Method (cookies)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan and line 2 baking trays with grease proof paper.
2. Add the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl or the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Whip with a hand mixer or the stand mixer until light and creamy.
3. Add the vanilla / strawberry flavour,  milk and drop of pink food gel (optional). Whip again until combined.
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and freeze dried strawberries. Mix until just combined.
5. Scoop the cookie dough into 6 balls using spoons or an ice-cream scoop.
6. Optional step – Sprinkle some caster or granulated sugar over the cookies before baking.
7. Place the cookies on the lined tray (leave the dough in balls, don’t press them down!), leaving room in between as they will spread when baking.
8. Bake in the middle of the oven for 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly golden.
9. Once baked, remove the trays from the oven, use a round cookie cutter to help shape the cookies. Use the cookie cutter to scoot the cookies into a circle.
10. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray. While they’re cooling, make the buttercream.

Method (buttercream swirl)

1. Add the butter and cream cheese into a bowl and whip until smooth and creamy, either in a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment or using a hand held electric whisk.
2. Add in the icing sugar and vanilla, whip until creamy. If it’s too thin or if it ever splits, add in some more chunks of butter until it’s thick and creamy in consistency. 
3. Transfer the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle.
4. Once the cookies are fully cool, pipe a swirl of the cream cheese frosting on top of each cookie.
5. Transfer a few tablespoons of strawberry jam into a piping bag, snip off the tip. Pipe a jam swirl in-between the buttercream.
6. Decorate the tops of the cookies with half a strawberry and dust with some icing sugar.
7. Serve and enjoy!