strawberries | The Foodies' Kitchen

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

The original recipe for these cookies calls for freeze dried strawberries. Where in the world will I find those?! I wanted to try the combination anyway, so I went ahead with fresh strawberries, knowing that using fresh fruit would probably result in a moister cookie. The verdict is… This cookie is great tasting! The tartness of the strawberries combined with the semi sweet chocolate from the cookies is amazing, BUT when you make them, make sure to eat them right away.

Because we’re using fresh fruit in this recipe, the cookie gets soft after a few hours. So, try them out if you can get your family to eat them in one afternoon! You can use half a recipe so you only get between 18 to 24 cookies.

As a variation, I think using dried fruits would be an interesting idea. The obvious choice would be dried cherries, or cranberries. But how would adding some dried apricots taste? I’ll definitely try it out and report back to you!

Helga

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe adapted from Baking Bites

Yields: 3-4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp honey
2 cups strawberries, diced
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
In another large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs in one at a time and beat until fully incorporated. Stir in vanilla and honey.
Gradually blend in dry ingredients, followed by strawberries and chocolate chips (don’t worry about breaking up the strawberries; stir them vigorously!).
Drop tablespoonfuls (1-inch balls) of dough onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for about 10-11 minutes, or until cookies begin to brown and are set. Bake an extra minute or two for a crisper cookie. (recommended!)
Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

12:24 PM
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- Bake, chocolate chip cookies, Cookie, Dessert, strawberries
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It’s Strawberry Season!

Strawberries are in season!
We made a round up of our recipes containing strawberries so you can make the most out of these red and juicy berries this summer. It’s not all about desserts, we have a couple of great savory dishes you can try out.

We will be posting new recipes soon, we have some great beverage and dessert recipes we want to share.

Strawberry Peach Vodka Collins Poptails

Chocolate Cake with Roasted
Strawberry-Balsamic Swiss Buttercream

Spring Mascarpone & Fruit Tart

Strawberry Topping for Oatmeal

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

Very Berry Pie (Mixed Berries Pie)

Strawberry Cake

Strawberry Gelatin Pops

Strawberry Bread

Rhubarb Jam
(it has strawberries too)

Rhubarb & Strawberry Crumble Pie

Cooking with Kids: Strawberry Parfait Pops

Guest Foodie: Jake Van Ness’ Grilled Steak
and Blue Cheese with Berry Glaze

Kiwi, Strawberry and Spinach Salad

Chile Dusted Pork Chops with Strawberries

04:11 PM
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- Bread, Buttercream, Cake, Crumble, Dessert, jam, Kids, Pie, pops, Pork Chops, strawberries
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Chocolate Cake with Roasted Strawberry-Balsamic Swiss Buttercream

I spotted a recipe for Roasted strawberry-balsamic Swiss buttercream (that’s a mouthful!) and I knew the time had come. It was time to conquer buttercream. I had tried to make it once before… it was unfortunate. See my Mother’s Day post for the horror. I did succeed after, when I made my World Cup Cupcakes, but I made Italian Meringue buttercream that time, and honestly… I do prefer to try the Swiss technique so I don’t have to deal with temperatures and sugar crystallization. To be honest with you, the whole sugar crystallization thing is still a gamble with me, sometimes I get the syrup right and sometimes the thing crystallizes on me and sends me on a cursing and stomping rage. Then, I try again.

I called Kitty up, I needed backup. (She can make buttercream) We got together for a Foodies’ day of baking. Glad to say, I think I have the Swiss buttercream technique down. The trick is the butter temperature. It has to be at room temperature, but still firm enough that you can slice it and still get neatly shaped squares, do you know what I mean? I am so pleased with the results, I will try to make it again, tweaking a few things here and there. I would like to get more “merenguiness” (I don’t think that word exists, but you get me ) and less butter flavor. I already have my eye on a few recipes that I will try soon.

Now, about this specific recipe with the roasted strawberries.Oh… my…God. You have to try it. Balsamic vinegar and strawberries love each other, and you can really taste the natural strawberry flavor in this. For the batter, we used Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe. You can’t go wrong there.

I’ll walk you through the cake recipe first, and then below you will find the buttercream recipe.

You can also see more pictures of the procedure over at our Flickr stream! http://bit.ly/GTOVom

Chocolate Cake with
Roasted Strawberry-Balsamic
Swiss Buttercream

Makes 2 6″ round cakes and 6 regular sized cupcakes or 1 9″ cake

Cake Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Procedure:

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Buttercream Ingredients:

5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh strawberries (you can use frozen ones)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon suger
1 tablespoon olive oil, for drizzling

Procedure:

First we need to roast the strawberries. To do so preheat your oven to 375º F. Toss strawberries with balsamic vinegar, sugar and oil and arrange on cookie sheet in one layer. Roast for 20-25 min. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Puree it using a food processor or blender.
To make the buttercream: Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips, this is important!). The temperature on an instant-read thermometer should be 150-160º F.
Attach the bowl to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed, and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl). This should take about 10 minutes.
With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla and strawberry puree. Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 more minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day.