong Why not add raspberry extract?
12 minutes was too long in my oven and they lost color.
Add jel?
Made these yesterday and they were flavor packed and picture perfect. I made an error that I thought I would warn others about. I rolled my dough out on parchment paper and then covered with another sheet , then chilled. There were some small wrinkles in the parchment paper, which translated to some ridges in the cookies. I just dipped the side with ridges in chocolate to disguise. For most of them I dipped in chocolate on one half then dipped in finely ground pecans on the edge.
Hi Sally. I made these bad boys yesterday and baked them up this morning. Dee-lish-us!!! So much fun I had making them. Mine, however, did not turn out as vibrant in color as your pics. Still pretty and everyone loved them. One of our little guys was biting off all the chocolate dipped parts and leaving the rest of the cookie untouched . I caught onto that one quickly hehe. Anyhow, thanks again for an awesome recipe.
I have been using freeze dried fruits for years, but only for frostings/fillings for cakes and macarons. What a great idea to use in a cookie dough! I have a hard time finding freeze dried raspberries, so I used strawberries instead. One pack of was a little less than a 1/2 Cup of powder after grinding up in the food processor, so I only used 1 pack and I think it was plenty of strawberry flavor and the perfect shade of pink! I also found the dough to be very easy to work with, especially when re-rolling and cutting the scraps. I will be making these again for sure, especially since my husband loved them as well. They are a perfect treat during Valentine’s Day weekend. Pairs well with chocolate covered strawberries and Prosecco! Thanks for another great recipe, Sally!
I would’ve never thought to use the freeze dried berries.. I suppose that’s why I follow recipes not create them. LOVE these cookies! Very soft and a perfect amount of flavor to spice up regular sugar cookies. Decorated some with royal icing, some with chocolate, and left some plain for the people who are picky (boring). All 3 variants tasted fantastic. You can definitely tell the seeds are there, but it’s not overwhelming.
Hi Sally! I always use your gram weights for flour and I know you use 125g per cup. I noticed that the amount of flour you have here is 136g per cup! Is the gram amount of flour correct here? Thanks!
Hi Katie! 1 cup of spoon and leveled flour (I usually use King Arthur Flour) is approximately 125 grams. When you begin adding more, it starts weighing itself down– 3 cups isn’t always 125×3, if that makes sense. We measured this amount of flour with our scale using King Arthur Flour and it was 400 grams. That’s how this recipe was tested. We are adjusting grams in similar recipes where needed.
I think everyone ran and got the raspberries before I could!! Sooooo… I subbed in freeze dried strawberries and oh wow!!! Yet another great recipe that is versatile and delivers great quality and flavor! Thank you Sally!
SO delicious! Awesome recipe and so unique. I should’ve added a bit of food gel coloring, but otherwise these are a huge hit and the pre-rolling and chilling of the dough did the trick for perfect shapes. Thanks!
Good raspberry flavor but they were missing a sweetness even with the chocolate. My sister and I experimented with the thickness if the cookie but the texture was more like a biscuit than a cookie. So we frosted them with a buttercream-cream cheese frosting and then drizzled the chocolate. Final product tasted like a chocolate raspberry candy. We like the recommendation to chill the rolled out dough before cutting the cookies.