These no chill cookies are thick and chewy and filled to the brim with white chocolate chunks and strawberry flavor. They take about 30 minutes to make from start to finish and will definitely become a new favorite cookie. Instead of fresh strawberries or freeze dried strawberries, this cookie uses dried strawberries. Find them in the grocery store with the other dried fruit or on Amazon. Yields 20 large cookies.
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The secret to making thick and chewy cookies, no chilling required
These cookies are easy enough for beginner bakers to make. Here's the secret: By starting with cold butter straight from the fridge, we can get thick and chewy cookies without having to chill the cookie dough. Typically, chilling cookie dough is required to firm up the butter and prevent it from melting too quickly in the oven. This melting is one of the reasons cookies spread, creating thinner, crispier cookies.
Another secret to thick and chewy cookies is the right proportion of flour to fat (butter) to mix-ins ratio. I tested my Best Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, on which this recipe is based, over and over again until I found the perfect ratio so you don’t have to.
The chewy texture comes from a mix of all-purpose flour and cake flour, which is softer due to lower protein content. Using only cake flour would make these cookies fall apart when you pick them up, while using some all purpose flour adds structure to the cookie.
The added egg yolk also adds additional structure to this cookie plus added richness. That richness gives that ultimate chewy texture when you bite into the cookie.
The magic to the right mix-ins
First, the white chocolate:
I experimented with this recipe using white chocolate chips and did not like the outcome. White chocolate chips tend to contain stabilizers which allow them to retain their shape when baked. This can be nice for certain recipes, but in this recipe, it resulted in chocolate chips that didn’t melt well.
Instead, to get those melty pools of white chocolate, use white chocolate chunks or chop up a white chocolate baking bar, such as Ghirardelli or Lindt. I prefer using white chocolate baking bars. Chop them roughly on a cutting board and make sure to sweep the small chocolate shavings left on the cutting board into the cookie dough along with the larger chunks.
And, reserve a few white chocolate chunks to top the cookies. This is not required by any means. I like the way the additional chocolate on top of the cookies looks. I tried adding the additional white chocolate to the raw cookie dough then baking, however, white chocolate tends to brown or burn in the oven like this, causing an unsightly look to the white chocolate.
Therefore, if you’re going to add the white chocolate to the tops of the cookies, I recommend doing it halfway through baking to prevent the chocolate from browning or burning.
Next, the dried strawberries:
Plain and simple, my niece made this recipe first and said it was delightful so I had to try it. And she was right!
I thought about using fresh strawberries instead of dried strawberries, however, the idea of baking fresh strawberries into cookies did not seem like it would work well and here's why: The water content in fresh strawberries could vary quite a bit, as can the level of sweetness. This would create too much possible variation in the baked cookie for my liking (and I'm sure, yours).
Using freeze-dried strawberries is another option, however, I was a bit worried about the texture of the freeze-dried strawberries after baking them. I decided to go with dried strawberries because they are sweetened, adding just the right amount of sweetness to the cookie and they are packed with strawberry flavor.
I like to rough chop the dried strawberries so you have various sizes in the cookie dough. And, like the white chocolate, I recommend adding additional chopped dried strawberries to the top of the cookie for added flavor and flair.
I found dried strawberries in the produce aisle of my local grocery store near the other dried fruits like raisins and cranberries. It’s also readily available on Amazon.
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How to make strawberry and white chocolate cookies
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The right way to store these cookies to keep them fresh
After the cookies have cooled, store them in a cookie jar or an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. My kids like to warm individual cookies gently in the microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power before eating. I highly recommend it!
These cookies can also be easily frozen. After the cookies have cooled, place them side by side on a baking sheet in a single layer and into the freezer for at least an hour. Once frozen, transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
Thaw at room temperature then warm gently in the microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power. Cookies may also be warmed in a 350ºF oven for 5 minutes or until desired temperature.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold and cubed
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chopped white chocolate baking bar or white chocolate chunks plus more for tops (three 4-ounce baking bars total)
- 1 cup chopped dried strawberries plus more for tops
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF (if you have convection, turn it on). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, add cubed butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Turn mixer on low for a few seconds, then gradually increase speed to medium-high so the butter and sugar doesn't fly out of the bowl, mixing for about 3-4 minutes until well incorporated and fluffy. You'll know it's done when the mixture starts sticking to the sides of the bowl. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, mixing more if needed until the butter and sugars evenly incorporated.
- Turn mixer to low and add egg and egg yolk then vanilla. Mix on medium for about 60 seconds until well incorporated, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula, as needed.1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract
- With mixer off, add in both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Turn mixer on low and stir until just combined. Do not over mix.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- Add in chopped white chocolate and chopped dried strawberries. Stir on low just until incorporated. Turn mixer off and knead the dough bit with clean hands to ensure mix-ins are evenly incorporated, if needed.1 cup chopped dried strawberries, 2 cups chopped white chocolate baking bar or white chocolate chunks
- Portion dough into 2 ounce size balls using a large cookie scoop. Place cookie dough about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. I typically place 8 cookies per tray.
- Bake in preheated oven for 4-5 minutes if using convection (7-8 minutes in conventional oven) then remove from the oven and quickly press the extra dried strawberry pieces and white chocolate pieces into the tops of the cookies. Rotate baking trays and bake for another 4-5 minutes for convection (7-8 minutes for conventional) until the edges are browned and the tops no longer look shiny.Optional: use a large round cookie cutter or the rim of a small bowl to scoot the edges of the hot cookies in, creating thick edges and perfectly round cookies.
- Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes on the hot trays then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
- The cookie dough can be frozen and baked later or just a few at a time (one the best ways to do it!): after you scoop the dough into balls, place them side by side on a baking sheet in a single layer and into the freezer for at least an hour. Once frozen, transfer the cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe ziplock bag for up to 3 months. I prefer to bring the cookie dough up to room temperature before baking, although they can also be baked from frozen. Add 2-3 additional minutes to the bake time.
- To store baked cookies: After the cookies have cooled, store them in a cookie jar or an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Warm individual cookies gently in the microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power before eating, if desired.
- To freeze baked cookies: After the cookies have cooled, place them side by side on a baking sheet in a single layer and into the freezer for at least an hour. Once frozen, transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature then warm gently in the microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power. Cookies may also be warmed in a 350ºF oven for 5 minutes or until desired temperature.
Comments
Jackie
These are stunning! Just so you know for the future I read your blog post and I bake strawberry cheesecake cookies with freeze dried strawberries all the time and the texture of freeze dried strawberries is wonderful in a cookie! You have to be careful of the heat because any exposed berries on top of the cookie peeking through will get dark and not attractive (they don't taste weird though) so please don't be worried about the texture! I can't wait to try your cookie! I've never used the chewy strawberries before and am curious! If you do ever try freeze dried strawberries in the future my best advice is break them up by hand so they are medium sized not small so when you mix them in to the cookie dough and they break up even more they won't disappear and become to small. I make these wonderful strawberry cookies with natural amoretti strawberry flavor (not the extract its more of a thick liquid) (freaking love their products not an ad but I've been obsessed with them the flavor is unmatched) and white chocolate chips and cream cheese chips and stuff them with cream cheese filling. I freeze the balls then bake frozen. I hope you try freeze dried fruit in the future! Thank you for all the beautiful recipes!
Kimberlee Ho
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Jackie! I will have to try making cookies with freeze-dried strawberries!