Photo by Anna Beck
With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, now's the perfect time to stop and let others know how important they are in our lives—whether it's a family member, friend, significant other, spouse, or child. I mean, isn’t it about time we all spread a bit more love?
Taking the time to bake something—especially cookies—for someone is my favorite way to show them my appreciation. Here, I add freeze-dried strawberries and dark chocolate to a chewy cookie batter. Think chocolate-covered strawberries in cookie form.
Gift a bag of these instead of your usual box of chocolates. Perfect for your valentine.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate, chopped (or dark chocolate chips)
- 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries
Instructions:
- In a mixer or with a hand-held mixer in a bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add in the brown sugar, and beat to combine. Add in the vanilla and egg until combined.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour with the baking soda and salt. Then, add the flour mixture to the batter, and mix to combine until no flour remains. Do not overmix!
- Stir in the chocolate and strawberries.
- Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake in a 375° oven for about 9–10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Take out and let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack. Store at room temperature.
Yield: 18–20 cookies
