Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Grind the freeze dried strawberries in a food processor until you have a mix of fine powder and tiny pieces. Set aside.
1/4 cup ground freeze dried strawberries
Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer for a full 2 minutes.
1/2 cup (111g) butter, softened , 1/2 cup (115g) granulated sugar
Scrape the sides and add in strawberry emulsion and egg yolk. Mix until combined.
1 tsp strawberry baking emulsion, 1 egg yolk
Next, add flour, ground strawberries, and baking powder to the bowl. Mix slowly at first, gradually getting faster until the dough comes together. The texture should be like Playdoh! Add a little flour or water if needed to get it to a soft, pliable consistency.
1 1/3 cups (202g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder
Use a rolling pin and roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface until 1/4-1/2 inch thick. (The cookies will not rise while baking, they will not get thinner while baking. Roll out to your desired FINISHED thickness.)
Use a small, 1 inch heart cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes. Transfer to a parchment or silicone lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 5-7 minutes or until the centers are puffy and no longer glossy. Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, cream the butter until smooth on the lowest setting.
1/4 cup (56g) salted butter, softened
Alternate adding 1 cup of powdered sugar with a splash of heavy cream, allowing the mixture to fully combine before adding more powdered sugar.
1/2 cups (54g) powdered sugar, up to 3 Tbsp heavy cream
Repeat until all powdered sugar has been added and the frosting is thick.
Add in the clear vanilla extract and mix well.
1 tsp clear vanilla
Adjust the thickness of the frosting by adding more heavy cream to thin, if needed.
Decorate the cut out cookies with additional freeze dried strawberries or sprinkles and enjoy!
Sprinkles or more freeze dried strawberries for decorating
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.