Mix Frozen Fruit Into Cookie Batter For A Fresh (And Colorful) Twist

Many of us tend to opt for fresh fruits rather than frozen due to the tendency of the latter to go mushy. However, that exact attribute actually makes frozen fruit perfect for baking. For every frozen fruit, there are endless opportunities for crafting up some inventive cookies. 

To bake with frozen blueberries, as they thaw turn them into a jam-esque mixture to add to your cookie batter. We recommend adding that jam to a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe with a dash of lemon zest to really emphasize your berries' sweetness. You'll end up with cookies that not only taste fresh but also have a fun purple color.

Similarly, you can upgrade a classic chocolate chip recipe by exchanging regular chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips, and adding some thawed and mashed raspberries. After all, who doesn't love a raspberry and dark chocolate combo? Plus, the cookies will turn out pink, which just adds to the excitement. Or, you can mix frozen mango into a soft sugar cookie recipe, resulting in a sunshine-colored sweet treat.

The possibilities are endless, but there are a few tricks and tips to follow to avoid common mistakes encountered when baking with frozen fruit.

Part of the appeal of fruit is that it's juicy, but this means that it has a high water content. When the fruit freezes, the moisture expands and forms ice, which causes cell walls to rupture, leaving us with mushy fruit. The mush factor is perfect for use in cookies, however, as the fruit's flavor and color can be more evenly dispersed throughout the batter. You don't need to thaw frozen fruit before baking with it, but if you're looking to incorporate the color of the fruit in your cookie, thawing it first is the best method. 

It's important to note how using frozen fruits can affect the moisture of the cookie. If you don't thoroughly thaw the fruit, it will bring down the temperature of the dough as well. You can adjust for this by baking the cookies a little longer than the recipe calls for. You won't end up with a light and crispy cookie when using thawed fruit, so experiment instead with a soft drop cookie or a bar cookie.

Alternatively, if you don't want your cookies to be completely dyed by your frozen fruit, don't thaw it first, and add it via a gentle folding method, rather than by mashing the fruit into a jam. This will help give your cookies a chunkier texture, with larger pieces of intact fruit, and the color of the fruit will pop against the color of the cookie itself.