Strawberry Shortcake Muffins with Homemade Honey Whipped Cream

It is time for me to rethink breakfast. Last weekend, Greg and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary at the Ledge House Bed and Breakfast in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Harper's Ferry is just under 2 hours from Annapolis, and once you get there, you know you have escaped the hustle and bustle of the city. We arrived at the Ledge House and we were blown away by the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Potomac River, and Shenandoah River. It was gorgeous! We met Chad, the owner of the B & B when we arrived, and we asked him when breakfast was served. He told us 9 AM, and he let us know that we would not go hungry. Boy, was he right! On Saturday morning, we woke up early and we jogged 3 miles along the canal and we also did some hiking. We got back for breakfast and we were impressed with the spread. Our breakfast plate had a slice of frittata, hash browns, fresh fruit, breakfast sausage links, and an awesome fruit popover filled with fresh cream. I told Brittany, who made the breakfast, that this was three times the breakfast that I normally eat! I thought I would be too full, but I wasn't. I felt recharged and energized and ready to face the adventures of the day. During the day, we did some more walking, biked 5 miles, and white water kayaked down the Potomac River. We weren't hungry for a meal again until we ate dinner at 7:30 PM! We had a healthy and satisfying dinner at the Canal House Cafe, and for dessert, we had strawberry shortcake. Strawberry shortcake is something my mom made when I was growing up, and I always enjoyed this lighter and refreshing treat.

So, this is why I'm rethinking breakfast. Do I really only need to eat a bowl of cereal or a couple eggs for breakfast? When I do this, I snack all day long and probably consume more calories. Now I'm thinking that perhaps a breakfast with some meat, eggs, fruit, and a yummy treat such as strawberry shortcake would help to keep me charged throughout the day so in the end, I eat less. What do you think?

I made strawberry shortcake for the first time yesterday, and guess what? It is SO easy to make. I had no idea it was so easy. I decided to make them into muffins, because that way it is smaller servings and they are easier to cut. I also made the whipped cream with honey rather than powdered sugar (confectioners sugar) since I was out. It tasted great. You can make it however you want, either way, it will be delicious! Enjoy.

*Strawberry shortcake is totally a patriotic treat for the Fourth of July!*

Recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Muffins with Homemade Honey Whipped Cream

INGREDIENTS:
For the shortcake muffins
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking powder
1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. of salt
3 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
1 2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp. of pure vanilla extract
For the strawberries
3 cups of thinly sliced strawberries
3 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
Beans scraped out from 1/2 of a vanilla bean (optional)
For the honey whipped cream
1 cup of heavy whipping cream, well chilled
2 Tbsp. of honey (or 2 Tbsp. of confectioners sugar)
Beans scraped out from 1/2 of a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp. of pure vanilla extract)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter each cup in a 12-cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Pour in the heavy whipped cream, add the vanilla extract, and mix together until well combined. Divide the batter into the muffin cups (you might be able to make more than 12, it is quite possible that I ate a generous amount of the dough while making). Put the muffin pan into the oven and cook for 13 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven and put pan on a wire rack to cool.

While the shortcake muffins are baking, prepare the berries. Place the sliced berries into a medium bowl and toss with the sugar and vanilla beans. Gently stir until all the berries are coated. Let sit at room temperature until ready to use.

Make the honey whipped cream. It is best to whip the cream in a bowl that has been well-chilled. I usually put a metal bowl and beater in the freezer for about 10 minutes before I whip the cream.
Put the cream into the chilled bowl. Use an electric hand mixer set on medium to medium high speed to whip the cream until soft peaks form (about 3 - 5 minutes). Add in the honey (or confectioners sugar) and vanilla beans. Continue to whip the cream for about another 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and put in fridge until ready to use.

Once shortcake muffins have cooled, cut each serving in half. Spoon strawberries onto the bottom half and top with whipped cream. Put the top half on and top with more whipped cream and berries. Mmmm, delicious!

Store any extra shortcake muffins in an airtight container at room temperature. The berries and cream should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and they will only keep for a couple days. But it probably shouldn't take that long for it to be gone anyways...

*Each serving of strawberry shortcake has approximately 300 calories. Recipe makes 12 servings.*

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe Adapted from the Food Network 

Blueberry Buckle would make a nice addition to breakfast!
Top with strawberries & cream and call it Red, White & Blueberry Buckle!

Rethinking Breakfast - Try these foods with breakfast!

Carrot Pancakes with Raisins
Simply Delicious Homemade Granola
Sausage, Spinach & Bell Pepper Frittata 
Peach Kuchen
Blackberry Cobbler
Blueberry Buckle 
Fresh Apricot Pie Bars
Crustless Quiche with Quinoa, Kale & Peppers
Potato Latkes (potato pancakes)
Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal with Caramelized Bananas
Carrot and Steel Cut Oat Rolls
Juice Pulp Muffins

If you live in the Maryland-DC-Virginia area and you are looking for a nice getaway, I highly recommend visiting Harper's Ferry, West Virginia for the weekend. Harper's Ferry is just 60 miles from Washington DC. Stay at the Ledge House Bed and Breakfast - it's affordable, cozy, beautiful, and centrally located. After enjoying biking, hiking, and/or kayaking, eat at the Canal House Cafe for a healthy and satisfying meal!

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars (It's National Blueberry Cheesecake Day)!

Did you know that today is National Blueberry Cheesecake Day? Well, it is! May 26th is a day that is dedicated to eating blueberry cheesecake. I found out about it this past week while I was out on the boat  reading Self Magazine. I made a mental note to myself to remember to make blueberry cheesecake this weekend so I could celebrate such a joyous occasion.

Instead of making a cheesecake, I decided that cheesecake bars would be a better choice. They are easier to make than a cheesecake AND they have less calories (but still lots of yummy yummy goodness). I made the bars last night to serve for dessert, but we ended up eating them as a mid-day snack before dinner. Greg ate two large bars & said he really liked them, which is good, because earlier in the day he had said we didn't need to eat dessert. And obviously he didn't know that we really did NEED the blueberry cheesecake bars, otherwise, we'd be ignoring a national holiday!

Hope everyone has a wonderful blueberry cheesecake day & Memorial Day. Enjoy!

Recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake Bars with Lemon 

INGREDIENTS:
For the crust
1 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
A pinch of lemon zest
4 1/2 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake filling
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice from the large lemon
A dash of ground nutmeg (what is a dash)?
2 eggs

For the blueberry topping
2 cups of fresh blueberries
1/2 tsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. of granulated sugar
A pinch of ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:
Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9 x 9 pan with butter. Put the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and melted butter into a bowl. Use a spoon to mix ingredients together. Spoon mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands to evenly press crumbs down so they cover the bottom of the pan. Put pan into the oven and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
While the crust is cooling, make the filling. Put the cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and nutmeg into a large bowl. Use an electric hand mixer set on medium speed to beat together until well incorporated. Add in the eggs. Beat again with the hand mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth, about 4 minutes.
Rinse the blueberries and pat dry. Put them into a smallish bowl. Add the lemon juice, sugar, and nutmeg to the blueberries and toss to coat.
Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly on top of the crust. Use a spoon to drop the blueberries evenly on top of the cream cheese mixture. Place in oven and cook for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool completely, and then place in the fridge for 4 hours before serving. When ready to serve, use a sharp knife to cut into 12 - 16 bars. Enjoy!

Each bar has approximately 210 - 275 calories (one slice of cheesecake has about 600 calories)!

Recipe Adapted from the Food Network

Strawberries Tossed in Vanilla Sugar

Since peak strawberry season ends next month, I thought I would post another tasty strawberry recipe. This recipe is very simple to make, but it can be impressive - especially if you top it with the fresh whipped cream. The berries sit in the vanilla sugar mixture first for about a half hour, and the result is a very flavorful berry in an amazingly sweet juice. The vanilla just adds something so special to the strawberries. It's a little addictive, but that's ok - strawberries are good for you! I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. Enjoy!

Strawberries Tossed in Vanilla Sugar
INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of strawberries, stemmed, sliced thinly & then cut in half

1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Freshly whipped cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Place sugar in a medium bowl. Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean with the back of a small spoon to get out the beans, and then add them to the bowl and incorporate in to the sugar. Discard the vanilla bean. Add the sliced strawberries to the sugar and vanilla and coat them well. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Top with freshly whipped cream, if desired. Yum!
This also can be made ahead and put in to the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving.

NOTE: 
Vanilla beans can be very pricey at the grocery store, sometimes running as high as $8 - $10 per bean. Save money by buying in bulk. I was able to find 8 vanilla beans for $12 at Costco - what a deal! Make sure to call your local Costco store ahead of time to see if they carry the product, sometimes they are only sold during the holiday months.

*Looking for more strawberry recipes? Check out the chilled strawberry soup or the strawberry-balsamic sauce.

Chilled Strawberry Soup

One of my favorite things about spring and summer is the fabulous produce that is available for us to purchase. About a month ago a farmers’ market in my area started selling beautiful strawberries by the pint, and I went on a really big strawberry recipe kick in the kitchen (thanks to all the great recipes I found online). 

I was excited to find a recipe for a strawberry caprese salad from the cooking blog Pink Parsley, and even though the combination of strawberries with tomatoes sounded a bit odd, I had faith in the blog author/cook. I made the salad, and it was INCREDIBLE. I brought it to a backyard barbecue to share, and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the mix of strawberries, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinegar. I never knew that strawberries paired so well with balsamic, but they really do. Just thinking about this salad has made me realize that I must make it again very soon! 

I also made a chilled strawberry soup one weekend while Greg was off teaching sailing lessons. It was so good that I ate the whole container before he got home; much to his disappointment. I will share that recipe today. The soup is sweet, smooth, and refreshing and it is perfect for enjoying outside on a nice spring or summer day. Not only is this dish tasty, but it is also good for you because strawberries are loaded with health benefits. They are full of Vitamin C, dietary fiber, and antioxidants - so go ahead, eat them up!   

Chilled Strawberry Soup Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of sliced strawberries, stems removed

1 1/2 cups of plain Greek yogurt (not reduced fat)

2 Tbsp. of heavy cream

1/3 cup of granulated sugar

2 fresh basil leaves, torn in half

1/2 cup of Reisling or non-alcholic Reisling

Freshly ground black peppers

Sliced strawberries, for garnishing

Small pieces of fresh basil leaves, for garnishing

DIRECTIONS:

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. Pour in to a bowl, cover with a lid, and place in the fridge for 2 hours before serving. Garnish with the sliced strawberries and basil. Sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy! 

Adapted from: My Recipes, originally from Southern Living

*I will be posting some other strawberry-inspired recipes very soon*