strawberry chocolate chunk cookies;

Sometimes you just need to dress up a classic chocolate chip cookie. And when that feeling hits–like you just need a chocolate chunk cookie but it needs a little extra oomph–I turn to these strawberry chocolate chunk cookies. With white and dark chocolate, you get sweet and creamy as well as classic and dark. And then for an extra pop of brightness, freeze-dried strawberries do the trick.

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, this would be a perfect recipe to show your appreciation for your Mom or all mother figures in your life! A little sweet treat for the sweeties in your life.

Room-temperature butter is the key to starting any chocolate chip cookie recipe, and these strawberry chocolate chunk cookies are no exception. Room temp really helps the sugar and butter cream together so it’s light and fluffy.

Taking butter straight from the refrigerator means it’s cold and hard. Then you have to spend extra minutes and arm strength getting it to a workable state. You can pop it in the microwave and use the defrost setting to soften it, but I’ve tried too many times and accidentally melted my butter. No, I prefer to leave mine on the counter and let it soften naturally.

Especially in warm spring and summer months, letting your unwrapped butter soften directly in the bowl will save some time and mess!

secret to success

However, if you typically store your butter in the fridge, I have a little tip. While the butter’s still cold, unwrap it and add it to your bowl. Let it soften there. You’ll make sure you get all the goodness of the butter without the wrapper sticking since the stick is still cool. If you let it soften on the counter in its wrapper, it’ll stick to the wrapper and probably require scraping to get it all. Especially in warm spring and summer months, letting your unwrapped butter soften directly in the bowl will save some time and mess!

Don’t forget the vanilla pudding mix! It’s one of those little tricks that really help the cookies pop. Plus it helps them stay soft and chewy for the perfect texture. It’s amazing how much flavor they pack into the powder. I like to cream the pudding mix in with the sugar or immediately after I add the vanilla and salt, etc. That way I make sure it’s fully incorporated before I focus on adding in flour.

Now, when it comes to chocolate chunks, my go-to 100% of the time is Trader Joe’s semisweet chocolate chunks. There just is no better classic chocolate chunk. (Unless maybe you want to get fancy about it and go with gourmet chocolate like Callebaut.) But for those who frequent the average grocery store, Trader Joe’s chocolate chunks are my absolute favorite way to go.

I’d love to swap in white chocolate chunks if I had the option! But you can use chocolate chips or chunks, or mix-and-match.

secret to success

Of course, you can use chocolate chips instead if that’s your preference or what you have on hand. Just mentally change the “chunk” in strawberry chocolate chunk cookies to “chip”. You can see I mixed dark chocolate chunks with white chocolate chips in my version. But I’d love to swap in white chocolate chunks if I had the option. That said, white chocolate chunks are far less common and more expensive than their chocolate chip counterparts. And they still taste nommy!

I chose to make these strawberry chocolate chunk cookies with strawberries (surprise! It’s in the name, so it shouldn’t be a surprise). But they would also go great with freeze-dried cherries, or freeze-dried raspberries for a slightly different flavor profile. I also get my freeze-dried fruits from Trader Joe’s typically, but you can also order them online if needed.

These strawberry chocolate chunk cookies would also be great with freeze-dried cherries or raspberries.

secret to success

This is a freeze-dried strawberry powder I’ve used in other recipes before, but it is a crushed powder. If you want chunks like those pictured here in my strawberry chocolate chunk cookies, try something like these freeze-dried strawberries, or pick them up at your local Trader Joe’s. I haven’t seen freeze-dried fruits commonly at my grocery stores, but maybe you’ll have more luck around you! I haven’t confirmed myself, but I bet Whole Foods or health stores are more likely to carry them than the typical grocery.

secrets to success;

Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!

---

more recipes;

Looking for other recipes that are twists on your favorite classics?

• Looking for other strawberry-inspired recipes? Check out my favorite summer strawberry recipes.
• You can’t go wrong with classic cinnamon snickerdoodles. Soft and fluffy, and cinnamon-y!
• If you’re a classic brownie lover, then crinkle-top brownies are for you. But if you’re daring, then try these french silk brownies! Or try a completely new medium–brownie batter stuffed pretzels!
• Love pumpkin pie? Well I’ve got you covered with this caramelized honey pumpkin pie with chai whipped cream. But for a similar but unique take, try my apple butter tart! Just as delicious and surprisingly easy, this tart tastes like an apple pie and a pumpkin pie had a baby!