Strawberry Shortcake Bites

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My ideal Mother’s Day brunch would include these tasty little morsels. This recipe is low on sugar but big on flavor. My daughter came up with the idea to change these from Cream Wafers to Strawberry Shortcake Bites when she tasted the cookies without the filling and commented that they tasted like tiny biscuits. I was a little apprehensive about this recipe when I tasted the cookies without the filling and they reminded me of pie crust. I soldiered on and after the addition of the creamy butter filling I was officially addicted. Even my husband loved these cookies and he is totally not a cookie person.

Strawberry Shortcake Bites

(adapted from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book)

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup whipping cream
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • granulated sugar (for coating the cookies)

Creamy Butter Filling

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1-2 tsp strawberry juice (or vanilla)

Make the cookies: Mix together butter, whipping cream and flour thoroughly. Shape dough into a flattened disk and wrap in plastic. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.

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Heat oven to 350°F. Roll dough 1/8″ thick on lightly floured counter. Cut into 1-1/2″ rounds. Transfer to plate heavily sprinkled with granulated sugar, turning to coat both sides. Place on ungreased baking sheet and prick in 4 places with a fork. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. The cookies will be puffed up. Cool completely on wire racks.

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Prepare filling by mixing together butter, confectioners’ sugar, and strawberry juice. (I made the strawberry juice by thawing a 1/4 cup of frozen strawberries and draining off the liquid from the strawberries.) Add more confectioners’ sugar if the filling is not easily spreadable.

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Put 2 cooled cookies together with a dollop of creamy butter filling. Chill briefly to set the filling. Store at room temperature in sealed container up to 3 days.

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Here is what else I would serve at my ideal Mother’s Day brunch:

Roasted Edamame

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I had high hopes for this recipe. I really did… but was a little disappointed with the results. Like most of my recent new recipes, this was spotted on Pinterest. (Check out my Recipe To Do list there.) It was simple, quick and not completely terrible. I’m not sold on the taste of edamame and my family complained about the smell of the parmesan while it was roasting.  I did have a lovely conversation with the cashier at Wegman’s about edamame when I was purchasing the ingredients for this recipe. Francesca’s now my favorite cashier because she is so bubbly and friendly. Read more…

Homemade Oreos – updated

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If you are a baker, this is one recipe that you should try out at least once. Double-stuffed Oreos are a favorite with my husband and my kids but this recipe puts the store-bought stuff to shame. When I made these cookies previously I used only butter for the vanilla cream filling but it is better with a mixture of butter and shortening. My other change was to use Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder and that made them that much better. Read more…

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

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Last week I promised lots of cookie recipes and here is another one. I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for quite a while. This year the recipients of the cookie-of-the-month club have requested chocolate cookies each month. These cookies were added in one month to contrast against all the chocolate. What is nice about this recipe is that you can prepare the dough in advance and freeze it until you are ready to bake it. Read more…

Thin Mint Puppy Chow

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Going with a green theme for the St. Patrick’s Day party led me to this recipe. We did a test run of the recipe (adapted from Shugary Sweets) to make sure it would work for the party. I’ve decided not to serve this at our party because it’s just so messy. The powdered sugar gets everywhere. Having a party makes enough of a mess without this. It’s a yummy treat though so don’t let the mess-factor completely deter you. Read more…

Unicorn Poop Cookies

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We are hosting a neighborhood St. Patrick’s Day party this weekend. I’ve been seeing versions of these cookies all over Pinterest and I thought they would be a fun addition to the party. Plus they were really fun to make with the kids. The kids commented that they felt like they were playing with playdough. The ones the kids’ made were put aside and they tucked the cookies into their lunches last week. Their friends were extremely jealous about these pretty cookies. The ones for the party have been stored in the freezer. I believe in advance preparation for parties as much as possible. It makes the day of the party much more enjoyable.

If you’ve got any great suggestions for party food, please send them along. I’m having a little bit of a hosting block on this one. The food can’t all be green and rainbows. Though that would be fun, wouldn’t it? Read more…

Kung Pao Chicken

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I can’t remember the last time I ordered chinese take-out. It’s a funny thing… our favorite take-out place kept closing then opening again and we find out it’s because of health violations. The town ultimately revoked their food service license and that place closed for good. After all that I decided I might as well just cook our favorite take-out foods at home. It’s nearly as quick and just as delicious. I’m not saying we’ll never get chinese take-out again. I’m just always going to think twice before we do.

This recipe is from Quick & Easy Chinese by Nancie McDermott. Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients. It really is easy and you can prepare up to a day in advance and cook it up quickly for an even faster dinner than usual. Read more…

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