Strawberry Chocolate Cookies
These Strawberry Chocolate Cookies are rich, bakery-style cookies packed with chopped chocolate and freeze-dried strawberries. They bake up soft and fudgy with melty pockets of chocolate and little bursts of strawberry in every bite, which makes them especially perfect for Valentine’s Day.
I love using freeze-dried strawberries here because you get real strawberry flavor without making the dough wet or cakey. By using chopped chocolate, these cookies are extra indulgent, with crisp edges and soft, fudgy centers. The best part is they stay soft and chewy all week, so you can enjoy them long after baking.
Why These Are The Best Strawberry Chocolate Cookies
- Bright strawberry flavor- the freeze-dried strawberries add a bright, fruity pop that pairs perfectly with the chocolate.
- Best texture- crisp edges meet soft, fudgy centers for that bakery-style bite you’ll want again and again.
- Melty chocolate chunks- the chopped chocolate melts as the cookies bake, giving you little pools of rich, gooey chocolate throughout.
- Perfect for Valentine’s Day- chocolate and strawberry are the best combo, and having them together in one cookie makes them extra special for the holiday.
Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour- spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off for accurate measurement; this keeps the cookies soft instead of dense.
- Cocoa powder- I use Dutch-processed cocoa powder for that deep chocolate flavor, and beautiful dark color.
- Baking powder and baking soda- work together to give the cookies a little lift while keeping them tender.
- Butter- use unsalted butter pulled from the fridge a couple hours before mixing so it softens properly.
- Sugar- white granulated sugar adds sweetness and helps the cookies spread, while brown sugar adds moisture and chewiness, plus a subtle caramel flavor.
- Eggs- I use one large egg and one egg yolk, which adds richness and a fudgy texture.
- Vanilla bean paste- gives a warm, natural vanilla flavor. You can also use pure vanilla extract.
- Chocolate- use a good quality chocolate, around 70% cocoa solids.
- Freeze-dried strawberries- roughly chopped, this adds a natural strawberry flavor to the cookies.
Step By Step Instructions
Below you’ll find a quick overview and step by step instructions to make this recipe. Be sure to check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for full measurements.
Tips For Success
- Measure your flour properly. This is one of the number one mistakes in baking. Never scoop your measuring cup directly into the flour, as this compacts it and can throw off your measurements. Instead, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature before starting. This helps everything bind together smoothly and creates a better overall texture in the finished cookies.
- Fully beat the eggs and vanilla. Beat the eggs and vanilla bean paste until the mixture becomes fluffy. This step incorporates air into the dough, which helps give the cookies that soft, pillowy center.
- Use chopped chocolate instead of chips. Chopped chocolate melts and creates little pockets of melted chocolate throughout the cookies. Chocolate chips are made with stabilizers to help them hold their shape, so they don’t melt the same way.
- Shape the cookies while warm. Right after the cookies come out of the oven, use a larger cookie cutter and swirl in a circular motion. This helps give them a perfectly round, uniform shape while the cookies are still soft and easy to mold.
- Bakery-style cookies. If you want your cookies to look like the ones in the photos, press a few extra chopped freeze-dried strawberries and chocolate chunks into the tops while the cookies are still soft and warm from the oven.
Strawberry Chocolate Cookies FAQ’s
Fresh strawberries add extra moisture, which can make the dough too wet and the cookies turn out soft or even a little mushy. Freeze-dried strawberries are best because they give bursts of strawberry flavor without affecting the texture.
Cookies can turn out flat if the butter is too warm or if the dough hasn’t been chilled enough. Butter should be soft enough to press and leave a slight indentation but not melting. Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes helps the cookies hold their shape while baking.
Absolutely! Walnuts, pecans, white chocolate chunks, or other freeze-dried berries can be added, but don’t overload the dough, or it may prevent the cookies from spreading properly and can affect the texture.
Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll stay soft and chewy for up to a week.
Yes! Scoop the dough into balls and freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a ziplock bag once firm. Freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding a minute or two to the baking time.
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Strawberry Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate (Ghirardelli or Lindt), chopped into small pieces, plus more for topping
- 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries, roughly chopped, plus more for topping
Instructions
- First, place the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar into a large mixing bowl.
- Next, cream the butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes, until light, fluffy, and well combined.
- Then, add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla bean paste. Beat for another 2 minutes, until the mixture looks pale and fluffy.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Now, add the dry mixture to the creamed butter mixture.
- Mix just until combined, the cookie dough will be very thick.
- Then, fold in the chopped chocolate and freeze-dried strawberries pieces until evenly distributed.
- Using an ice cream scoop, portion the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then, cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350° and place six cookie dough balls onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them evenly apart.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers are slightly soft. Do not over bake. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press additional chopped chocolate and freeze-dried strawberries into the tops. Then, let them cool completely.
Notes
- Shape the cookies while warm. Right after the cookies come out of the oven, use a larger cookie cutter and swirl in a circular motion. This helps give them a perfectly round, uniform shape while the cookies are still soft and easy to mold.
- Bakery-style cookies. If you want your cookies to look like the ones in the photos, press a few extra chopped freeze-dried strawberries and chocolate chunks into the tops while the cookies are still soft and warm from the oven.