Mother’s Day is just around the corner and it’s been about maybe 5 years since the last time I spent it with mom, but I got to see her not too long ago and stayed at her house for about a month so we had a bit of time to go do “our thing” like going for coffee or shopping. I know my two older brothers will go see her on Sunday, so I’m very happy about that.

I think I’ve mentioned it before but my mom used to bake and cook a lot. I think that’s why I like to be in the kitchen so much. I always watched her baking for birthdays, dinners or any special occasion. She was a great host. Now, she doesn’t bake/cook anymore because she has a maid (Diana) plus her memory issue is getting worse with time. I’m teaching Diana how to make desserts like breads and cookies so my parents can still enjoy homemade goods.

Mother’s Day can be bittersweet for some people. When I was younger I really never thought my mom would suffer from dementia, but now that things have changed I wish I could have done more things with my mom. I’m glad she still knows who I am and that we can still have conversations about random stuff, I call her everyday with a device from Amazon called Amazon Show which is the best thing ever! It’s perfect for old people who are not into tech stuff anymore.

Also, I want take this opportunity to mention a blog that I follow https://lifeloveandalzheimers.com/ . Lauren has the perfect words about being an Alzheimer’s daughter. I invite you to follow her if you have someone who suffers from any kind of dementia.

Now, let’s talk about this recipe!! I came up with these cookies because I was craving chocolate covered strawberries and I did not have any fresh strawberries! So.. I went to my kitchen and decided that I should make strawberry cookies dipped in chocolate. I used freeze-dried strawberries for the cookie part.

Ready for the recipe? Let’s start baking.

Yield 18 cookies

Ingredients

For the cookie

2 cups freeze-dried strawberries (I got it at Trader Joe’s)

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar

1 and 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use Molina Vanilla)

For the chocolate coating

Dark or milk chocolate CANDY MELTS

Some vegetable oil to thin out the chocolate

Instructions

For the cookie

1.- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

2.- In a blender, mix the sugar and freeze-dried strawberries. You have to mix it until it looks like a pink powder.

3.- In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4.- In a bowl of a stand up mixer, add the strawberry mixture and oil. Mix for about 2 minutes. It will get fluffy. Turn the speed to low and add the eggs. Then, add the vanilla extract . Mix until is well combined.

5.- Finally, add the flour mixture and mix until all the dough has an even pink color. 1 minute aprox.

6.- Finally, with your hands take some dough and roll it so they have a ball shape. Do the same with all the dough and place it on the prepared baking sheets. With your hands, push each ball down just a bit.

7.- Bake for about 12 minutes, until they puffed up. They do not brown. Cookies will have a mauve color.

6.- Let them cool completely.

For the chocolate coating

1.- Melt the candy melts in the double boiler.

2.- Stir in 1 or 2 teaspoons of oil. Continue stirring until all is well mixed.

3.- Dip just half of the cookies in the melted chocolate. Put them on a dish with foil paper or wax paper. Sprinkle some chopped freeze-dried strawberries. The chocolate will get hard.

4.- Enjoy!

Happy Mother’s Day!