Strawberry Black Pepper Chocolate Checkerboard Cookies

My take on the classic black and white checkerboard cookie requires a few specialty items like freeze dried strawberries, black onyx cocoa powder and sumac. I crush the freeze-dried strawberries into powder with a mortar and pestle, but you can place them in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Freeze-dried strawberries can be found at upscale supermarkets like Whole Foods or specialty markets like Trader Joe’s. Black onyx cocoa powder give the dark squares an extra dark punch to them, and can be found online and at specialty baking stores. Feel free to use the same amount of natural cocoa powder in it’s place if you don’t have black onyx cocoa and don’t feel like buying an extra specialty item, just don’t expect the dark squares to be as black. Finally I use ground sumac, which is a spice often used in Mediterranean food. You can find it in International/Middle Eastern grocery stores or you can just substitute the same amount of lemon zest in its place. Take note in preparation, because of the nature of this cookie, there is a lot of refrigerate chilling between steps to firm up the dough.Adapted from a recipe from Cookies: At Home with the Culinary Institute of America by Todd Knaster