recipes

Strawberry Shortcake

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strawberry shortcake

It was TheRoomDad’s birthday this weekend, and there were many little opinions about the birthday dessert he should have. TheRoomDad typically does not go old school like I do and want a yellow cake from the grocery store with butter cream frosting (my favorite birthday cake). So, I made the executive decision to serve strawberry shortcake. TheRoomDad loves fruit desserts, and we all thought this particular version of strawberry shortcake was delicious.

Shortcake Ingredients

  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 2 c. flour (plus more for rolling out dough)
  • 1 T. baking powder
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 6 T. cold butter cut into small pieces
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 c. plus 3 T. heavy cream (plus more cream for serving)
  • 1 large egg yolk

Shortcake Directions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Combine 1/4 c. sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a fork (or a pastry cutter) to cut in butter until the dry ingredients resemble coarse meal.

strawberry shortcake cut in butter

  • Whisk together egg and 1/2 c. plus 2 T. heavy cream in a separate bowl. Slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until the dough comes together.

strawberry shortcake add liquid

strawberry shortcake dough mixture

  • Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a 6-in. square, 1-in. thick. Cut 4 rounds using a 2 1/2 in. cookie cutter. Place shortcakes on an ungreased cookie sheet.

strawberry shortcake biscuit cutting

  • Whisk together egg yolk and 1 T. cream in a small bowl; brush over the tops of the biscuits.

strawberry shortcake brush biscuit top

  • Bake until golden brown, ~25 minutes. Remove from the cookie sheet immediately and cool on a wire rack for ~15 minutes.

strawberry shortcake biscuits baked

Strawberries

  • Cut ~16 oz. of strawberries (the standard container size, about 2 cups) into quarters/bite sized pieces and put in a bowl.
  • Top with 3 T. fresh lemon juice and 1/4 c. sugar. Stir gently without crushing the strawberries.
  • Let stand about 1 hour.

strawberry pieces

Assembly

  • Cut shortcake biscuits in half like a hamburger bun.
  • Place biscuit halves in the bottom of a bowl. Top with sweetened strawberries making sure to get a little strawberry juice on there too.
  • Drizzle heavy cream over the top.

Notes

  • You can serve the shortcake with whipped cream rather than the liquid heavy cream.
  • Use a glass with a thin rim to cut the biscuits if you do not have a round cookie cutter.
  • Trying not to overknead the shortcake dough, keep reshaping leftover dough and cutting more biscuits until the dough is used. The final biscuit can be formed by hand rather than using a cutter.

strawberry shortcake with heavy cream

Teacher Appreciation Muffin

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teacher appreciation muffin 2Last week my school held its annual Field Day and served bananas as part of the mid-morning snack to the students. Guess how many teachers and staff have leftover bananas at home? My family does not eat that many bananas, so it was time to bake. I made a batch of Ina Garten’s Banana Crunch Muffins and bagged them up as little sirsees for my children’s teachers. We are close to the end of the year; we have testing next week, and teachers need a little appreciation gift when it gets close to the final weeks of school. (Alert: Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4-8 this year.)

banana nut muffins

These muffins taste the best fresh out of the oven, but they are still mighty delicious the next day. Ina Garten’s Recipe includes whole milk, granola, coconut, and walnuts. I used buttermilk in place of the whole milk and replaced the walnuts with pecans because it saved me a trip to the grocery store.

teacher appreciation breakfast muffin

The muffins are baked in cupcake liners, but after the muffins cooled, I placed each muffin inside a Specialty Wilton Cupcake Liner that has tall, scalloped sides. The large liner protects the muffin inside the clear bag. I tied the bags with curly ribbon and added gift enclosure cards with a handwritten label. We arrived at school early and put the treats on each teacher’s desk for a breakfast surprise.

teacher appreciation gift

The Magic of Chocolate Sheet Cake

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choc sheet cake piece

The first time I made chocolate sheet cake for TheRoomDad, I brought it with us to tailgate at a college football game. When TheRoomDad’s friend took his first bite, his knees got weak. Since that tasting, I have shared the cake at many group events. Last year, I brought the cake to the retirement party of the beloved receptionist at our school. I originally baked a glazed lemon cake for the event, but this happened.

lemon cake failSo, I baked the chocolate sheet cake as a back up. People again had to grab onto something for support after the first bite hit their lips. It’s that good. There are many recipes available for chocolate sheet cake. I checked. The Pioneer Woman has a no-fail version that uses butter. My recipe uses margarine. You may also see versions of something called Texas sheet cake that are basically the same thing. I have not compared the recipe I currently use to the one my mom always used, but I am sure they would be close– fudgy cake, frosting that absorbs into the top layer while the cake is hot, a little pecan crunch to balance the moistness of the cake. Heaven. We had friends join us for Easter dinner last weekend, and I dusted off the recipe and served a slice of sheet cake to everyone with a scoop of vanilla or coffee ice cream. It did not disappoint.

choc sheet cake finishedIngredients

  • 2 c. flour
  • 4 T. cocoa
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1 c. water
  • 1 c. margarine (2 sticks)
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1/2 c. buttermilk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 c. granulated sugar

Cake Directions

  • Sift together flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.

choc sheet cake dry ingredients

  • Boil water, margarine, and cocoa until melted stirring to combine. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and mix well.

choc sheet cake margarine

  • Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.

choc sheet cake batter

  • Place in a greased 10 x 15 in. sheet cake pan and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
  • Prepare frosting while the cake is baking and pour the frosting over the cake while it is hot (important!).

choc sheet cake frosting pouredFrosting

  • 1/2 c. margarine (1 stick)
  • 6 T. buttermilk
  • 4 T. cocoa
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1 c. chopped pecans
  • 1 (1-lb) box powdered sugar

Frosting Directions

  • Bring margarine, buttermilk, and cocoa to a boil in a medium pan.
  • Add vanilla, nuts, and sifted powdered sugar. Mix well. It will seem to dry at first but keep mixing.

choc sheet cake frosting

  • Pour over the hot cake. Gently spread close to the edges with a spatula. The heat of the cake will help the frosting spread to the edges.

choc sheet cake piece close

Weeknight Dinner

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tomato soup and grilled cheese dinner

My weeknight dinner efforts are fair at best. Everybody is worn out by the time we make it home and roll through the door. We have many cereal and scrambled eggs nights (much to TheRoomDad’s frustration). One weeknight dinner I can handle is tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I usually have all of the ingredients on hand even if I have not been to the grocery store, and it takes minimal effort and time to prepare. We ate tomato soup twice last week with toasted sandwiches in the panini maker.

tomato coup ingredients

Ingredients

  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 c. canned, diced tomatoes
  • 1 T. fresh basil leaves, minced (or 1 t. dried)
  • 1-2 c. chicken stock

tomato soup carrot and onion

Directions

  • Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften (~5 minutes).
  • Add the diced tomatoes and basil. Simmer about 10 minutes.

tomato soup heating

  • Add 1 c. of chicken stock. Return to a simmer.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
  • Using an immersion blender (or regular blender), puree carefully until smooth.

tomato soup pureed

  • Taste and add salt and pepper if desired. Reheat if needed before serving.

Notes

  • If you do not have whole carrots, dice a handful of pre-cut carrots sticks if you have a bag of the snack carrots in your refrigerator.
  • You can replace the basil with thyme.
  • We like the soup with grilled cheese strips and/or Goldfish.

tomato soup and grilled cheese strips

Brownie Fix

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caramel brownies side view

My caramel brownies are not the only reason TheRoomDad wanted to marry me, but the chocolatey, gooey goodness is definitely a contributing factor. This is the best Valentine’s Day sweet treat I know, and in the early years of our courtship, I baked a batch of these brownies every Valentine’s Day and some birthdays too. Until yesterday, it had been many years since I served them. My kids don’t remember ever eating them! What was I thinking?

I got the recipe from one of my mom’s friends when I was about nine years old. For years, I have been under the impression that we were a privileged few who had access to the secret. Then, I did a Google search. Damn. It is not a secret. Since my recipe (and many spin offs) are available online, I am going to go ahead and share the version I use.

caramel brownies ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 11-oz. bag light caramels, unwrapped
  • 2/3 c. evaporated milk, divided
  • 1 box German chocolate cake mix
  • 2/3 c. margarine, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 c. chocolate chips (~6 oz.)

Directions

  • Combine caramels and 1/3 c. evaporated milk in a double boiler. Stir until melted and set aside.

caramel brownies melted caramel

  • In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, melted margarine, and 1/3 c. evaporated milk.

caramel brownies batter mixed

  • Press 1/2 of the dough in a greased 9″ x 13″ pan. Bake at 350 degrees for ~6 minutes and remove from oven.

caramel brownies bottom layer

  • Sprinkle the partially baked dough with chocolate chips.

caramel brownies w choc chips

  • Spread the melted caramel over the chocolate chips and gently spread evenly with a spatula.

caramel brownies spread caramel

  • Crumple the remaining dough over the caramel layer.

caramel brownies top layer

  • Bake an additional 15-18 minutes.
  • Remove from oven. Let cool and cut into squares to serve.

caramel brownies finished in pan

Notes

  • If you don’t have a double boiler to melt the caramels,  use a metal mixing bowl on the top of a pan of water as a double boiler. The caramels can also be melted with the evaporated milk in a microwave. Heat in 45 second increments stirring at the end of each time until the caramels are melted completely.

caramel brownies stack