White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookies

It has been a raspberry-themed weekend and I’m not sad about it. What I am slightly sad about is how hard it was to source the freeze-dried raspberries for these delicate and moreish White Chocolate & Raspberry Cookies. Perhaps I shouldn’t have started with the hard-to-find ingredient?

They are, however, absolutely worth the treasure hunt. Those little tart bursts of concentrated raspberry flavour are hard to pass up, especially when they’re wrapped in buttery, soft cookie dough loaded with proper white chocolate.

The treasure hunt started by sending the non-baker in the house to buy both the elusive freeze-dried raspberries and some white chocolate. The instructions were simple enough: buy proper white chocolate with cocoa butter, not the white baking confectionery pretending to be chocolate.

Five minutes later, my phone rang.

“There isn’t any baking chocolate, but they have berries. Lots of berries!”

I was a little surprised but went with it. He was at the fancy, expensive supermarket after all, so surely they’d stock a plethora of freeze-dried berry goodness.

Hmm… not quite.

Something had clearly been lost in translation because, when he arrived home and I asked where the berries were, I was directed to the freezer.

Fail.

That should have been the clue to give up or pivot, but I can be stubborn and this was one of those times. And I’m glad because these cookies came out better than I expected.

And not a total loss though. Those frozen raspberries have since found a very happy home in this delicious Blood Orange & Raspberry Sour, so nobody really lost.

Back to the cookies. I eventually managed to track down some freeze-dried raspberries in the cake decorating section—just enough to test this recipe. While I think they are absolutely worth the drive around town, they certainly weren’t cheap.

So, if like most of us, you’re keeping an eye on the grocery bill, my advice is this: only splash out on the freeze-dried raspberries if you can find them at a reasonable price or you’re happy to treat yourself. They really are the hero of these cookies, adding little pops of concentrated tartness that fresh or frozen berries simply can’t replicate.

That said, I also don’t believe a hard-to-find ingredient should stop anyone from baking. Leave the berries out and you’ll have an excellent white chocolate cookie, or swap them for chopped toasted macadamias, pistachios or regular dried fruit such as cranberries, blueberries or apricots. They’ll be different cookies, but they’ll still be worth breaking out the good butter for.

If you do happen to stumble across freeze-dried raspberries though, buy two tubes. One for these cookies, and one because you’ll almost certainly be looking for an excuse to make them again.

Worth Making?

• Yes – because those little bursts of freeze-dried raspberry make every bite taste like summer.
• Yes – if you’re looking for a bakery-style cookie that’s buttery, chewy and just a little bit different.
• Yes – because they’re worth hunting down the ingredients for at least once.
• Skip it – if you don’t enjoy white chocolate or sweeter-style cookies.
• Skip it – if you aren’t prepared to substitute the freeze-dried raspberries or pay a little extra to use them.

Make it your own way

• Swap the berries. If freeze-dried raspberries are hard to find, try freeze-dried strawberries instead, or use chopped dried cranberries, blueberries or apricots for a different twist.
• Change the chocolate. Replace the white chocolate with milk chocolate for a richer, more classic cookie, or use a combination of both if you can’t decide.
• Add a little crunch. Fold through a handful of toasted macadamias, pistachios or hazelnuts for extra texture and a savoury contrast.
• Bring in some citrus. Add the finely grated zest of half a lemon or orange to brighten the berry flavour.
• Finish with flaky sea salt. A light sprinkle just after baking balances the sweetness and makes the chocolate and fruit flavours pop.