Half-and-Half White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

While I am officially addicted to chocolate (and especially these Chocolate Chip Cookies 2.0), I decided to try and hang on to summer for just a bit longer by incorporating raspberry into this vibrant and fruity cookie. I took my favorite Sugar Cookie recipe from 100 Cookies and split the dough in half, adding finely chopped white chocolate to one side, and freeze-dried raspberry powder to the other.

The result is a buttery, delicious cookie with excellent flavor: the white chocolate and raspberry shine in each bite. Eaten just cooled, the cookie will have crisp edges and a soft, tender center. A great after-school or after-work snack that will make you pause, if only for a moment, and remember those long, glorious summer months.

Ingredient Notes for White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies:

• All-Purpose Flour: Make sure your all-purpose flour is not too high or low in protein; I like to use Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose for cookie baking. At 10.5 percent protein it is a good, moderate choice to keep baked goods tender.
• Unsalted Butter: I use unsalted butter in my recipes so I can control the salt content. This recipe uses both salt in the dough and sprinkled on top before baking, so unsalted works well here in order to keep the cookies from getting too salty.
• White Chocolate: A good quality white chocolate is delicious here; try to use a bar chocolate over chips, as they don’t melt the same and can leave the cookie “bumpy”.
• Freeze-Dried Raspberries: Many grocery stores sell freeze-dried berries now, but I always have luck finding them at Target and Trader Joe’s. I also use freeze-dried strawberries in these Neapolitan Cookies.

How To Make Half-and Half Cookies:

The base of this recipe starts just like your typical sugar cookie, creaming butter and sugar, then adding egg and vanilla, and finally the flour. From there you’ll make two simple flavors from the base.

Dump the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into two equal pieces. Put half of the dough back into the mixer and add chopped white chocolate. Mix on low until totally combined. Remove the dough from the bowl. Put the other half of the dough to the bowl and then add the freeze-dried raspberry powder, and a drop or two of pink food coloring if desired. Mix on low until totally combined.

Then you’ll form the cookie dough into balls using a pinching technique. If you want a “half and half cookie” pinch a portion of each of the doughs, a heaping tablespoon each. Press the dough pieces gently together, so they adhere to each other, but keep their unique colors. Or you can make a more varied color cookie by cutting each tablespoon of dough in half to make 4 pieces total, then press each piece together, alternating colors.

Press the formed dough into a cookie scoop or roll it into a ball, then roll the ball into granulated sugar.

Why I Like To Use Freeze-Dried Fruit in Cookies

I often bake with freeze-dried berries. I find that they really bump up the flavor in baked goods, while also keeping a vibrant color that fresh berries can sometimes lose during baking. Freeze-dried berries also do not contain the same amount of moisture as fresh berries, so they are perfect for using in cookies and bars, where excess moisture can affect the final outcome.

Can I Use Fresh Raspberries Instead of Freeze-Dried?

Fresh raspberries are not a good substitute for freeze-dried berries; they contain a lot of moisture, which will cause the cookie to spread too much, or be somewhat “wet”. If you can’t find freeze-dried raspberries, another freeze-dried fruit (strawberries, blueberries, etc) can be swapped.

More Cookie Recipes:

• Neapolitan Cookies
• Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies
• Brown Butter Brownie Cookies