Start by letting your butter sit out for about an hour to properly soften – you should be able to easily press your finger into it, but it shouldn’t be melty or shiny. This temperature really matters for getting the right texture.

Position your oven rack in the middle and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (not wax paper – learned that mistake the hard way!).

Whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. I like to use a fork for this – it breaks up any little clumps of baking soda that could leave bitter spots in your cookies.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until it’s smooth and creamy – about 30 seconds. Add both sugars and beat for about 2 minutes until it’s fluffy and lighter in color. You’ll see the mixture change from grainy to almost frosting-like.

Crack in your eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Scrape down the sides of the bowl – there’s always butter mixture hiding there! Beat in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture gradually – I do it in three parts, mixing on low just until you stop seeing dry flour. Overmixing here will make your cookies tough.

Gently fold in the white chocolate chips. For the strawberries, crush them lightly in your hands as you add them – you want pieces about the size of raisins, not powder. Some small crumbs are fine though – they’ll give a nice pink swirl to the dough.

Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your prepared sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each. They will spread while baking. I like to make them all the same size so they bake evenly – a cookie scoop is perfect if you have one.

Bake one sheet at a time for 11-13 minutes. You’re looking for golden brown edges while the centers still look slightly underdone – they’ll continue cooking on the hot baking sheet. The tops should be set but still look soft when you take them out.

Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes – they’re too soft to move right away and will break. After 5 minutes, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.