Lately we’ve been experimenting with adding powdered fruits to recipes for an added flavor boost. You can also add powdered ingredients to desserts for another layer of flavor and texture. For example, freeze-dried marshmallows are fun to eat alone, but they also add a creamy sweetness to melted chocolate or a crunchy texture to your nut trail mix. But, freeze-dried marshmallows are also amazing as a topping when baked with your brownies, tossed into your hot chocolate mix and more. They’re especially wonderful in cookie recipes. They don’t fully melt when you bake them, giving cookies a s’more-like consistency.

One of our favorite ways to make chocolate chip-marshmallow cookies is to make the cookies so there are a couple freeze-dried mini-marshmallows inside. Just make your regular chocolate chip cookie recipe, but chill the dough for about an hour in the fridge. When the dough has chilled, roll into balls and make a hole in the center of each ball with the large end of a chopstick. Insert two freeze-dried marshmallows in each hole, pinch to seal the hole, then bake as normal. The result is a marshmallow-filled chocolate chip cookie! You can also add marshmallows to your regular chocolate chip or double chocolate cookie dough recipe and bake like normal just to give it gooey marshmallow flavor.

Freeze-dried ingredients, including fruit powders, are also an easy way to add color and flavor to cupcakes, cakes, chocolate truffles and more. Are you experimenting with freeze-dried ingredients in your recipes? Share your tips with the Harvest Right community on our Facebook page!