Strawberry Chocolate Cookies

One of the most classic combos for Valentine's Day, for me, is a large & juicy chocolate-dipped-strawberry. It's something I always crave around this lovely season of romance, and think they just look so decadent when they're dipped and drizzled to perfection on a white platter. Oh who am I kidding? I like them YEAR ROUND. Period. 

Unfortunately, strawberries aren't always in season, nor do they always taste like they're in season, either. Thankfully, berry season is right around the corner in Springtime/Summer, and we'll all be snacking on them for cheap here in Utah very soon. Until then, I'm using a quick-and-easy trick to still get those lovely flavors together on the cheap (and tasty) in a cookie - just in time for Valentine's Day! (Too early? Eh, c'est la vie in blogging world, friends. Just pin it for later. It's definitely a keeper. haha) 

To make these cookies, I basically made two separate cake batter cookies, then rolled a ball of each batter into one super cookie. They baked up beautifully! I'm pretty crazy about how these turned out. Can you imagine how pretty these would be to serve up at a Valentine's Day party? Or even to have a plate of these on the table when the kids get home from school? And guess what? ZERO effort is required. Seriously. I don't have a lot of time to do extra anything these days, so slaving away in the kitchen for baking (other than cake/cupcake orders) isn't something I'd do unless it was easy and tasty-up-to-the-high-heavens. These are super easy. I just loved how soft they turned out, and how they stayed soft. I had a few this week (after making them last week), and they're still soft. It was unreal. Dunking a few of these in a tall glass of milk? I mean, life is made right there, my friends. 

My son learned quickly that he could eat an entire side off first for one flavor, and then the other. He liked the strawberry side better... and I was left with a bunch of half-chocolate cookies. My husband and I liked eating them with a little bite of each - it helped with the full strawberry-dipped-in-chocolate effect. 

Hope you had a beautiful week, and get to relax a little bit this weekend, my dear friends! I'm going to try to keep the recipes healthy during the week, and then drop a sugar bomb on you on Fridays before the weekend. Deal, my fellow sugar-lovers? Deal. I knew you'd understand. Haha. Have an amazing weekend, and I'll see you again back here on Monday with something uh-maaazing! 

Strawberry Chocolate Cookies 

makes three dozen, at least

ingredients:

1 box strawberry cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

1 box devil's food cake mix  ^

1 t + 1 t baking powder

2 + 2 large eggs 

1/3 C + 1/3 C vegetable oil 

1/2 t + 1/2 t vanilla extract

method:

1. You will be making two separate batters, one strawberry and one chocolate (hence the wonky ingredient listings - it'll all make sense coming up. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

2. Using two separate bowls, mix the strawberry cake mix and 1 t baking powder in one bowl, then in the chocolate mix bowl, mix in 1 t baking powder, too. In each separate bowl, add 2 large eggs each, 1/3 C vegetable oil each, and 1/2 t vanilla extract each with a whisk until thoroughly combined. You should have two separate similar batters. 

3. When both batters have been made separately, roll one tablespoon-sized ball circle with the strawberry, roll it together with a similar-sized chocolate ball until they both make a smooth ball together. Place on the cookie sheet, and repeat with remaining dough, placing the cookie dough balls 1-2 inches apart. 

4. Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies should be slightly undercooked, but strong enough to hold their shape. Let cool on the sheet for about 30 seconds, then transfer to a wire rack to cool until the next batch has been baked. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. 

recipe loosely adapted from Sallys Baking Addiction.