Monday, February 6, 2017

Strawberry Shortcake and Other Treats

 This sweet granddaughter spent two nights with me and we made lots of treats!  Cissy even set the table for a special Valentine Tea for the two of us.  Didn't she decorate the table so pretty?  The tea took place in my bedroom at the kids' card table.  For our tea, we made strawberry shortcakes from her cookbook that I gave her for Christmas, and I let her choose the recipe.


 We made heart-shaped pizza, which Cissy shaped with her own hands.  Can you tell which end is hers?  She only likes cheese pizza!


 Chocolate dipped pretzel rods were another fun treat to make.  We used a quart canning jar to heat the chocolate and then we tilted it on it's side to coat the pretzel rods.  A tall glass would work, too. We then coated the  chocolate with sprinkles before the chocolate set, and placed them on wax paper to harden.


 Just look at her bouquet of pretzel rods to take home!  We packaged them in pretzel rod wrappers that I had purchased several  years ago, in the candy section of either Michael's or JoAnn's.  Cissy's mom (my daughter) put the pretzel rods in a pretty pitcher as a Valentine decoration.




yield: 6print recipe

Strawberry Shortcake

This recipe is from the Williams-Sonoma American Girl Baking Cookbook. Cissy gave the recipe a 3-Star, as she wasn't all that fond of the shortcake part. I thought it was a 5-Star.  Cissy decorated her own shortcake so beautifully, don't you think?  She also chose this strawberry plate and cup set that my friend, Linda, gave me.

INGREDIENTS:

Shortcakes
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter cubes. Using a pastry blender, or two knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Pour in the cream and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together.
  3. Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Turn the dough out of the bowl and onto the floured surface and pat into a disk. Roll it out with a rolling pin, giving the disk a quarter turn now and then, into a round slab that's 1" thick. Pat the sides to make them neat. Use a 3" biscuit cutter (we used a pretty heart-shaped cookie cutter) to cut out the shortcakes. Gather the scraps, roll them out to make more shortcakes.
  4. Set the shaped dough on the prepared cookie sheet, evenly spacing them apart. Bake until the shortcakes are golden brown on top, 18-20 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool.
  5. Prepare the strawberries: Cut the stem and core from the strawberries, using as many as you think you will need. Cut the berries into wedges and put them into a bowl. Sprinkle the berries with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar (the amount varies depending on how sweet the berries are. Let the berries stand for 10 minutes.
  6. Whipped Cream: 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla on low speed until the cream begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Raise the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the cream forms peaks when the beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes.
  7. Split the shortcakes in half horizontally. Place the shortcake bottom, cut side up, and spoon on some of the strawberries and a big dollop of whipped cream (we actually used aerosol whipped cream because Cissy loves it!). Place the top of the shortcake on and add more strawberries and whipped cream.
  8. We garnished our shortcakes with some powdered sugar that we tapped from a fine mesh sieve.
Created using The Recipes Generator


I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

48 comments:

  1. Oh, Kitty...what a perfectly darling tea party for the two of you! What a blessed grandma you are...with a truly blessed granddaughter! How sweet Cissy is and that smile...too precious for words! I am so glad you had some wonderful time together, baking and sipping tea and such a pretty tea table Cissy set too! {{Smiles}} The strawberry shortcake sounds delicious and the pretzel rods are gorgeous - what a splendid idea! {{smiles}} Now you have inspired me to have a Valentine's tea with my darling little sisters...and Caleb too! {{smiles}} Happy new week and much love to you, Kitty!
    Hugs,
    Kelly-Anne

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  2. Kitty, She is just adorable with that smile and bow in her hair! I know she loves baking in your kozy kitchen, and she's a budding baker in the making. What a pretty Valentine's table with the strawberry teapot and teacups! I'd love some strawberry shortcake too. ♥

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  3. What fun! W nights with grandmother making treats! The table is adorable, she did a great job! I love the treats she chose to make, yum, and the pretzel rods are a brilliant gift, I'm going to look for those wrapping sleeves-

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  4. Awe Kitty, this is such a precious post! Just made my morning! Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  5. Kitty, such fun at your house! You are blessed with beautiful grandchildren and you are so sweet with all of them sharing your time and treating them with special memories.

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  6. Good morning dear Kitty,
    What a very pretty table Cissy set for your tea time! The time you two spend together will be forever treasured in her heart. You are such a wonderful Nana! That shortcake looks scrumptious and I prefer cheese pizza myself although I never have it. Someone likes a lot of toppings so I get to pick them off my piece. I can't think of a more enjoyable tea; pizza and shortcake with your granddaughter. Yummy! I love the strawberry themed tea ware too. Have a beautiful day, my sweet friend.

    Hugs,
    Sandi

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  7. Good morning Kitty,
    Great minds think alike because I was just thinking of strawberry shortcake this weekend. Yours looks so yummy! Your granddaughter is so sweet! She looks so happy with her pretzels! LOL! I love all of the wonderful things you do when your grands come to visit! It's wonderful that you get to spend so much time with them! Have a great week Kitty!
    xo
    Linda

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  8. Oh Kitty, Cissy is sooo cute. I love how she set the table and I love the white doily tablecloth. Perfect for Valentines Day. Such yummy treats. I always make my own shortcakes too. They are really good. Hope you have a wonderful week!

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  9. More fun at Nana's! I know that little girl has the best time when shared with you. Love the tea party and all the heart and valentine treats. Cute idea to make a bouquet of the pretzel sticks.

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  10. You inspire me, Kitty, with your fun times with your grand children. I love spending time with mine, too. Cissy set the table beautifully - she's learned well from her Nana.

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  11. You are the best Gramma EVER. I love you do such fun things - and document them to share with all of us!

    She is a CUTIE and so was that wonderful Valentine's teatime, Kitty!

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  12. You throw the best sleepovers, Kitty! I'm loving the strawberry-themed Valentine tea and now I'm craving pizza. HA! I hope to organize a Valentine tea social at work this month.

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  13. Yum, and what a great job she did making a heart. The pretzels look very good. She's cute and a wonderful smile

    Cindy

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  14. Kitty, what a wonderfully grand sleepover! Love the heart shaped pizza, pretzels, and especially the strawberry shortcake. The strawberries here aren't too great right now. When I was visiting my daughter, the strawberries there were perfect.

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  15. Looks like so much fun! The treats look delicious!
    She is so cute!

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  16. Oh Kitty, that darling girl with the beautiful smile and big bow leaves me wanting a little hug. She is a poster girl for Valentine's Day granddaughters! What a lovely table for you enjoy your tea and treats. That strawberry cake looks yummy and what a great idea your daughter had to put the pretzels in a container and display for VD. How can they last that long!

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  17. You girls had an awesome Valentine Day celebration together. Goodness, heart shaped pizza, strawberry shortcake and dipped pretzel rods that I love! I'm going to have a VD party while the family is with us in Florida and hope to have some tasty goodies.
    xx

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  18. Adorable tea party! Not only do the two of you get to spend time together but you are teaching her many valuable life skills.
    Your tea party looks delicious and is very pretty. Made my day! My heart is smiling.

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  19. Oh Kitty, what a delightful post! Everything about this post is precious, just precious.
    The smile on your granddaughter says it all, good times are spent with grandma. :-)

    God bless you~

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  20. Oh Kitty, what a delightful post! Everything about this post is precious, just precious.
    The smile on your granddaughter says it all, good times are spent with grandma. :-)

    God bless you~

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  21. Oh Kitty, what a delightful post! Everything about this post is precious, just precious.
    The smile on your granddaughter says it all, good times are spent with grandma. :-)

    God bless you~

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  22. Cuteness overload! Goodness, she is a happy girl when with you! I'm with Cissy all the way on the choice of pizza being cheese only. :)

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  23. What an adorable child, Kitty! I love the big bow in her hair & the lovely table she set. You're training her right from the start.
    Yummy looking strawberry shortcake, too. The FL strawberries are just coming into season right now. I try to eat some every day, for the Vit. C.

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  24. Now there's a little homemaker in the making! Her table is just beautiful! The strawberry shortcake sure looks good too and that heart-shaped pizza is just perfect. I made dipped pretzel rods for Christmas, using maple flavored icing and then rolled them in crispy broken up bacon pieces. Oh my...if you haven't tried them, they are delicious. I hear that bacon makes everything better :) Enjoy your week, Kitty!

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  25. You can tell from Cissy's big smile that she loved the tea party. She did a terrific job.

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  26. Oh Grandma! What an adorable post...sharing pics of your darling granddaughter and all the fun you had together. Very sweet. Warms my heart to know you've been able to spend this time making memories with her. Everything is lovely. XO

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  27. Hi Kitty, Cissy is just so adorable. Her smile just lights up the page here. What fun you two had with your sweet tea party and baking together. Love the way she decorated the table and the shortcakes look so delicious along with the pretzel goodies. Special times spent together making memories. Looks like Cissy loves being in the kitchen, baking and decorating too.
    Enjoy the week and the warm weather we're having. Let's hope it lasts a bit.
    Sending hugs your way. xo

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  28. A sweet happy grand daughter you have and such a fun filled two days with her. I love the pizza heart shape and how she set the table for tea. Pretzel rods are a great idea and something I could do easy with my grand girls. Thank you for the idea and that wonderful recipe.

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  29. Oh Kitty, how much fun! So much great food for a sweet Valentine's Day theme. Your granddaughter set a beautiful table for you both. She is learning lots of wonderful things from you. I'm wondering if she has naturally curly hair or if you girls have beauty time (curling hair, etc.) together too? Hope you're having a good week, dear friend. xo Deborah

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  30. Simply precious, my friend, and her smile speaks volumes!

    Everything looks amazing and oh, the strawberry shortcake! I think strawberry shortcake is one of my favorite treats, but for some reason I don't make it very often. Maybe I will make this for dessert on Valentine's Day {{smiles}}

    Love you, dear friend!

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  31. What fun to spend time with your darling granddaughter. My Ava and I made pretzel sticks at Christmas and it was so fun. Valentine's will soon be here! Hugs...

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  32. Isn't she so precious, Kitty! Love all the delicious goodies she made. You're such a good Grandmother :) Strawberry shortcake sounds so yummy right now. Sending hugs xo Karen

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  33. Your website is so welcoming & beautiful! I love all the design! Especially the checkered design... Feels so homey!!!

    I'm making pizza this week, too, so I may just have to try that heart shape pizza... Love it!!! :). ....So glad I discovered your site & became a new follower!!!

    God's Blessings!!! Net :)
    itsawonderfulmovie.com

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  34. What a sweetie pie! She's very pretty, too. I can tell that you two know how to have fun together. She sure looks as if she is walking in her grandmother's footsteps knowing how to cook (that pizza looks amazing), set a beautiful table, and create beautiful treats.

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  35. What a cutie and what a wonderful grandma you are! Strawberry shortcake and pretzel rods are two of my favorite treats!! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  36. Absolutely precious! Your grandkids are so blessed to have time with you.

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  37. How wonderful! Cissy is adorable and she did such a nice job with setting the table as well as helping to prepare the treats. How happy she looks! You are a wonderful Nana; your grandchildren are so blessed.

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  38. Kitty, you know how these cooking with the grands posts warm my heart! Would love to have gotten in on that pizza and strawberry shortcake!

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  39. Kitty, Those were some delicious treats, strawberry shortcake, chocolate dipped pretzels(my favorite) and pizza. Thanks for sharing. Sylvia D.

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  40. Dear Kitty:
    What a delicious recipe and I am sure we would all love this! The pizza looks awfully good too! Such fun there with your Granddaughter! So glad you shared.

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  41. Oh Kitty! What a sweetheart! I have been absent from my computer for a few weeks and so missed seeing your posts. Love this post and the recipe sounds delicious! Happy Valentine's Day!

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  42. This sounds Heavenly! YUM!

    I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

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  43. Your granddaughter is lovely Kitty and she set a fine table.. some fun treats for a tea party... a lovely job. Happy weekend with love Janice

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  44. This is a case of sweets for the sweet. Your granddaughter is adorable.
    Amalia
    xo

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  45. This looks amazing and I love the huge pizza. Thank you for sharing at Dishing it and Digging it link party.

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  46. Kitty, an awesome post. The heart shaped pizza is perfect. I love how you include the grands and to top it off with decorated pretzel rods. Happy Valentine's day.

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  47. Your Shortcake looks so good, Kitty. I am thinking about you today and hope you are doing well. Happy Valentine Day and thanks so much for sharing your awesome talent with us at Full Plate Thursday!
    Miz Helen

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