Strawberry Shortbread Bites

The strawberries in the garden are still coming in! My girl Sugar Baby whipped up a batch of shortbread yesterday & just as it came out of the oven, one of the boys brought in another bowl of strawberries. I looked at the shortbread & I looked at the strawberries & the wheels started turning... there was cream cheese in the fridge... we could do some kind of fruit pizza! So eventually we ended up with these cute little delicious bites.

For the shortbread:
5 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of butter, cut into little pieces (yes, that IS a lot of butter!)

Combine all of the ingredients until it forms a dough. A mixer with a paddle attachment works well for this. Press it into a greased 15x10" pan & prick all over with a fork. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes or until set in the middle. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then cut into 1 1/2" (approximately) squares. Leave in the pan & let cool all the way.

For the cream cheese part:
2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat the 3 ingredients together until smooth.

Place a dollup - about a tablespoon - of cream cheese on each shortbread square. Top with a strawberry slice - or even a whole berry if they are small.

Makes about 4 dozen.

French Toast Sticks

I posted this recipe on my Savoring the Circus blog over 2 years ago! I can't believe it's been so long ago...

Anyway... this is a really good recipe and I hadn't taken a picture of it since I got my new camera last August. I love the recipe because it makes french toast sticks that are sweet enough to be enjoyed without syrup. I do love syrup, but somehow it always seems to end up all over the table, floor, hands, hair, dog, cat, etc... whenever we eat it.

Anyway, I digress... here's the recipe:

1 loaf bread (The first time I made this I used homemade whole wheat bread & cut it into thick strips. I thought it was better than the store-bought loaf I used the second time.)
4 eggs (I used 5 because my chickens are laying small eggs right now.)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 Tbs pancake syrup
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
butter

Combine everything except the bread. Cut the bread (I recently used homemade sour dough bread & boy was it good!) into thick strips. Dip each strip into the egg mixture and cook them on a lightly greased griddle, turning every so often so that each side is browned.

Makes about 10 servings.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

I love these cupcakes! They have real strawberries in them and are moist and perfectly paired with a not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting.Ingredients:

1 cup of thoroughly squashed strawberries
3 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp strawberry extract
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs

Cream the butter & sugar. Gradually beat in the eggs and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder & salt in another bowl. Stir the milk & strawberries into the butter mixture and then stir in the dry ingredients until everything is combined.

Fill the muffin liners 2/3 full - this batter doesn't rise very much. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool before frosting.

Makes about 4 dozen cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 cups of powdered sugar

Thoroughly beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy and no lumps remain. Beat in the remaining ingredients, adding enough sugar to get the consistency you want. (For piping, add more, for spreading, add less...)

Frost your cooled cupcakes and try not to eat them all at one time! If you do have some left, store them in the fridge. :)

Strawberry Trifle

Our strawberries have ripened and this dessert is one of our favorite ways to use them! It is simple, elegant and DEElicious!

Ingredients:

about 4 cups sliced strawberries
2 boxes cheesecake pudding, prepared according to package
1 pint heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
about 4 cups cake, cut into chunks (I used leftover cupcakes)


Sprinkle about 2 tsp of sugar over the strawberries and set them aside. This will allow them to make a little yummy syrup. Go ahead and make the pudding now, if you haven't.

Whip the cream until peaks form, gradually adding the 1/4 cup of sugar while whipping.

Layer in this order:

1/2 of the cake chunks
1/2 of the strawberries (drizzling their juice over the cake and placing some of the prettier slices against the side of the bowl)
1/2 the pudding
1/2 the whipped cream

Repeat & top with a whole strawberry. Chill for several hours before serving. Makes about 12 servings.

Note 1: A crushed pineapple layer also tastes good. And blueberries. And bananas. And...

Note 2: You can use any kind of cake - sponge, angel food, chocolate, or even Twinkies!

Pink Lemonade Sherbet

I have Sugar Baby (my 12 yr old dd) to thank for discovering this yummy treat! Lucky for us - she loves trying new recipes.

She found this one on allrecipes. It is pretty, creamy & delicious! I'm sure we'll be having this a lot this summer when the temperature goes up. And as pretty as it is, I could easily see it being served at a Mother's Day brunch or something like that...

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened orange soft drink mix or flavor of your choice [she used a .23oz packet of pink lemonaid flavored Koolaid]
  
• 3 cups milk

Directions

1. In a bowl, stir sugar, soft drink mix and milk until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a shallow freezer container; cover and freeze for 1 hour or until slightly thickened. Transfer to a mixing bowl, beat until smooth. Return to freezer container; cover and freeze until firm. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!