To the indecisive German baker who invented marble cake, I thank you! Marble cake, sampler platters and tasting flights are the perfect solution for those times when you just can’t decide. Let’s take one more decision off the table. No longer will we have to decide between chocolate and strawberry cookies. These marble cookies are the best of both worlds. Chocolate and strawberry are opposites in many ways, but complement each other so well. After all, who doesn’t love chocolate covered strawberries?
The dark chocolate cocoa powder gives these cookies a deep chocolate flavor. Freeze dried strawberries provide the sweet strawberry flavor and color. I crushed the strawberries with a mini food processor, but you can also use a mortar and pestle, a clean spice grinder or a sturdy plastic bag and a rolling pin. When you crush the 1 1/2 cups of freeze dried strawberries called for in the recipe, you’ll end up with about 1/3 cup of strawberry powder. To find freeze dried strawberries, click here.
This recipe makes about eighteen cookies but you can also make nine large cookies. Follow the instructions in parentheses for large cookies.
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cookies
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- 2 1/4 cups (284g) all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (1 1/4 oz or 35g) freeze-dried strawberries, finely crushed to a powder (1 1/2 cups before crushing)
- 1/3 cup (28g) dark unsweetened cocoa powder
Ingredients
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- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract in three separate additions, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next.
- On low speed, mix in flour mixture just until combined.
- Divide the dough in half. Leave half of dough in the bowl and place the other half in a separate bowl.
- Add freeze dried strawberries to half of the dough and mix just until combined. Add cocoa powder to the other half of the dough and mix just until combined.
- Roll the dough into 1 1/2 teaspoon size balls. (For large cookies, roll the dough into tablespoon size balls.) To form the cookies, place two chocolate dough balls and two strawberry dough balls in your hand in a checkerboard pattern. Roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the dough balls about two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set and edges are golden. (For large cookies, bake 14-15 minutes.) Transfer to cooling rack. (For large cookies, cool on cookie sheet one minute, then transfer to cooling rack.
This sounds delicious!! Maybe a dumb question, please: the amount of dried strawberries is before crushing them or after?
Thanks!
Hi there! It’s definitely not a dumb question! The 1 1/2 cups of crushed strawberries is before crushing. After crushing them, you’ll end up with about 1/3 cup strawberry powder. Add that to half of the dough. If you ever have any doubts about other recipes, notice where the comma is. For example, if a recipe says one cup flour, sifted, that means measure the flour first, then sift it. If the recipe says one cup sifted flour, you sift the flour first, then measure it. Hope this helps!
Heya! Might be kind of odd but if I have fresh strawberries would that work instead of freeze dried ones? Or would I have to go get some?
Hi Taryn! This recipe is formulated to use freeze dried strawberries in the batter. If you use fresh strawberries it will throw off the moisture content and I can’t guarantee the results. Thanks for stopping by!
Can you refrigerate these cookies overnight, and bake later?
Hi Bianca, I haven’t tried refrigerating this dough overnight but it should work. You can refrigerate most cookie doughs for up to 24 hours.
Hello. I made these cookies per your instructions today. They came out fine with one glaring difference: while the strawberry portion was a lovely pink prior to baking it turned brown after which there was no discernible difference between the strawberry and chocolate. How were you able to get such distinct color differences even after baking?
Hi Dorothy, I’m not sure why your cookies didn’t have a discernible color difference after baking. In my instructions, I explained exactly what I did to achieve the cookies you see in the photo. I can only guess what may have happened with your cookies. They may have been over baked and browned too much. Everyone’s ovens and bakeware are different, so baking times are a guideline. Your exact baking time may differ. The color of your eggs can also effect the final outcome. Sometimes dark yellow or orange egg yolks change the color of pink doughs or batter. You can always add pink gel food coloring to the strawberry dough for a more vibrant pink color.