Strawberry Shortcake, Deconstructed

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Be ready to hull strawberries!

Hull strawberries?

In the spring, the market is full of fresh berries and I always wind up bringing home more than I intended to.  And then comes the question:  What can I do with all of these?  Jam?  Muffins?  Shortcake?  Yes, shortcake, with a twist.

Remember my dear friend, Mary Ann?  She is the one who shared the ingenious trick about how to cook bacon in the microwave with me.  You can read that post here .

Anyway, when visiting her last spring, we made these sweet handheld treats together.  Let’s call this recipe: Strawberry Shortcake, Deconstructed.

To begin you need just a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand and the measurements couldn’t be easier.  For each batch, you need 1 brick of cream cheese, 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  I like to use vanilla paste.  I like the taste of the real vanilla beans in the paste, but vanilla extract is fine too.

You will also need a strawberry huller.  This tool is easy to use, simple to clean, and costs just about $8.  It is well worth it.

The first thing to do is to set out the cream cheese to soften a bit.  You want your cream cheese mixture to be creamy and smooth.

While the cream cheese is set out, wash and hull the strawberries.

This gadget is seriously the best. invention. ever.

It makes a time consuming job, quick and easy.

Slice off the bottom of each strawberry so you can stand them up on a plate.

After the strawberries are ready, mix up the cream cheese filling.  Mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

You can even go ahead and lick that beater.

I won’t tell. 🙂

Put the filling in a plastic, quart-sized bag.  Using kitchen shear, cut off one of the corners.  Then just pipe it into the strawberries.

Finally, just sprinkle with some graham cracker crumbs.

Enjoy!  These won’t last long on your plate.

The sweet strawberry combined with the creamy cream cheese filling and finished off with graham cracker crumbs…delicious!

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Strawberry Shortcake, Deconstructed

 

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These fun bite-sized treats are easy to make. The sweet strawberry combined with creamy cream cheese filling, and topped with graham cracker crumbs is just delicious.

Author: Maryanne and Lynne

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: about 24

Ingredients

• 1 brick of cream cheese (softened)
• 1 cup of confectioner's sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 2 dozen strawberries, washed and hulled

Instructions

1. Set out cream cheese to soften.
2. While the cream cheese is softening, wash and hull 2 dozen strawberries.
3. In a mixer, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until creamy and smooth. (Mix on medium for about 2 minutes)
4. Transfer the filling to a plastic (quart sized) bag.
5. Use kitchen shears to cut one of the corners.
6. Pipe filling into strawberries.
7. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs.

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