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Today is my birthday!!!! 🎉
I am 34 today. And feeling FABULOUS!!!
Gah, I LOVE my birthday. Always have.
The cool thing about my birthday is that I share it with several special people. My good friend, who I grew up with, shares my birthday. Except, she is one year older then me. Our parents are close friends, as well; and we are both only children. We shared some special moments celebrating our birthday together when we were kids.
I also share my birthday with my Aunt. We have always enjoyed the fun in wishing each other happy birthdays. A friend from college shares my birthday – it’s always fun to re-connect with her on our birthday. And my Dad’s good friend, (who has passed) shared my birthday.
Obviously, July 29th is a good day to be born!
Even though my birthday will look a little different this year due to Covid-19, I am still fully excited to embrace all the joy and love I can today. Normally we gather with some friends and go out to dinner and drinks afterward, or have a fire and drinks at our place after. We personally still feel the importance on social distancing, as much as possible. So, this year I will be taking today off work (an advantage to being your own boss. And thanks to the ability to schedule my posts in advance), I plan to spend a good chunk of the day relaxing in our screened-in gazebo with a book. I will probably paint my toe nails and do a face mask (not the Covid kind, the skin care kind ha!), and go for an extra long walk. My plan is to make the most of the day by relaxing and soaking it up.
For dinner, we will get carry out from a restaurant of my choice, and probably eat said dinner in our gazebo. My sweet non-cooking husband has promised to attempt to make my recipe for chocolate lava cake for my birthday dessert. I believe he can do it! And this coming weekend we are planning a camping trip, with just the two of us. We both love camping and haven’t had the chance to go for the past few summers. So EXCITED!!!
Okay, wow! I didn’t know I had so much to say about my birthday. We all deserve to be excited to celebrate our day! Even during a pandemic. It’s all about perspective and attitude, my friends.
Let’s talk about these birthday worthy lemon cheesecake cookie cups (even though I won’t actually be eating them on my birthday lol, which is okay).
Originally I had planned these cuties to be a 4th of July recipe, because red white and blue, with the fruit and the frosting. But they needed to be tested a few more times then I had expected. So, here we are, July 29th, and they have turned into my birthday treat post.
They are so good too! Soft, buttery sugar cookie cups are filled with a lemon cream cheese frosting and topped with your choice of berries. Our top favorite is strawberries, a close second are blueberries. You could also use raspberries and blackberries, or a mix of all 4. Can you ever go wrong with lemon and berries?!
Making these lemon cheesecake cookie cups isn’t hard by any means, but there are several steps: 1) make the dough. 2) Form the dough into mini muffin tins to form the cups. 3) Bake them. 4) Press the dough down again. 5) Cool. 6) Make the lemon cream cheese frosting. 7) Fill the cookie cups with the frosting, and top with your choice of berries. Totally, 1,000% worth every single effort!!!
Paul is in love with these lemon cheesecake cookie cups!! He said they are his all time favorite cookie I have made. I kindly reminded him that he said the same thing about my pecan pie cookies. Maybe it’s dependent on the season?
I totally think there are too many good cookies and desserts out there to pick one all time favorite one. I fully support this idea of favorites cookies per season. I have to agree with Paul, these lemon cheesecake cookie cups are pretty darn fantastic. They combine 3 of my favorite things: 1) cheesecake 2) cookies 3) fresh summertime fruit.
You take a bite into the soft, buttery sugar cookie and get a soft, rich, perfectly sweetened lemon cream cheese frosting followed by a burst of juicy berries. Oh man, with the strawberries on top, they remind me a bit of strawberry shortcake.
I don’t usually do a lot of baking this time of year because we don’t have central air. These lemon cheesecake cookie cups with berries though, are 1 million % worth all the sweating, and hard work we put our kitchen window a/c unit through.
How cute would these lemon cheesecake cookie cups be to take to a party? The only thing is you want to fill them with the frosting just before serving, otherwise if you leave the frosting in the cookie cups too long things get a little bit soggy. I would think it would be extra fun to put the berries into bowls and allow guests to add whatever combination of fruit they want on top. Those are my favorite kinds of dishes to see at parties. A make-your-own situation.
OMG the lemon cream cheese frosting is so delightful. You’ll want to lick the bowl. Seriously.
It is sweetened with powdered sugar. I tested this recipe with a version of my cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar recipe, which you all love, and found that the frosting was too rich for this specific dessert. There is something about the way the powdered sugar sort of melts into the cream cheese and butter that makes an ideal texture and amount of thickness that just has the right airy-ness to it. Sometimes, the tried and true ingredients that have been used forever work best..
However, I didn’t use as much powdered sugar as a normal frosting calls for. I only use about 3/4 to 1 cup of powdered sugar, whereas normal frosting calls for up to 3 cups of powdered sugar. That much powdered sugar is used to keep things thick and stiff for piping and decorating, so it stays on top of cakes. When you’re filling a cookie there is no need for things to stand up. So, this lemon cream cheese frosting is perfectly sweetened, with plenty of fresh tangy lemon-y goodness. It’s absolutely scrumptious.
And it won’t make your teeth hurt. Ugh, I hate that. Don’t you?
No matter what occasion you make these cookies for, birthday, 4th of July, baby shower, bridal shower, backyard BBQ’s or pool parties, or just because, you will enjoy every single bite.
These are totally a celebratory, once-in-a-while dessert. There is so much butter and cream cheese, and a good amount of sugar in these cookies that there really isn’t anything much healthier about them. Except maybe the fruit, but I’m not sure it works that way ha!
The cookie dough is gluten free. It’s made using almond flour and coconut flour. I like the taste and texture of almond flour. Plus, I like that almond flour has healthy fats and protein in it. So there are my healthier elements. . Still, they are pretty indulgent. But we all need to indulge on occasion.
Like your birthday!!!
Just do me a favor, leave a comment down below and let me know which is or favorite fruit to eat with the lemon cheesecake cookie cups? I would love to know!
More summer inspired desserts:
- tropical sherbet (no churn)
- strawberry rhubarb cobbler
- no churn mango lassi frozen yogurt
- mini vegan lemon strawberry cheesecakes
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment down below, along with a star rating. This helps more people to find my recipes easier. We all know everyone needs to know about these cookies, right?! Plus, I enjoy hearing from you. Thanks for being here, friends!
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Lemon Cheesecake Cookie Cups with Berries
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 14 mins
- Total Time: 44 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: dessert, baking, cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: gluten free
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These lemon cheesecake cookie cups have a sugar cookie cup that’s filled with a lemon cream cheese frosting and topped with your choice of berries. They are festive enough for the 4th of July, or any summer party when fresh berries are at their peak.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 3 cups blanched almond flour
- 6 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons coconut flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 cup granulated or organic white sugar (see notes)
- 2 eggs, room temp
- Optional: 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Lemon Cream cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (1 brick), room temp
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temp
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar (see notes)
Options for toppings
- fresh blueberries
- fresh strawberries, sliced
- fresh raspberries
- fresh blackberries
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 330 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a mini muffin tin and set aside.
- Make the cookie dough: In a small bowl add the almond flour, coconut flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt – use a spoon to combine. Set aside. Either using a bowl for a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl for a hand mixer add the 8 ounces room temp butter along with sugar, beat until the butter and sugar are well creamed together, scrape down sides as needed. Add the eggs and beat until well incorporated, then add the almond extract and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in increments of 1/2 cup, mixing in between each addition of dry ingredients. Once everything is well incorporated allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.
- Form the cookie cups: Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cookie dough (I like to use a medium sized ice cream scoop) and place it into each greased mini muffin tin cavity, repeat until all of the muffin tin cavities are filled (you will have some extra dough leftover – see notes). Place a small dish of cool water next to the baking dish, wet your fingers to prevent sticking and use your fingers to press an indentation in the cookie batter and then sort of push it up the sides. Repeat until all of the cookies are formed into a cup.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 10 to 14 minutes, rotating the pan during the last 4 minutes of cooking time. You will know the cookies are done when the edges turn golden brown and your kitchen begins to smell delicious. Remove from the oven and immediately use the end of a wooden spoon (I use the back end of a drink meddler – pictured in the post – that works perfectly) to reform the cup of the cookie. Be careful not to press down too far.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool completely. Once the cookies are cooled carefully use a butter knife to run the around the edges of each cookie and gently remove them from the muffin cups.
- Make the lemon cream cheese frosting: To make the frosting (do this while the cookies are baking, or cooking), add the cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or to a mixing bowl for a hand mixer. Beat until well combined. Add the salt, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice – mix again until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and everything is smooth.
- Assemble: Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before frosting. To assemble spoon about 1 tablespoon of the frosting into the cookie cup, or until the cookie cup is filled. Just before eating top with your choice of fresh berries. Our favorite is strawberry, but blueberry is a close second favorite.
- If not serving the cookies immediately: The cookies are best if they are assembled just before eating. To store any cookies you’re not eating right away, store the frosting in the fridge and the cookie cups in an air tight container on the counter. Allow the frosting to come to room temp for 1 hour before filling the cookie cups. The cookies will last for 4 days at room temp.
- If serving at a party: The cookies tend to get a little soggy after a while when the frosting in the center, so I recommend trying to add the frosting and fruit just before serving. I Imagine they will be okay for 30 minutes to 1 hour. It’s fun to allow guests to add their own desired fruit combos, so you could fill them with the frosting and then have the fruit in little bowls for guests to create their own.
Notes
Sugar for cookies: You can use coconut sugar in this recipe, just keep in mind that the color of the cookies will be a light tan.
Powdered sugar for frosting: I didn’t use as much powdered sugar as most frosting recipes call for since this is more of a filling and we don’t need it to be as thick for frosting a cake. It is perfectly sweet, without being tooth-achingly sweet, in my opinion. Taste as you add the powdered sugar. I did test this recipe with my cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar recipe and found it to be way too rich since you’re eating about a tablespoon of it in the cookie. The powdered sugar yields a lighter, melt-in-your-mouth filling that worked best with these cookies. I do prefer to use natural sweeteners when possible, but this recipe is an example that sometimes the regular stuff works best.
Leftover cookie dough and frosting: You will have some cookie dough and frosting leftover (about 10 cookies worth). You have a few options: 1) make extra cookie cups if you have 2 mini muffin tin pans. 2) save cookie dough in fridge for up to 1 week. Scoop them into balls, place on a greased baking sheet, and flatten with a spatula. Bake at 350 degrees fro 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown – allow to cool completely. Top with any leftover lemon cream cheese frosting just before eating, if desired. Note: the cookie dough freezes really well. Not sure about the frosting, but it will last in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
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