Many people (myself included) are hesitant about adding fresh fruit to cookies. While I’ll happily dump heaps of berries or apples into a muffin batter, I’m much more cautious when it comes to cookie dough. And for good reason. A cookie’s delicate balance of fat, sugar, and flour can easily be thrown with the addition of juicy fruit.
But caution doesn’t equal avoidance. With spring in full bloom and summer just around the corner, fresh berries abound in almost every dessert I dream about. When I set out to make cookies on Monday afternoon, I knew exactly what I wanted: a cookie full of organic raspberries and chunks of white chocolate. With a little experimentation, I ended the afternoon with these gems. Soft and chewy, these raspberry cream cookies couldn’t be a better spring or summer treat.
The key to this recipe was to freeze the raspberries before adding them to the cookie dough. They didn’t fall apart (as unfrozen berries certainly would) when I folded them into the batter. I also baked them a lower oven temperature–325 degrees Fahrenheit. You can imagine my delight when I pulled them out of the oven 15 minutes later. The raspberries were bright, the cookies were thick and chewy, and my house smelled faintly of creamy white chocolate.
A huge success during my 36th week of pregnancy!
Cravings: animal crackers with whole milk, ham and cheese sandwiches, banana pancakes (yet again), peanut butter and bananas, chips and salsa
Fears: Wow. This has been a harder week for me emotionally. I’m grappling with change. Not only are we expecting our first baby in a few weeks, but I also finished graduate school this May. For the past several years, I’ve lived a busy and achievement-focused life. I worked hard in school, I obtained a wonderful internship at the Department of Veteran Affairs, I published several short stories, and I gained the admiration of several respected professors and peers. And now, I’m going to be a mother. And now, I’m going to stop all the busyness, all the activity, and take care of our precious little girl. I’m happy I have the opportunity to do this–to stay at home and be a mom–but I’m also terrified. My self-worth is tied to many things and I’d be lying if I said achievement wasn’t one of them. I’m trying to process these complicated emotions now but I know it will be a process. Motherhood is a beautiful thing, but it’s also about sacrifice.
Exercise: Yep. Margot and I are still walking. I’m doing a variety of yoga poses at home (but I haven’t had the chance to go to an actual prenatal yoga class yet). I’m doing wall push-ups in hopes that my long and thin arms will beef up just a little bit before baby comes.
Health: We’re now meeting with our OB every week. So far, both baby and I are doing really well. Low blood pressure, ideal weight gain, and no signs of early labor. I do have braxton-hixes throughout the day, but they’re manageable.
Ryan: Sweet man woke up this morning to find me in a bad mood. So what did he do? He changed our sheets, folded the laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, and told me, “Everything is going to be okay.” Ryan is such a comfort to me. He held his 2-week old cousin on Saturday and nearly started to cry. He can’t wait to meet his daughter.
Check back here on Friday as I’ll be sharing my maternity photographs. I can’t wait for you to see them! Sneak peek below!
Raspberry Cream Cookies
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream together sugar and melted butter (about 2 minutes). Add eggs and stir until combined. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until a cookie dough begins to form. Fold in frozen raspberries and white chocolate. Allow batter to chill for 15-30 minutes in freezer.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove batter from freezer and firm into large, 2-3 tablespoon sized balls of dough. Arrange on prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes (cookies should look slightly undercooked). Allow to cool completely on cookie sheets before removing (and enjoying!)
Ever since I tried strawberries in brownies, I’m completely on board with adding fresh berries to all my baked goods. Will have to try out these beautiful cookies very very soon.
And that’s so sweet of Ryan to do that. Sometimes all we need is for someone to give us a hug and say it’s going to be ok.
Thanks for sharing– and these cookies look divine!
You are so adorable do you know that?? I love this post, something about it just made me smile. I have a feeling that if we lived close to one another we would be friends. You remind me so much of a girl I grew up with that I am still friends with today. She, like you, was born to be a mother. Caring, patient and ever so kind.
I am glad that Ryan is so supportive of you, because I know how important that is during pregnancies. While I have never had a baby, I have been around A LOT of women who have family, friends, coworkers. I am glad you have that solid base.
And now onto these cookies…well my dear, you hit the nail on the head. I am always afraid of putting fruit in my cookies, worrying that they would provide too much moisture and the cookie would just explode when you touch them. These look stupendous and I am definitely going to be brave and try them. 🙂
These cookies are so beautiful, and I love the flavor, Monet! Congratulations on finishing graduate school, and also on all the lovely things to come for you. Wishing you lots of love and courage in the coming weeks! In the meantime, keep baking and getting to your pre-baby to-do list, hehe! 🙂
Monet, you have accomplishments to be very proud of! Congratulations to you! And then you will be a great mother to your daughter soon! Your cookies look and sound divine! Take care
Monet,
Taking care of a newborn can be a full time job. You will be very busy, and have many activities connected with your Lucy. Enjoy your time with Lucy:)
Your cookies are lovely, and I love the tip to freeze the berries. I’ll certainly be doing this in the future. Happy Delivery Day!
I’ve never had the courage to bake with fresh fruit, for precisely the reason that I’m afraid they’ll make everything fall apart. But freezing them first? That’s genius! These cookies look delicious.
*hugs* Monet, a lady of many accomplishments 🙂
Great cookies! And now that you mention it, I’ve rarely had fresh fruit in baked things. These look wonderful, though – thanks.
Yum-freeze the raspberries-genius!!! I love baking with fruit and now cookies -why not? Great idea and recipe Monet 😉
I was hesitant about putting berries in cookies too but found it worked out fine. These look positively scrumptious! I am so excited for you! This sounds like the perfect time for you to slow down and enjoy every moment of your new motherhood.
My fear of adding fresh fruits to cookie dough is ended up having soggy cookies! Glad to see they worked really fine:)
I always worry about adding berries to cookies too, but I think my concern is more that they’d all have to be eaten right away – I don’t think that would be a problem with these cookies though, they sound delicious!
My gosh, you’re so cute with your preggers belly! I didn’t realize you were doing so much – I’m so impressed by everything you’ve acheived, some of which while being pregnant – this has got to be a challenge! Can’t wait to see the little girl and your cookies look awesome! I’ve never tried fresh fruit in cookies and seeing how well yours turned out makes me want to hop to it!
Monet, you look wonderful! What a nice picture of you – and just a few weeks to go. I am glad to read that you are doing so well and that you are so happy and healthy! I love your raspbery-cream-cookie recipe idea because I also believe in adding fresh fruit to cookie, brownie and cake batters – there is something that happens to summer berries when they get baked, often, they seem to be even more enjoyable and delicious when we incorporate into baked goods than on their own.
Have a wonderful Thursday!
I love the white chocolate and raspberry combo in a cookie. I wish I could raspberries cheap here.. they cost so much!
I always love the idea of fruit in cookies but worry that they won’t turn out! you did a great job steering around the “too wet” trap! These look so amazingly chewy delicious!
You are so adorable and I think the achievements that motherhood itself brings with it will satisfy your goals and ambitions, at least for a while!
I wish my OH was that sweet when I was grumpy he usually just hides in another room! these biscuits look incredible! glad you and the baby are happy and healthy!
Your cookies turned out perfect! Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to know how they perform a couple of days down the line. I once made a cookie that had a fruit topping, not even into the dough itself, and although they were delicious, they were hard to keep dry, a lot of moisture kept invading the cookie part – I had to store them in a single layer, uncovered. I’m curious to see how your version behaves
as to changes – do not be afraid of your choices, because nothing is final. Babies grow, you will change your approach to many things in the process, and you should do what comes naturally. Just follow your heart, and listen to your inner voice. all the rest is background noise 😉
Hi Monet!I’ve never used fruit as ingredient when baking cookies…to use frozen berries sounds like a very good tip. I did not go to yoga classes but I used a very good tape and did yoga EVERY DAY in front of the computer. good luck, keep calm and enjoy your fruity biscuits!! Ciao
Monet, Congrats on graduating! Lucy is the new chapter that you’ve written into your lives. She will be your biggest and happiest achievement – no worries 🙂
Hi Monet,
Your cookies looks wonderful, I have never tried adding in fresh fruits in cookies before!
Congratulations on graduating! You have made some great accomplishments! And the best is yet to arrive!
You are looking great and you have a very dear sweet hubby!
Take care and enjoy your banana pancakes!
The cookies sound lovely, and you look wonderful. You’re right – things do change when you become a mother, but you will never look back. Motherhood is the best adventure of all!
Aww, Monet, I love this post! You are an adorable momma-to-be. Way to go with the exercise during pregnancy – if we saw you from behind, I don’t think we’d be able to tell you’re even pregnant! What an amazing year of accomplishments you’ve had. Congratulations on finishing your degree! And I’m the same as you – I’ve never put berries into cookies. Seeing how beautifully your cookies turned out makes me want to try.
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awwwwww!!!! I love all the updates 🙂
I never thought to try this. Great tip about using frozen berries. It’s amazing how much you do/are getting done at 36 weeks along. Hang in there and enjoy the time!
Monet, these cookies look great…and I sure love chocolate with raspberries…but have to admit that never tried adding fresh fruits in cookies.
Have a lovely weekend ahead my dear 🙂
First, these cookies sound incredible. I love raspberries. And two, you look amazing!! Have a wonderful weekend : )
First of all Monet, these cookies sound incredible! I don’t think I have ever had fresh fruit in a cookie before. Thanks for the recipe. Ryan sure knows how to cheer you up. He is totally right, everything is going to be okay. You have a lot going on right now but it’s all wonderful, even if a bit overwhelming. Happy weekend friend!
These cookies sound amazing Monet. Perfect for this time of year.
I can’t believe you’re already so close to the end of your pregnancy. I feel like it went by so fast. You and Ryan are going to be the most amazing parents. I know I’ve said this before, but Lucy is one lucky baby.
I’ve used fresh strawberries in cookies before, and these raspberry cookies are now calling my name! They look so pretty too!
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These look wonderful! I love berries, and putting them into cookies is a great idea. And best of luck with the last bit of your pregnancy! Being a mommy is the most rewarding job out there!
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In a word, YUM! I will definitely be trying these as soon as I’m not traveling and have a kitchen. And this is incredibly impressive for someone who’s 36 weeks pregnant. 🙂
Though I’ve been keeping up with your blog, this is the first recipe I’ve tried and am super happy with how it turned out. I did substitute regular chocolate chips for white chocolate, which probably changes the flavor quite a bit. I’m just not really a white chocolate fan, but they still tasted amazing. Good work!
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So I stumbled upon your blog because I was wondering if throwing raspberries into the cookies I was making would turn them into a huge mess…but I was completely blown away and amazed that you came up with these at 36 weeks pregnant! You are awesome!! My baby girl is five months old and I’m just getting back into baking.
Anyway. I took a risk and threw fresh berries and white chocolate chips into the batter I had already made…and it was delicious! Thanks for encouraging me to take a risk 🙂 next time I’d love to try your full recipe though, they look so much prettier than mine and the texture is most likely better. I’m a big baker, but have yet to perfect my cookies.