Classic chocolate chip cookies are great on their own, and they’re also a great jumping-off point to add your own creative spin. In my Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies, I’ve added 2 extra elements to the classic that add major fun and flavor. Freeze-dried strawberries give these cookies their fresh berry flavor. They absorb a little liquid as they mix and add a fun textural element. A little almond extract enhances the berry and chocolate combination. Try this fun chocolate chip cookie twist and let me know what you think!
Ingredient Notes:
Chocolate Chips: Feel free to use any chocolate chip that you like. I suggest and prefer semi-sweet (or even dark) to balance the sweetness.
Freeze-Dried Strawberries: Freeze dried strawberries are different than dried strawberries. While dried strawberries are chewy and sweet, freeze dried are completely dry and will crumble to powder when you squeeze them. Using freeze dried berries gives you all of the flavor without any unwanted moisture that would interfere with that perfect chocolate chip cookie texture! Look for freeze dried berries in near the dried fruits or in the health food aisle of the grocery store. Sometimes these options can be smaller packages (so you might need several to get enough berries for the recipe). My favorite is to buy a #10 cans of freeze dried strawberries. You can find these on Amazon, and they sell this same brand and size at Walmart in-store. You’ll find these in an aisle with other bulk and freeze dried foods. Other grocers may sell something similar- I’ve purchased them in large cans at WinCo at the past as well.
Almond Extract: Pure or imitation works just fine. We have tree nut allergies at my house so I always use imitation!
Butter: I use real butter in my baking, but this recipe works well with butter flavored shortening, or half butter, half shortening. You are welcome to experiment with other butter alternatives as well, but I haven’t tested any.
Make the Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Start by creaming the butter and both brown and white sugar.
- Add eggs and also a generous amount of almond extract. Almond extract and berries are a natural pairing that really enhance each other’s flavors.
3. Add Chocolate Chips. You can use any kind of chocolate; I prefer dark or semi-sweet in most cookies to balance the sweetness.
4. Add your freeze-dried strawberries. You can’t very successfully add fresh berries to cookies because the extra moisture is just too much, but freeze-dried will absorb some of the moisture in the dough and plump up, adding both flavor and texture. You can buy freeze-dried strawberries in most grocery stores these days, or even on Amazon! If you don’t see them with the other dried fruits, check the health-food aisle, or the aisle with other freeze-dried foods.
5. Drop dough onto baking sheets and place a few extra chocolate chips on top. I like to press in a few small pieces of berries as well. If you add to many freeze dried berries to the top they can get a little too brown in the oven.
They will bake up soft and beautiful with chunks of melted chocolate and pieces of bright red berries.
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Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3 dozen
Description
A delicious twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie with hints of almond extract and bright berries!
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour, spooned lightly into measuring cups and then leveled with a knife
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup real butter at room temperature*
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 12-ounce bag chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups roughly chopped freeze-dried strawberries*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand-mixer, combine shortening, butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating until each one is incorporated. Add vanilla and almond extracts.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add chocolate chips and strawberries and mix until well blended.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion dough into 1 1/2″ balls and place on baking sheet
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set on edges and slightly soft in centers. Remove and let cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack. Yields about 3 dozen.
Notes
*feel free to use butter flavored shortening in place of butter, or half butter and half shortening.
* Freeze-dried berries can be roughly chopped with a knife, or simply broken up with your hands a bit. The amount is flexible. There’s a large curve depending on how much you break down your berries. If you are crushing them into teeny tiny pieces you will need a lot to fill 2 cups. I simply use a knife or my hands to break down pieces so they are similar in size to a chocolate chip. Don’t stress if you don’t have a full 2 cups!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Questions & Reviews
These cookies are soooooo good! The perfect soft, chewy cookie! I made them for RS and had extras I brought home…my kids gobbled them all up! I now use this recipe for my Standard GO-TO Chocolate Chip Recipe…it is that good. Whenever I want Choc. Chip Cookies I just use this recipe and leave out the almond flavoring and the strawberries and bam…perfection! I made them last Sunday and I am a eat 1 cookie and I am done kind of person. Well I ate like 7 of these….they were that good. I follow the recipe exactly, including using room temperature eggs and butter and the Pillsbury best flour and butter flavored shortening. Have made them several times and they always turn out perfectly!
How does would it affect the cookies if we omitted the strawberries? Thank you for sharing!
Just turns them into Chocolate chip cookies, with almond flavor 🙂
If I was using a a convection oven, what temp and time would you use?
I’d just keep an eye on them and probably cook a minute or two less.
Winner! Love, love, love these cookies! I would never have thought to put f/d strawberries in my chocolate chip cookies but, WOW! Who doesn’t love chocolate dipped strawberries? And I did not find the almond extract overpowering. Could it be the other reader used imitation instead of real extract? This is a fabulous cookie! Thanks, Sara!
So glad you love them!
Good idea, I will try this…..and I love almond too…..and this is one way to get your fruit too 🙂 love it…..thanks
Pretty much the BEST way to get your fruit in, haha!
Wow. Great cookie except the overpowering almond flavor totally strangulated any strawberry flavor — and I followed the recipe exactly. I’ll try again without it.
Truly the difference in cookies made with shortening is real! I was given chocolate chip cookies by two friends within two days apart. one made only with butter and the other one made with butter and shortening combination. The cookie with shortening was so much better!!!
Sarah, it’s such a coincidence that you posted this recipe. Just this week I went onto your website looking for a chocolate chip cookie recipe with part shortening in the base and could not find one. So I looked on Mel’s kitchen café blog and couldn’t find one there either. So I finally decided I would have to ask my friend for her secret chocolate chip cookie recipe with shortening in it, and she shared! So I’m sharing with you too. Her recipe is very similar but makes a larger batch.
chocolate chip cookies
1.Cream together:
1 cup CRISCO shortening
1 cup butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
2.Add one at a time and mix after each addition:
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon Vanilla
3. Sift flour and then mix together and add gradually to wet ingredients?
5 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
4. Stir in:
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 10-11 minutes. Secret: take out when still a little underdone.
Yes, very similar to the recipe I based this one off of!
I had all the ingredients so I tested these out this afternoon. They are a delicious change to the traditional chocolate chip cookie.
Beautiful! I love the combination of chocolate and strawberries.
I know this is a Crisco inspired recipe, but what can you use instead of shortening?
You can definitely use all butter (or all shortening for that matter). It will yield a slightly different texture depending on what you use but both delicious!
Would regular crisco sticks work or do you need that butter flavor?
Regular is just fine!
You had me until almond extract. ? I don’t like lots of almond flavor in my cookies. I may have to try with vanilla instead.
No problem- just leave it out and add a little extra vanilla!
These are so pretty. I have some butter flavored crisco in the pantry that needs to be used up….perfect!