December 6, 2012

Strawberry Santas

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Strawberry Santas

Strawberry Santas

December 6: Feast Day of St. Nicholas

Make Strawberry Santas

for the Feast of St. Nick!

They’re healthy and cute

and can be made quick!

Strawberry Santas are a great last-minute idea for a seasonal snack and creative Christmas cuisine. Our friend Lisa L. had sent us an Internet image this past weekend suggesting we try these tiny treats. And then while at Whole Foods Market the other day, we even saw them being sold in the gourmet dessert display case! We just couldn’t resist preparing our own Strawberry Santas at home for a ho-ho-ho-holiday blog post and for a fast, fun and festive food on the Feast Day of St. Nicholas.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • Strawberries
  • Whipped cream (we recommend Cool Whip brand frosting)
  • Mini chocolate chips, black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, chocolate or black tube frosting or dark nonpareils (for the eyes)
  • Red pearl nonpareils (we used a round 4 millimeter nonpareil) (for the nose)

Directions

Wash and dry the strawberries. Slice the leaves off and let the strawberry sit on the flat end. Slice a bit off the pointy end of the strawberry.

Strawberry Santas

Fill a pastry or plastic bag with whipped cream. Use a star tip to form the head/face. Top with the strawberry piece for the hat. Use a small round tip to pipe the buttons and a little ball on top.

Strawberry Santas

Finish the face with eyes by putting in two mini chocolate chips. Add the red pearl nonpareil nose. Arrange on a serving platter and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Strawberry Santas

Notes

  • Regular whipped cream is soft and can melt easily so we recommend a stronger and more stabilized whipped cream product, like the new Cool Whip Frosting, or even sweetened whipped cream cheese.
  • Strawberry Santas can be prepared as pops by putting a stick in the bottom of the fruit. Or they can sit atop cupcakes or cookies as a base.
  • Santa hats can be made out of strawberries, too. Simply slice the leaves off and pipe whipped cream around the bottom and a ball on the top tip.
  • See our other Santa Claus confections: St. Nick Nutter Butters and St. Nikolaas Koekjes.
 

September 28, 2011

Mini Strawberry Cream Pies

Posted by HI Cookery under 09 September | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Mini Strawberry Cream Pies

Mini Strawberry Cream Pies 

September 28: National Strawberry Cream Pie Day

Summer seems to linger later in South Texas. So before we say hello to the harvest season, we want to bid a final farewell to berry season with a strawberry cream pie. It is a light and luscious dessert with a pale pink shade that is perfect for all seasons and social occasions. Following the tiny treats-trend, we turned a standard size strawberry cream pie into many minis! The individual desserts are delicious as sweet, small servings. Try the traditional-sized pie as tiny treats! They are terrific to observe the transition of summer to fall as well as to celebrate National Strawberry Cream Pie Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients

  • 15 mini pie crusts (we used Keebler brand; equivalent of 2 ½ packages of 6)
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 cup strawberries, mashed
  • 8 ounces (1 bar) cream cheese
  • 4 tablespoons granulated white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • extra whole strawberries for garnish

Directions

Beat the egg white and brush on the bottom and sides of the mini pie crusts. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for five minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

MIni Strawberry Cream Pies

Wash the strawberries and dry with a paper towel. Cut into small pieces. Mash with a fork to yield one cup. Set aside. In a large bowl, blend the cream cheese with the sugar and vanilla.

MIni Strawberry Cream Pies

Fold in the mashed strawberries. In another bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream, gradually adding the powdered sugar, until stiff peaks form.

MIni Strawberry Cream Pies

Fold this into the cream cheese-strawberry mixture, reserving ½ cup of cream for the top garnish. Scoop into the mini pie crusts. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight until firm and set. Pipe extra whipped cream into a swirl top. Garnish with a small, whole strawberry. Serve chilled.

MIni Strawberry Cream Pies

Notes

  • One 8-ounce tub of Cool Whip may be substituted for the sweetened whip cream.
  • Make a standard size strawberry cream pie by cutting the filling recipe in half and spreading it into a pre-made crust.
  • Search our blog for more pie and strawberries recipes.
 

July 4, 2011

Red, White and Blue Strawberries

Posted by HI Cookery under 07 July | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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Red, White and Blue Strawberries

Red, White and Blue Strawberries 

July 4: American Independence Day

Happy birthday, America! People are especially patriotic today and traditionally celebrate the country’s independence by watching parades and fireworks; stimulating the economy by shopping at the sales; or spending time, relaxing and feeding our faces (of course!) with family and friends. On this national holiday, we usually grill burgers and hot dogs or barbecue spare ribs, steaks or chicken. Sometimes we also prepare a patriotic parfait or American flag cake. Today we tried a simple sweet treat featuring red strawberries, white chocolate and blue sanding sugar for a cute red-white-and-blue dessert as a festive Fourth of July food!

Recipe

(Inspired by Internet photos)

Ingredients

  • strawberries
  • white chocolate or vanilla candy wafers
  • blue sanding sugar

Directions

Wash and dry the strawberries.  Melt the white chocolate or vanilla candy wafers in the microwave as directed on the package. Stir until smooth.

Red, White and Blue Strawberries

Dip each strawberry two-thirds with the melted chocolate or vanilla candy. Place on waxed paper to set slightly. Before the coating hardens, generously dip the bottom third of the strawberry into the blue sanding sugar. Place on waxed paper to set completely or display in mini-paper cupcake/muffin cups.

Red, White and Blue Strawberries

Notes

  • Strawberries should be at room temperature for dipping or they will “sweat” after cooling.
  • White chocolate or vanilla candy wafers may also be melted in a double boiler.
  • It is best to prepare the red-white-and-blue strawberries on the day of the meal or as close to serving as possible for freshness. The strawberries tend to leak some juices and the coating melts in higher temperatures. Refrigerate to solidify the coating as necessary.
  • Search our blog for more festive Fourth of July foods.
 

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