Chocolate cherries photo credit Joseph Letizio

Growing up, my brothers and I absolutely adored chocolate covered cherries. And not the beautiful artisan bon bons you’d find at a fancy chocolate shop, either. No, the cherry cordials we couldn’t get enough of were the mass-produced, factory-made variety easily found in the seasonal candy aisle at any CVS or Walgreen’s in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day.

Looking back, I think those drugstore chocolate covered cherries just might have sparked my lifelong love of fruit and chocolate. With their gooey, fondant-and-cherry centers and shiny milk chocolate shells, the sweet treats we looked forward to every February certainly weren’t fancy, but they were so, so good.

When fruit meets chocolate

Chocolate covered strawberries with icing — Chocolate covered strawberries photo credit Serghei Savchiuc

Admittedly, when it comes to fruit and chocolate, it’s hard to go wrong. Companies like Chocofruit and Edible Arrangements revolve entirely around selling chocolate-covered fruit products, while fondue, a 60s and 70s staple, is making a comeback in both its cheese and chocolate forms. And, in true 21st century fashion, a chocolate covered strawberry ‘hack’ is now a viral TikTok sensation.

Fruit and chocolate combinations don’t need to be complicated—in fact, one of my favorite summertime treats consists of little more than a bowl of fresh berries and a drizzle of melted chocolate. As a chocolatier and pastry chef, however, I also enjoy finding more elevated ways to showcase fruit in my chocolate recipes.

Chocolate covered strawberry cookies

These chocolate covered strawberry cookies feature a dark chocolate dough, generously packed with chunks of Valrhona’s Strawberry Inspiration couverture and Manjari 64% single origin Madagascar dark chocolate, and wrapped around a dark chocolate and strawberry ganache. I’ve incorporated strawberries in three forms: fresh strawberry purée, powdered freeze-dried strawberries, and strawberry couverture, with each addition contributing to the recipe in a different way.

Using Fruit Purées in Chocolate Recipes

Fresh strawberries photo credit Merve Aydın

The ganache in this recipe contains two tablespoons of strawberry purée, adding a fresh, juicy berry note which complements the richness of the dark chocolate. I puréed chopped fresh strawberries with an immersion blender (a food processor will also do the trick) and portioned the leftovers into ice cube trays to freeze for later use.

Commercially made purées are ideal for large-scale production efforts, or for recipes requiring a significant amount of puréed fruit. However, for small-batch testing or recipes such as this one, a simple homemade purée offers an affordable alternative to buying buckets of the store-bought stuff when you really only need a few tablespoonfuls.

My other tip? Baby food! Jars and pouches of baby food are generally inexpensive and readily available. And unlike fresh fruit, baby food is shelf stable, so it’s perfect for stocking the pantry for impromptu baking sessions. Just be sure to choose a pure fruit purée, rather than one blended with ingredients like yogurt or oatmeal.

Incorporating Freeze-Dried Fruit

Freeze-dried fruit allows chefs to add out-of-season (or difficult-to-source) ingredients to chocolate recipes, and is also ideal for creating products which require a longer shelf life.

While increasingly popular for snacking, freeze-dried foods are equally useful for baking and chocolate making. Applications for freeze-dried fruit include chocolate bars, barks, and bonbon garnishes, while whole freeze-dried fruit can be dipped or enrobed in tempered chocolate. In powdered form, freeze-dried fruit contributes to the flavors of ganache, adds natural color to white chocolate, and enhances the fruitiness of cake batters, cookie doughs, and macaron shells.

Because it is crucial for the ganache in this recipe to retain its shape when rolled and wrapped inside the cookie dough, I’ve used powdered freeze-dried strawberries to intensify the flavor, without adding excess liquid which could prevent the ganache from setting.

Valrhona’s Strawberry Inspiration couverture and Manjari 64% single origin Madagascar dark chocolate — Vallrhona chocolate

Fruit Couvertures

In 2017, French chocolate manufacturer Valrhona introduced a new range of fruit couvertures, earning the Grand Prize at that year’s Sirha Innovation Awards.

Comprised of fruit, cocoa butter, lecithin, and sugar, this innovative product line offers many potential applications in pastry, including ganaches, mousses, and chocolate bars. Valrhona continues to expand its Inspiration range, which today includes strawberry, yuzu, passion fruit, and raspberry couvertures, as well as a nut-based almond couverture.

I’ve chosen to pair Strawberry Inspiration Baking Chocolate with another Valrhona couverture, Manjari 64% single origin Madagascar dark chocolate. This dark chocolate contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the strawberries, while the all-natural fèves (the Inspiration line is made without artificial colors or flavors) add a bright pink palette and bold burst of strawberry flavor to an otherwise classic dark chocolate cookie.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookie Recipe

Makes 15 3.5-inch round cookies

Ingredients

Chocolate Strawberry Cookies with feves photo credit Rebecca Frey

For the Ganache:

2/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (100 g)

2 tablespoons strawberry purée (28 g)

2 tablespoons whipping cream (28 ml)

2 tablespoons powdered freeze-dried strawberries (12 g)

For the Cookie Dough:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (115 g)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 g)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed (100 g)

1 egg, at room temperature

2 tablespoons strong black coffee (28 ml)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (170 g)

1/2 cup cocoa powder (50 g)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup chopped Valrhona Manjari 64% dark chocolate (100 g)

2/3 cup chopped Valrhona Strawberry Inspiration (100 g)

Directions

For the Ganache:

Add chopped dark chocolate to a large metal bowl. Sit bowl over a pot of simmering water to create a bain-marie, or hot water bath. (Alternately, you can use a double boiler.)

Gently melt dark chocolate, stirring occasionally, until completely melted.

Meanwhile, combine strawberry purée and whipping cream in a small saucepan. Warm mixture over low heat, stirring occasionally. (Do not boil.)

Remove chocolate from heat. Slowly pour warm cream mixture into the melted chocolate and whisk to combine, then whisk in the powdered freeze-dried strawberries.

Allow ganache to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes, then cover bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill. Chill at least 1 hour, or until firm enough to scoop.

For the Cookie Dough:

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg, coffee, and vanilla extract, and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, sieve flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.

Stir in chopped dark chocolate and chopped Strawberry Inspiration. If desired, reserve a few pieces of each to decorate the tops of the cookies.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator to chill, at least 1 hour.

To Assemble:

With a melon baller, scoop chilled ganache into 15 equal portions. Use your hands to gently roll each portion into a ball, approximately 7/8” in diameter. Transfer balls to a small parchment-lined plate or tray. Freeze 20 minutes, or until frozen solid.

With an ice cream scoop or large cookie scoop, divide chilled cookie dough into 15 portions, about 1 1/2” in diameter. Place on a plate or tray lined with baking parchment. With your thumb, press a deep indentation into the middle of each portion. If necessary, periodically dip your thumb in water to prevent it from sticking to the dough.

Remove ganache balls from freezer and place one into each indentation. Gently wrap dough around ganache, making sure all ganache is completely covered. Use your hands to roll each portion into a smooth ball, roughly 1 1/2” in diameter. If desired, press a few chunks of reserved chopped chocolate into the top of each ball. Place on parchment-lined plate or tray and freeze for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F (178°C). Line 2 half-sheet rimmed trays with baking parchment.

Place half of the frozen dough balls on one of the prepared trays, allowing room for the cookies to spread. (Store remaining balls of dough in freezer until ready to bake.) Bake one tray at a time in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes. Cookies will be puffy and slightly cracked.

Immediately after baking, use a large, round metal cutter to gently reshape cookies so they are perfectly round and uniform in size. Allow to cool completely on trays, about 30 minutes or until bottoms of trays and tops of cookies are cool to the touch. Chocolate covered strawberry cookies are best enjoyed on the day they are made. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For a gooey chocolate center, rewarm in the microwave for 5-10 seconds prior to serving.

Recipe notes

This recipe is not difficult, but it does require some advance planning due to the required chilling time for each component. If desired, cookie dough and ganache can both be prepared up to 24 hours in advance, then stored in the refrigerator until ready to assemble. Alternately, ganache balls can be rolled and frozen until ready to use.

When chopping the dark chocolate and Strawberry Inspiration for the cookies, 1/4”- 1/2” pieces are ideal. A larger chop will make it difficult to evenly wrap the dough, which may cause the ganache to leak while baking.

Do not skip any of the chilling or freezing steps in this recipe. If your kitchen is warm, work in batches to prevent the dough or ganache from becoming too soft. If at any point the dough feels soft, return it to the refrigerator to chill briefly before continuing.

It is important to cool the cookies directly on the baking tray. (Do not transfer to a wire rack, or the warm ganache will leak through the bottoms of the cookies.) For this reason, it is ideal to have 2 half-sheet trays available for this recipe.

I’ve paired the Strawberry Inspiration couverture with Valrhona’s Manjari 64% dark chocolate, but other dark chocolates may be substituted. For best results, select a good-quality chocolate from a brand such as Valrhona, Callebaut, or Guittard, rather than chocolate chips.