Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

Aren't these fun?!  My mom gave me a cookbook ("Prize Winning Recipes from Current Customers") years ago that had a recipe similar to this one .  I adapted the recipe (called "Bowl of Berries") to create these Strawberry Shortbread Cookies. 

I could hardly keep my daughter's little hands away the entire time I was making these. She is usually my little helper, but today she just wanted to taste the entire time. (Except the green stems--she had no interest in those.) 

These are truly a shortbread--no eggs or leavening (baking powder/soda)--but with a strawberry twist. They melt in your mouth. And they are a joy to present because they look so darn cute.

AND...they are easy to make. Here's how:

Soak slivered white nuts (almonds, peanuts, or even pecans if you want to sliver them), in 1/3 cup water with 4 drops of green food coloring in it. I soaked mine while I was a church so 3+ hours, but I think 1 hour will be plenty of time. 

Drain the green nuts and let them dry on some paper towels.

Make the shortbread dough. Refrigerate it 30 minutes. Then divide it into 32-36 portions (mine made 32, but I had little friends tasting the dough a bit along the way. I may have tasted some too...after all, no eggs!). Roll the portions into balls, then taper one end to make a strawberry-ish shape. As you can see, perfection with the shape is optional. 

Now prepare two bowls of sugar sprinkles for rolling--one red and one green. Roll the dough into the red to coat all but the top. Dip the top in the green. Stick a green nut sliver into the middle of the green top.

Here they are all ready to go into the oven. They should be 1 inch apart from each other on the baking pan. I used a new silicone baking mat I ordered a while back from Pick Your Plum. It is pretty awesome, and I don't get paid for saying that. These cookies cooked beautifully, evenly, and didn't stick at all (no cooking spray required)--which is amazing since they were coated in sugar. 

Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes.  They do grow a little (despite no eggs or leavening). A couple of mine ran into each other, but didn't stick together at all when I removed them from the pan (phew!).

A fun, delicious summer shortbread cookie that is a sure hit! Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortbread Cookies

Stems:

1/3 cup slivered nuts (almonds, peanuts, or other white nut)

1/3 cup water

4 drops green food coloring

Cookies:

1 cup salted sweet cream butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 of a 3oz package of strawberry Jello

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

Red sugar sprinkles 

Green sugar sprinkles

Directions

1. Place nuts into water in a small glass bowl. Add food coloring. Let sit 1 hour, or until nuts are tinted green.

2. Beat butter, powdered sugar, Jello, and vanilla in a bowl until creamy. Slowly beat in flour until evenly mixed.  Chill dough 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375°.  Divide dough into 32-36 pieces. Roll pieces into balls, then taper one end to form a strawberry-like shape.

4. Put red sprinkles in one small bowl and green in another. Roll the dough in the red sprinkles around the sides and bottom, then dip in the green on the top. Stick one green nut sliver into the center of each green top.

5. Place on a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake 12-14 minutes.

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Patriotic Strawberry Bread

This is, in all humility ;), some of the yummiest bread you will ever eat. 

It is really more of a cake. In fact, next time I make it, I think it will be in a tube pan so I'm not deceiving anyone. 

And with the Fourth of July just around the corner, you need this bread. It is super-duper moist, strawberry (so very appropriate for Summertime), 

AND it's patriotic to boot! 

I made this in much the same way I did my Bunny in the Carrot Patch Bread from Easter-time.  I began with a delicious pound cake based on a recipe from Divas Can Cook.

Here is my version. It makes 2 large loaves or 1 tube cake. It can be halved to make one large loaf. 

Whipping Cream Pound Cake

3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, softened

3 cups white sugar

6 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl cream the butter with the sugar until well combined (about 5 minutes)

2. Add the eggs one at a time and mix completely after each egg.

3. Alternate adding the flour and whipping cream, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

4. Grease and flour 2 large loaf pans. 

5. Spoon the batter into the pan.

6. Place into a cold oven on the middle rack and turn the oven to 325°.

7. Bake for 1 hour and 5-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

8. Let cake cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to finish cooling on a cooling rack.

While pound cakes are cooling, make your strawberry bread recipe: 

Strawberry Jello Bread

3 cups flour (I used half all-purpose, half whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large package strawberry Jello

4 large eggs

1 cup canola oil

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pint of fresh strawberries, processed in food processor

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour 2 large loaf pans.

2. Stir together all dry ingredients except sugar in a large bowl.

3. In a mixer bowl, beat eggs well. Add oil, sugar and vanilla. 

4. Mix dry ingredients into wet.

5. Mix in strawberries.

Now your strawberry bread batter is ready. Set it aside. 

Here is one of the pound cake loaves unbaked. No need to pre-heat for this one; it starts in a cold oven.

Once the pound cake is finished and cooled a bit. Remove it from the pan and let it cool a while longer. Then slice it into pieces the width of your star cookie cutter. Cut a star out of each piece. Save your discarded pound cake to use in a trifle later. I froze mine. 

This picture is a bit misleading. These were the first two loaves I made, and I learned a lesson on them, then made another the right way (but forgot to photograph this step). The stars need to sit on top of a layer of strawberry batter. So spoon a layer of strawberry batter into your prepared pans, THEN place the stars right next to each other standing up in pans, as shown. 

Carefully spoon batter around the stars to cover them.

Put the loaves into a 325° oven.  Bake 50-55 minutes.

It looks delicious just like this, and there is no sign that a surprise awaits inside. :)

Surprise! Happy Independence Day!

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