Men don't seem to see Valentine's Day quite the same as women; at least, that is true in my house. When making Valentine's Day cookies for my blog, all I hear from my guy is, "What about my chocolate chip cookies"? Don't I count on what I want? OMG, stop whining about chocolate chip cookies... 🙂
But to be fair, I thought, ok, how can I make a cookie that is more for the guys and not so much looking like a total Valentine's Day cookie. I always think of chocolate-covered strawberries as the all-time Valentine's Day thing, so how can I make this combination for a guy?
Types of Dried Strawberries
I found two types of dried strawberries; one was more like candy with sugar all around it. The other was real whole dried strawberries. Here is a link to Stoneridge Orchards Dried Strawberries. Of course, they are brown-looking because red turns into brown when the fruit is dried. But, they are whole, so I cut them into smaller pieces about the size of the chocolate chips. This way, my guy gets his chocolate chips, and the bonus is the strawberries, which in my opinion, says Valentine's Day.
I added a little cream cheese to make them soft inside and rolled them in fine sugar to give them a little crunch outside. My guy really likes these, so I think I am good in the Valentine's Day men's department.
I usually don't get much of a response from my weekly cookies in my house (because there are always cookies around), but he actually commented they were delicious this week. So THIS is high regard coming from my guy about my cookies. So enjoy!
Chocolate Chips and Strawberry Cookies
Barbara HallIngredients
- ½ cup Butter unsalted 1 stick room temperature
- 4 oz Cream Cheese room temperature
- 1-½ cup Powdered sugar 169 g
- 1 Egg
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 tablespoon Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri thawed
- 1-¾ cups All-purpose flour 210 g
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1 cup Dried strawberries 4 oz bag cut up
- ½ cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip
- ¼ cup Super fine sugar
Instructions
- Weigh or measure the powdered sugar into a bowl and set that aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and run a whisk through to blend. I used the dried strawberries that come whole in a 4 oz bag, which I cut into smaller pieces about a chocolate chip's size.
- Add the butter and cream cheese to a stand mixer or use a handheld and mix for 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed. Turn the mixer down to a low speed and slowly add the powdered sugar. I usually stop and scrape down the sides to incorporate all three ingredients. Crack an egg into a small bowl to eliminate any eggshell fragments before adding the egg to the mixing bowl. At this time, also add the vanilla extract and the strawberry daiquiri liquid and mix through. Scrape down the side and turn the mixer to a slow speed. Gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated, then turn the mixer to a medium speed to ensure all the flour has been absorbed.
- Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides and across the bottom before adding the cut-up dried strawberries and the chocolate chips. I turn on the mixer for about 20 seconds, then take the bowl off the stand. I get a good spatula to turn the cookie dough over a couple of times to ensure the strawberries and chocolate chips are evenly distributed. Loosely cover the bowl and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Taking a paper plate (I use for easy throw away) and pour the superfine sugar onto the plate so you can roll the cookie balls around in the fine sugar. I use a medium cookie scoop and scooping a mound and roll it in your hands (it is a little tacky), then roll around in the superfine sugar before placing it on the cookie sheet pan. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Move them to a cooling rack as soon as you remove them from the oven. This recipe makes about 2 dozen.
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