Recipe Archives | ConfettiStyle

IT’S HOT CHOCOLATE SEASON!

It’s October and in my book that’s the official start of hot chocolate season. Since I’m one of those rare birds that don’t drink coffee, hot chocolate is my fall and winter beverage of choice (I’ve even been known to drink a steaming cup in hotter months too because hot chocolate is that good)!

To celebrate hot chocolate season I’ve got SIX SUMPTUOUS HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPES that will have craving one of my favorite drinks!

For a good part of the country (sorry Minnesota) the season of outdoor entertaining is upon us. To me that means lots of easy to prepare food served up in a fun and simple way. Mason jars are super popular at the moment and are being used for all types of things. I happen to think they make pretty great dessert cups, especially for strawberry shortcake in the spring.

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Entertaining Tip: When hosting a party outdoors it’s always a chore to keep the bugs and flies away from the food. This is a double whammy idea–one to serve your dessert in a cut little jar and then to use a decorative cupcake liner and some twine to keep the jar sealed and away from bug.

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Simple Strawberry Shortcake Recipe…

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds strawberries, stemmed and quartered

5 tablespoons sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Whipped Cream, recipe follows

Mix strawberries with 3 tablespoons sugar and refrigerate while juices develop, at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add heavy cream and mix until just combined. Place mixture in an ungreased 8-inch square pan and bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.

Remove shortcake from pan and place on a rack to cool slightly. Cut into 6 pieces and split each piece in half horizontally.

Spoon some of the strawberries with their juice onto each shortcake bottom. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then the shortcake top. Spoon more strawberries over the top and serve.

Make your Whipped Cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

Using a mixer, beat the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.