Despite my love of baking, and my joy of making and photographing things for this website, the thing most people don't know is that I always try to give away my baked goodies to friends, neighbors, and coworkers rather than keep them in my house.   When it comes to baking, thankfully more often than not for my waistline, I always try to think about how I can make smaller versions or individual portions. That's probably why I love cupcakes so much.  They are like getting a taste of cake without the cake.  I also love the idea of small bites from a presentation perspective.  Perhaps you've seen from other baking projects this month that I'm presently enjoying the idea of making deconstructed candy bar cookies.  Since summertime makes me think of yummy strawberries and strawberry shortcake, I decided to take the shortbread thumbprint cookies I made for my Deconstructed Twix cookies and make them into Strawberry Shortcake Bites piled high with diced strawberries mixed with fluffy whipped cream.

Strawberry Shortcake Bites


Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt  

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups strawberries "diced"

  1. For the shortbread, cream together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until smooth.
  2. Add the vanilla extract and beat in.
  3. Gently mix in the flour and salt.
  4. Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, flatten, and cover with the plastic wrap.
  5. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
  6. When chilled, roll 1-1.5" balls of dough with your hands, then use a small spoon (I used a 1/4 teaspoon) to press into the top of the ball firmly then use the edges of the spoon to expand the "thumbprint" well.
  7. Once all of the balls have been shaped into the thumbprint cookie shapes, place on a cookie sheet, cover in plastic wrap, and place back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  9. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mats.
  10. Bake one sheet of cookies at a time on the bottom rack for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are lightly brown.
  11. Let cool on a wire rack.
  12. Slice up strawberries into small "diced" pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel.
  13. In a bowl with an electric mixer and whisk attachment, whip the heavy whipping cream on high until peaks form.
  14. Add 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and vanilla to the whipped cream, then continue beating on medium speed until stiff peaks form.
  15. Mix the whipped cream with the strawberries and spoon onto into the cookie wells.