Dessert for a Year: Strawberry Shortcake

I fully intended on making this in May.  I found a recipe, bought the ingredients...and decided to just hang out and relax on Memorial Day instead of spending time in the kitchen. 

Last weekend I grabbed more strawberries (they don't last long with Cooper in the house) and threw these together.  I could easily make this recipe week after week.  The cakes were the perfect texture, with just the right amount of sweetness.  I did cheat and grab a container of Cool Whip, but let's be honest.  There isn't much about Cool Whip I don't like.  And Jason thinks it is awesome, so we were all happy.

Strawberry Shortcakes

• 4 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 4 T sugar
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 4 T sugar
• 1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, diced into small pieces
• 1/2 cup cold skim milk
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• Cool Whip (or real whipped cream)

Preheat the oven to 425.  In a small bowl, stir together strawberries and sugar, set aside.  In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar.  Cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbles.  Pour in the milk and vanilla and stir until just mixed.

Drop the mixture in 4 equal spoonfuls on to an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until done.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing.  Place a spoonful of the strawberry mixture on the bottom half of the biscuit, a portion of the whipped cream and the top of the biscuit.  Serve slightly warm.

Source: Pinch My Salt

Dessert for a Year: Peach Cobbler

I was at a loss when it came to Valentine's Day this year.  Jason's birthday is the day before so I try to think of something nice, but not too pricey as a gift for him.  Unfortunately, I just wasn't getting very far until I came up with dessert.

Jason is a fan of dessert.  I'd make it more often, but sometimes the ingredients aren't things we have at home and I've maxed out my grocery budget.  And I don't always need dessert sitting around the house.  But for a special occasion, I'll make an exception.  That's when I decided on "Dessert for a Year."  A fellow blogger did "Pie for a Year" for her husband before, so I sort of borrowed the idea from her.  Jason has been instructed to pick out one dessert for me to make each month.  His first choice: Peach Cobber.  With a pie crust type topping - not a crumble.

If you've never looked for cobbler recipes, they can be a little hard to find.  Most of them tend to have the crumble type topping.  So I scoured my favorite website (Myrecipes.com) to find the right recipe.  I can rely on them for good southern food because the recipes come from several magazine publications, one being Southern Living.  If they don't have a good Peach Cobbler recipe, I don't think it exists.

I decided to bake this last when while home with Cooper.  Last Monday.  Why I thought it would be a good idea to throw together a cobbler with a sick kid underfoot, I still don't know.  What was even worse is that Jason waited to have some with me once I got home Monday night from bunko, but I wasn't feeling well.  Then Tuesday he got sick, so we finally tasted the cobbler Wednesday and took the rest of it to my mom's house this weekend. 

For my first "real" cobbler I am pretty happy with the result.  I did divide the recipe in half, since a full 9*13 dish of cobbler is a lot of dessert for our house.

Pecan-Peach Cobbler adapted from Southern Living

• 1 16oz bag frozen peaches, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 8 T flour
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 3/4 t vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 15oz pkg refrigerated pie crust
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/8 cup sugar

Combine the first four ingredients in a Dutch oven, let stand for about 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and add in vanilla & butter, stirring until the butter melts.

Unfold the pie crusts.  Sprinkle one half with pecans and sugar, place the other half on top, roll up and slice into 1 1/2" thick strips.

Pour half of the peach mixture into a greased dish.  I used a medium sized oval baking dish, or an 8" square dish would work as well.  Top the peaches with half of the pie crust, worked into a lattice pattern.  Bake at 475 for about 20 minutes.  Top with the remaining peach mixture and pie crusts.  I also added a little extra chopped pecans and sugar for some added crunch.  Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.