Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Barbie's new favorite cookie. And mine. And Ken's, if he knows what's good for him.
As someone who has devoted much of her life to the study, creation and eating of chocolate chip cookies, this week is an important one—for this week we celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day on August 4th.
If you’re in a partying mood this week, you could also celebrate National Hair Gloss Day, National Clouded Leopard Day, or even International Traffic Light Day. There is also National Grab Some Nuts Day on August 3, which contrary to what you might be thinking (shame on you!), is a celebration of eating all manner of nuts, from almonds to pistachios, in the same handful.
All of this comes from the National Day Calendar, which is actually a thing that undoubtedly brings joy to the lives of editors and news producers everywhere with its ready-made, light and lovely content that offers a nice contrast to, say, the actual news of the seas boiling and the never-ending indictment watch.
Here is the REALLY good news: This glorious first week of August you can expect a different chocolate chip cookie recipe every day until the 4th. Bake along with me, share the substack with your favorite cookie-loving obsessives and yes, you can expect a “Grab Some Nuts” Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe on the 3d.
Share the Chocolate Chip Cookie Week joy with a chocolate chip cookie-loving friend, with this easy click-y button:
I’m kicking off the week with a summery take on the humble chocolate chip cookie. I pulverized freeze-dried strawberries (easily found at places like Trader Joe’s and other fancy markets) and added the resulting fruity pink dust to chocolate chip cookie dough. The resulting cookie is chewy with a delicate strawberry flavor and flecked with pink dots (Let’s Go, Barbie!)
In order to let the strawberry flavor really bloom, the dough should sit in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. I used a mix of semisweet, milk and white chocolate chips, but if I only were to choose one, I’d insist it be semisweet.
Did you see the Barbie movie yet? When my family and I were in Rome earlier this week(what is the vacation equivalent of a name drop?), we escaped the 104-degree afternoon heat to watch the Barbie movie in the aptly named Barberini Cinema. The basil-green velvet seats were armchair-sized, had foot rests and holders for our passion fruit Cornettos.
While there was fresh popcorn that tasted exactly as artificial as home, there was also a small cafe that sold pints of gelato, panini, pastries and espresso with a glass of water on the side, as it should be. Ponder this the next time you head to sticky-floored multiplex.
If we can’t be in Rome, chocolate chip cookies will suffice. So, make some cookies, put your feet up wherever you wish and ponder what you would like a national day of.
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: About 4 1/2 dozen 2-inch cookies
Plan ahead: You will need to refrigerate the dough at least 8 hours before baking.
What You’ll Need:
about 1/3 cup freeze dried strawberries, pulverized to powder (Trader Joe’s 1.1 ounce bag yields about 1/3 cup)
2 1/4 cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
13 tablespoons butter (6.5 ounces/185 grams), room temperature
3/4 cup (128 grams), packed, light brown sugar
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1 egg
1 egg YOLK
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (320 grams) semisweet chocolate chips (or a mix of semisweet, milk and white chips).
What You’ll Do:
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand-mixer (or by hand; who am I to stop you from bulking up?), beat together the freeze dried strawberry powder, butter, brown sugar and white sugar for 2 minutes, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters.
Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla, and mix on medium speed until the eggs have been absorbed. Scrape bowl and beaters, etc., etc.
Add the flour mixture and mix on low until blended. Scrape the bowl, make sure there is no flour hiding out under the beaters and mix in the chocolate chips on low speed until evenly distributed.
Store the dough in a covered container in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours.
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roll the dough into 1 1/2” (walnut-sized) balls. Place them on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets, with 2 inches space between them. If baking more than one sheet at a time, remember to rotate pans from top to bottom and back to front for even cooking.
Bake for 10-13 minutes until light golden. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool until you just can’t stand it any more and have to taste one.
Tip: While the first batches cook, I roll all the dough into balls and refrigerate them until I’m ready to make more. If you don’t plan on baking all the dough within a few days, wrap the balls in foil, then pop them into a freezer-safe zipper bag. Label the bag and freeze. You won’t remember in a week which is the bag of chicken bones you’re saving for stock and which are the cookies. Trust me.
If you were to create a National Day of Something, what would it be? Also: is there a chocolate chip cookie recipe you wish you had? Let me know in the comments.
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I'd go for National Rhinestone Day and National Historic Reproduction Footwear Day (they could share a day), thus ensuring that I could model some items from my collection in the company of other enthusiasts.