Strawberry Shortcakes

I think that I say this every year but it really is true. Strawberries are a definite sign of summer. Over Memorial Day Angela and I whipped up this strawberry shortcake. We thought we had perhaps done something wrong because the dough was not coming out correctly, and sure enough...we did. I misread the directions (i.e. didn't really read them before hand) and got a really sticky goey mess. I tried to fix it, which worked for the most part but because of the good, didn't take pictures because I didn't think it would turn out.

Boy was I wrong. They still did despite our mess up...okay, okay, my mess up. Of course, then I was slightly bummed that I didn't take the time to take pictures before they were gobbled up.

 

Soon enough though, Brad's clinic held a potluck and he asked if I could make the shortcakes again. I quickly jumped at the chance because 1) they were oh so tasty the first time and 2) we had an over abundance of strawberries from our garden; two and a half colanders to be exact.

So I went to work on night making the cakes, and then together Brad and I hulled, cut, and crushed the berries. This time, the dough came together much better and everyone at his work enjoyed them. Another "ace" for America's Test Kitchen.

Strawberry Shortcakes
by America's Test Kitchen

Preparing the fruit first gives it a chance to become truly juicy-just what you want on fresh-made biscuits. The recipe will yield six biscuits and the scraps can be gathered and patted out to yield another biscuit or to; these, though, will not be as tender as the first.

Fruit
2 qts strawberries, hulled
6 Tablespoons sugar

Shortcakes 
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
2/3 cup half-and-half
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

• For the fruit: Crush 3 cups of the strawberries with a potato masher. Slice the remaining 5 cups of berries and stir into the crushed berries along with the sugar. Let sit at room temperature until the sugar has dissolved and the berries are juicy, about 30 minutes.
• For the shortcakes: While the berries macerate, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Pulse together the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder and salt in a food processor until combined.  Scatter the butter pieces over the top and process until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses. Transfer to a bowl.
• Blend the half-and-half with the beaten egg and pour into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly until the dough comes together.
• Use your fingertips to pat the dough into a 9-by-6-inch rectangle about 1-inch thick. Cut out 6 dough rounds using a floured 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter. Reform the remaining dough and cut 2 more rounds. Place the rounds 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush the tops with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
• Bake the shortcakes until golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Let the shortcakes cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.
• To assemble, split each biscuit in half, laying the biscuit bottoms on individual plates.  Spoon a portion of the fruit over each bottom, then top with a dollop of the whipped cream. Cap with the biscuit tops.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

So what do you do when you have some bananas that are overly ripe and strawberries that are on their way out? Make Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana muffins of course!

I don't even remember when and where I first saw this recipe, but I must have bookmarked it thinking that it looked intriguing. And then it was forgotten about in the depths of my internet bookmarks...until Jacob came over one day asking if I could take some black bananas off his hands. So I dove into the archives and rediscovered this recipe.  

I have to admit, I was slightly apprehensive about this concoction the more I thought about it. Strawberries and Chocolate? heavenly. Chocolate and Bananas? Excellent. Strawberry Banana? Perfect. But all three? together? at once? But I decided to take the plunge anyway, and I am oh so glad that I did.

 

Perhaps it is just a phase, but these are probably one of my favorite muffins right now. I've made them a couple of times since first trying out the recipe and they have never lasted more than a few days, even with just Brad and I! And the great thing is, is that others enjoy them as well, so I know it's not just me and my funky pregnancy hormones. :op Plus, it only makes 12 muffins, which is a perfect amount I would think.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
by For the Love of Cooking

• ½ cup of butter, softened
• ¾ cup of brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 overripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 10-12 fresh strawberries diced
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then coat a muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.

Add the eggs, bananas, and vanilla then continue beating until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together, mix well. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just combined.

Add most of the diced strawberries and most of the chocolate chips then gently mix them into the batter.

Spoon the batter evenly into each muffin tin. Place the remaining strawberries and chocolate chips on top of each muffin. 

 

Place into the oven and bake 18-20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

 

 Let the muffins cool on a rack. Slather with butter and enjoy!

Strawberry Scones

When people come to visit and spend the night, I LOVE making them breakfast. Back in July, my in-laws were staying with us for one night and I knew I wanted to make something new and something incorporating strawberries since we were in the lovely season of summer. I browsed through my saved recipes and nothing really jumped out to me. But then it occurred to me, what about scones?!

In my experience, scones are more or less a hit or miss. They are either sweet, moist, and flavorful, or crumbly and dry. I scoured the internet for some recipes and then with the help of my father in law, narrowed it down to what we thought might be a "winner" from And Then I Do The Dishes. And lucky for us, a winner it was. My mother in law rarely takes leftovers and she made sure to take a couple slices home for my sister-in-law Catie..though sometimes I wonder if they ever made it the 3 hr trip to MI ;o)

So why am I just posting the recipe now? Well that is due to my not remembering if the recipe I saved, was the recipe that we in fact decided on. This past week, I was craving strawberries despite the fact that I knew they would be expensive and not as flavorful as they are in the summer. I ate about half of them and then I got the urge to use the rest for breakfast...so Strawberry Scones, here we come!

I have to say, despite the fact that these strawberries were not as plump and juicy as the first...the scones still turned out delicious. Knowing that the strawberries this time around were not top notch, I made sure to sprinkle them with sugar and let them sit for a bit before folding them into the batter/dough. And as always, I don't keep buttermilk in our fridge so milk and vinegar combined makes an adequate substitute (1 Tbsp per cup of milk).

Strawberry Scones
from And Then I Do The Dishes

2 cups flour 

1/4 cup sugar 

3 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp salt 

1/2 cup butter 

1 cup fresh strawberries, diced
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
Coarse or granulated sugar, for sprinkling

• In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

 

• Add strawberries, and mix carefully to coat them in flour. 

• Add buttermilk, one egg and one egg yolk (reserve the white). Mix until blended, trying not to crush the berries. Drop dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead delicately, just until the dough comes together.

• With floured hands pat dough into a 1/2 inch thick circle. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and with a sharp knife, score dough into 12 slices (as with a pie).

• Brush top with reserved egg white and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake in preheated 425°F oven for about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

A Little Taste of Summer aka Strawberry Shortcake

One of my kiddos at work was celebrating a birthday last weekend and requested a strawberry shortcake that he saw in the book Cook-a-doodle-do! It's a cute little story about a relative of the Little Red Hen who is looking to bake a strawberry shortcake. The Rooster has a crowd of animals attempting to help him, including an Iguana, a Turtle, and a Potbelly Pig. The Iguana attempts to cut the butter with scissors while Pig tries to eat everything in site. Throughout the story, there are little explanations of cooking terms for kids, a great book to introduce the art of baking to younger children. At the end of the book, there is a recipe for the Roosters Strawberry Shortcake. I was going to make that specific recipe but then another version caught my eye over at Chocolate Shavings.

The birthday boy requested that his cake be in the shape of a heart and his eyes lit up when he saw his cake! It was pretty warm in the kitchen and dining room at work so we had to put the cake in the freezer to get the whipped cream to set up a bit. This affected the texture of the cake a bit but it was still fabulous! The shortbread was slightly more moist than an average biscuit but still pretty dense but sweet. The kids seemed to really like it as well though I think some were hoping for an actual cake. Either way, I plan on making this recipe again once summer comes around..rich right now I'm wondering if that will ever happen :op


Strawberry Shortcake
adapted by Chocolate Shavings

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1 pound strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour paper and sides. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
  Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. 
• With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan. (This part I found a bit tricky because the batter was so thick)

• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

 

• Using a serrated knife, split cake in half horizontally; place bottom half, cut side up, on a serving plate.

• Make topping: In a large bowl, combine strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. 

 (Have you ever seen a strawberry with two hulls?)

• Using an electric mixer, beat cream and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until very soft peaks form.

• Arrange half of strawberries over bottom cake layer; top with half of whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. Cover with top half of cake, cut side down. 
• Top cake with remaining whipped cream, leaving a 1-inch border. 
• Refrigerate cake and remaining strawberries separately, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). 
• Just before serving, spoon strawberries over cake. 

 

Strawberry Muffins

Summer is in fact one of my favorite seasons...and autumn...and winter...I know, I know, there are only four. But nonetheless, Summer is great because it's full of birthdays (including my own), free events, warm weather, and of course fresh fruit. Blueberries, as you may know, are my favorite but strawberries are pretty great too.

The other day at Aldi, strawberries were on sale for 99 cents and they actually looked decent so I picked up a few packages. We ate some and made strawberry lemonade and I made homemade strawberry frosting. This morning as I was looking in the fridge, I noticed I had just about a cup of strawberries left so I decided to whip up some strawberry muffins. I have made this recipe a couple of times now and I am pretty satisfied with it.

I found this recipe over at all recipes but it looks very similar to some other posts that I found online so I'm not really sure who is the originator of this recipe. I'll just link to the AllRecipes site though just because it is pretty easy to read plus you can see what other people are saying about it and how they tweaked it to fit to their own tastes. The version I am going to post is based off of the original recipe plus some of the suggestions of reviewers as well as my own additions. Feel free to go back and look at the first recipe and perhaps make your own adaptations.

Strawberry Muffins
Original Recipe by Katie Mae, Adaptations made by other reviewers and myself

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 2 Tablespoons strawberry jam
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped strawberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Sprinkle strawberries with a portion of the sugar and let sit. In a small bowl, combine oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. Beat lightly.
   
3. In a large bowl, mix salt, cinnamon, baking powder, sugars, and flour.
   
4. Gradually add milk mixture into dry ingredients. Once combined, add strawberry jam and chopped strawberries.
5. Fill muffin cups with batter. Sprinkle muffin tops with sugar. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

Nutella with Strawberry Crepes

My love affair with Nutella with Strawberry Crepes began at La Creperie here in Chicago. After seeing the restaurant featured on Check, Please! Brad and I decided to take a trip down to Clark Street to try it out for ourselves (I will post more about the restaurant on a later date). As much as I loved the crepes there, when it comes down to it, we just can't afford to go out and eat crepes whenever we feel like it. Lucky for me, The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook has a great crepe recipe that I have used ever since I discovered it. I have had no complaints about it whatsoever so I have never tried any other recipes. But hey, if it's not broke, why fix it? A few "disclaimers" so to speak before we begin. ATK says "Don't worry if the first two or three crepes aren't perfect; it takes a few to get the heat of the pan just right". I tend to agree with that statement. And just because they aren't as pretty, doesn't mean they still can't be eatten :o)

first crepe of the night, just to reiterate the point :o)

Also, there is a 2 hour resting time involved so this is a recipe that you definately need to plan ahead for. And finally, though the recipe calls for an 8" non-stick, ATK also says you can swap and use a 10" non-stick with about 3/4 cup batter- though I just eyeball it, just remember, they are supposed to be thin.

Crepes
from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

• 1 cup whole milk (though I have used 2% every time, since that is what we drink)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 6 Tablespoons water
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Blend all of the ingredients together in a food processor or blender until smooth, about 4 seconds. Transfer to a covered container (or if you are me, just use the blender jar w/ lid) and refrigerate the batter for 2 hours or up to 2 days.

2. Gently stir the batter to combine if it appears separated. Heat an 8 in nonstick skillet (or crepe pan) over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Brush the pan bottom and sides very lightly with butter (it should sizzle when it hits the pan). When the butter stops sizzling, remove the pan from the heat, tilt the pan slightly, and pour 2 1/2 tablespoons of the batter (you can fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup a little past the halfway mark) into the pan. As the batter is poured, rotate the pan to swirl the batter evenly over the face of the pan before returning it to the heat. Cook until the first side is spotty golden brown, 30 to 60 seconds. Use a thin spatula to flip the crepe and continue to cook until the seond side is spotty golden brown, about 30 seconds longer. Transfer the crepe to a paper-towel-lined plate and let cool (you can stack crepes on top of each other). Repeat with the remaining crepe batter, brushing the pan with butter as needed after cooking several crepes.
To Mix Crepe Batter by Hand
Sift the flour and salt together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, water, and melted butter, then gradually whisk into the flour. Pass the batter through a fine-mesh strainer or sieve.

To Make Ahead
Crepes can be double-wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozed for up to 2 months. To defrost, thaw the crepes in the refrigerator for a day before filling and rolling.

Crepe Filling and Folding
ATK recommends everything from a Lemon-Ricotta filling, fresh fruits (such as sauteed apples with caramel sauce), to softened ice cream for sweet crepes. For savory crepes, use soft cheeses and fresh herbs, deli meats, or sauteed vegetables to name a few. For other ideas, you can look on Le Creperie's website or use your own imagination. My personal favorite, as I have mentioned is Nutella with Strawberries (which is done by spreading Nutella on the crepe and the top with strawberries before folding).


As far as folding is concerned, you can either fold the crepe like a burrito or into quarters.