Consider this the chocolate chip cookie of the summer. All the things you love about a chocolate chip cookie, just…brighter. Fruitier. Dare I say…sparklier? A party of a cookie that’s just begging to be made into ice cream sandwiches and brought to the beach. Let me introduce you to Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Dark Chocolate + Freeze-Dried Strawberries = an Ideal Flavor Match

I’ve recently become obsessed with freeze-dried fruit — especially berries. Freeze-dried raspberries and strawberries have made their way into my granola (especially this Chocolate-Lover’s Granola — YUM), oatmeal, trail mix, and, of course, baked goods.

When it’s freeze-dried, the flavor of the fruit is more concentrated than it is in fresh fruit — just like the way sun-dried tomatoes have a more concentrated flavor than fresh tomatoes. Plus, all the water is removed from it, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with the extra liquid in your baked goods (no one likes a soggy cookie).

That makes them the perfect addition to all of your favorite baked goods…like chocolate chip cookies.

Notes on Making Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a pretty simple, straightforward recipe, but there are a few things to note so you get the best cookies possible:

Choosing your chocolate: I like dark chocolate in these cookies — I used Ghirardelli’s 72% dark chocolate chips. Their slight bitterness goes perfectly with the sweet strawberries. But milk or white chocolate would be amazing too. Use what you like!
Where to find freeze-dried strawberries: They’re surprisingly easy to find, if you know where to look. I grabbed mine at Trader Joe’s, but I’ve also gotten these at Target. And a quick Google search will show you a dozen more places to find them.
Extracts: I used vanilla and just a little almond extract in these cookies. If you’re not a fan of almond or don’t have it on hand, you can skip it. Vanilla bean paste would be delicious instead of extract as well — just replace it 1:1.
Parchment paper: I like to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat silicone liners, both for easy cleanup and so I don’t have to grease my cookie sheets. If you don’t use parchment or Silpat, make sure to grease your pans before you bake your cookies so they don’t stick.
No chilling time required! You can just mix these up, pop them in the oven, and have freshly baked cookies in no time.
Small batch: This recipe only makes about 15-16 cookies, but it’s easy to double if you need a big batch.
Freeze for later: You can freeze either the baked cookies or the cookie dough for up to 2 months. If you freeze the unbaked dough, portion it out onto a cookie sheet first, freeze them that way, then pop the frozen dough balls into an airtight container or freezer bag. Then, when you’re ready to bake, just place the frozen dough on the prepared cookie sheet and bake from frozen (you may need to add a minute or two to the baking time).

Summer Dessert Perfection

These cookies have the perfect flavor profile for summer (they’ll also be great for Valentine’s Day!). Bring them to your next picnic, BBQ, grad party, weekend at the cabin…you get the picture. Or, just keep the cookie jar full for the kids to grab on their way outside to play.

And whatever you do, don’t forget to make at least one ice cream sandwich with these cookies. Trust me, you won’t regret it!

Happy Summer Baking!

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