Triple Berry Shortcake

Took these to Al and Cathy's Sunday for dessert; Al smoked ribs (yep, it's 92' and he smoked meat - thanks Al!) and we thought strawberry shortcake would be good for dessert, but since I just bought way too many blueberries and raspberries I decided to make a triple berry shortcake instead. Googled for a shortcake recipe and this one got good reviews, one tip on the site is that it works to replace the buttermilk with equal amount of yogurt - I used buttermilk and the only other change is I sprinkled coarse sugar on the tops. The verdict: Dave thinks they aren't sweet enough, I thought they were just right. You make them and decide!

1. 
   
2. For biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1. For filling
   • 12 oz raspberries (about 3 cups)
   • 6 oz blackberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
   • 2 tablespoons sugar
2. For cream
• 1 cup well-chilled heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
3. 
   
4. Make biscuits:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

1. 1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir just until a soft, sticky dough forms.
   2. Drop dough in 6 mounds about 2 inches apart on an ungreased large baking sheet and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer biscuits to a rack and cool to warm, about 10 minutes.
2. Make filling:
   
   1. While biscuits bake, gently mash half of berries with 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in remaining berries.
3. Make cream:
1. Beat cream together with sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks.
2. Carefully cut biscuits in half horizontally and arrange 1 bottom half, split side up, on each of 6 plates. Top each with berries, whipped cream, and other half of biscuit.
4. makes 6 biscuits.
5. 
   
6. found the recipe here.

Brownie Strawberry Skewers

Looking for a no-bake, easy, fun summer (or whenever!) dessert? I made these to take to a party at my sisters the other day and they were a big hit. I didn't tell anyone that the brownies were store-bought and I'd appreciate it if you keep that tidbit to yourself ;). They all thought I was amazing and I'd like to keep it that way LOL.

Got the basic idea for these on Pinterest here. I changed them a little bit by drizzling with white glaze and before it set added some sprinkles - for a patriotic holiday use red, white, and blue sprinkles if you can find them; change the colors for whatever event you want or whatever makes you happy...they're sprinkles and are only meant to make you happy :)

I set the skewers on parchment paper before
drizzling to contain the mess. 

Ok, ready for how simple these are? Seriously...

Thread a marshmallow, a small brownie (I bought "two-bite brownies" in the bakery section of the grocery store), and top with a clean, hulled strawberry on bamboo skewers. You could be done right then but I like how they look with a drizzle of glaze (or melted chocolate) and finish with the sprinkles. Done. And you'll be a (dessert) rock star!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

I made these to take to my sisters house Monday for the Fourth - pretty easy although I'll warn you they're a little messy to make - especially on a warm day :). 

First I made small chocolate chip cookies using my small cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon). After they're completely cool match up the cookies into roughly the same size pairs so the sandwich will be pretty similar on both sides. Let a tub of vanilla ice cream sit on the counter until it gets soft (not too soft though, that's when the messy part really starts happening!), then spoon some onto one side of the matched pair and top with the second cookie, press lightly to spread the ice cream. I then take a small knife and fill in ice cream around the edges of the cookies so the ice cream fills up the entire space between them - since it's July 4th I rolled the edges in patriotic sprinkles but any other time of year I just leave them plain. Put in the freezer until they are solid, then wrap each sandwich individually in wax or freezer paper and tape shut with a piece of masking tape (or you could be really cute and use patterned washi tape!) - I actually like how old fashioned it looks to have them folded up in white paper and sealed with masking tape, it's cute.