Strawberries remind me of Valentine's Day, so this month is all about the holiday coming up. I decided to focus on the strawberry for this cookie, although I did add some white chocolate into the mix. Well, how many forms of strawberries can I put into one cookie lol?
I started with fresh strawberries that I hauled and smashed into a puree. You have to add some liquid. I spotted in the frozen section a strawberry daiquiri mix that contains a little lemon. This was perfect for what I needed. I decided not to bring out my big food processor but used my Breville Control Grip Immersion Blender (I do not receive any compensation from Williams Sonoma - just thought you might like to see what I use) was just what I needed. Everything into a large cup and smash the strawberries and liquid. I'm not too fond of the seeds and pulp, so I strained the strawberry puree to get the juice.
For the topping, I found my freeze-dried strawberries at Wegmans here in Lancaster, but you can get it online or request your grocery store to see if they can get it for you. In the last year, I have noticed all 4 of the local grocery stores are now carrying bags of freeze-dried fruit. Crispy Green Fruit snack is the most popular here, but I had to use an organic brand (you can purchase at Walmart) for the strawberries.
So as you can see, this cookie is all about strawberries. Enjoy!
Strawberry and Cream with White Chocolate Cookies
Barbara HallIngredients
STRAWBERRY JUICE
- 10 Fresh strawberries Hauled and quartered
- 1 Tablespoon Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
COOKIE DOUGH
- ½ cup Butter unsalted 1 stick room temperature
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese soft
- 1-½ cups Sugar white 297 g
- 1 Egg
- 2-½ cups All-purpose flour 300 g
- 1-½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 drop Rosy Pink Coloring gel
- ½ cup Mini white chocolate chips
TOPPING
- 4-5 ounces Freeze dried strawberry crushed into powder
- 1 Tablespoon Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Take the frozen cylinder of Strawberry Daiquiri (I used one by Bacardi) out of the freezer and set it in warm water to thaw. I took mine out the night before and had it in the refrigerator. To make the strawberry juice clean and haul 10 large strawberries. Cutting them into quarters. I used an Immersion blender, but you can use a food processor. Add 1 tablespoon of the strawberry daiquiri mix to the quartered strawberries and puree them. I do not want all the pulp and seeds in my cookies, so I run the puree through a strainer; I only wanted the strawberry juice with no pulp.
- Weigh or measure the sugar into a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, salt and run a whisk through to blend.
- Add the butter and cream cheese to a mixer bowl and mix on medium speed till they are blended. Add the sugar and mix for at least 2 minutes. This will depend on how cold your butter and cream cheese were when you added them to the mixing bowl. If they were cold, it would take an extra minute or two. Crack the egg into a small bowl to ensure you do not get any shells with the egg. Add the egg and mix for a minute till it has been incorporated into the cookie dough.
- At this point, I stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and across the bottom. Turn the mixer back on to a low speed and slowly add the flour mixture. I usually scraped down the sides and across the bottom again to get all the flour down off the sides and then turn the mixer on for another 30 seconds to make sure all the flour was absorbed. Add 1 drop of Rosy Pink food coloring gel and mix the pink gel through the dough. Add the mini white chocolate chips and blend through. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper, setting them aside. Using a medium cookie scoop, add 12 scoops to a cookie sheet pan. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Mine were done at 12 minutes. You want to make sure they are not shiny on top. Leave them on the cookie pan for a minute or two before moving them to a cooling rack. This recipe makes 2-½ dozen.
TOPPING
- Freeze-dried fruit is just totally dried fruit slices. The ones I used for this recipe were Natierra Strawberries Organic Freeze Dried. Add about 4 0z or a third of a bag (you can always make more if this is not enough for you) to a plastic baggie that seals tight at the top. Let out as much air as you can before sealing. Taking a rolling pin and roll over the bag till the strawberries are like dust. I then take a small strainer and sieve the bag contents to capture pieces that did not crush. Add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar and mix. Whatever tool you use to sprinkle powdered sugar onto your cookie, you can do the same for this mixture. I use a small strainer and lightly tap on the sides to get the desired amount you want on top of each cookie. This is just added strawberry taste but so worth it.
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