Thursday, July 26, 2012

Summa Summa Summa-time!

except... i didn't really have a summer. as per usual. late june, i finished my last rotation (surgery = wild. i mean they cut people open and then put them back together. bonkers. sorry, i know this is a cooking blog. no people-cutting here.) after that, i spent a few weeks studying for "step 2" of my board exams, which included a 9-hour written test and an 8-hour oral test up in philly. threw in a few days visiting the fam in albany (will post our fruit pie recipe soon!) and bam. i'm here. summer for a week. welcome to real life.

anyway, now that summer is almost over, it feels good to be back in the kitchen! seriously. making food that doesn't require just heating veggies in a microwave is superb. been hanging out with the grandmas, slowly starting to fill a notebook with indian grandma recipes (about time i started learning to actually cook). and of course, taking orders for baked goods to send to work with the parentals.

commence today's return-recipe after a three month hiatus: strawberry shortcake muffins.
yes, i have a strawberry obsession. let's be real - today's recipe came about because i bought these awesome muffin cups and needed to use them:


my god these are cute. came in a pack of regular AND minis. for a dollar. holla! doubled up on some regulars to contain the strawberry juice, and saved the minis for another day. made these beauties:


an easy spin on the fresh summer classic, complete with biscuits and fresh strawberries. with almonds and a touch of vanilla for good measure. are you ready? are you?

good.

strawberry shortcake muffins (makes 12 regular muffins)

1 16-oz tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (next time, i might try the honey butter ones... oy)
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped and patted dry
1/4 cup slivered almonds
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 cup strawberry jam
  1. cut each biscuit round into 8 pieces. this is super easy with some kitchen shears. like, really easy. so just skip the knife. 
  2. in a large bowl, mix the biscuits, strawberries, almonds, and sugar. patting the strawberries dry theoretically helps prevent two much water from letting go, but the key i think is to just hurry up through the rest of the steps. go go go! 
  3. combine the butter and vanilla extract, then add to the biscuit-strawberry mixture and toss until coated evenly. 
  4. scoop the mixture into 12 paper-lined muffin cups (cutely-lined cups are preferred). bake at 325F for 25 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through. 
  5. in the meantime, heat the jam for 30ish seconds in the microwave and stir it down till its a pourable consistency. 
  6. remove muffins from the oven, then immediately transfer out of pan and onto cooling rack. 
  7. spoon the jam over the warm muffins. 
and voila:

the only thing missing that's shortcake-y is the whipped topping. you should go for it. i skipped it since these were being shipped next day, so i didn't want the cream to deflate in a gooey runny mess. but i bet it'd make a mean topping. mean, i say. cute and mean. like regina george. 



love this weird heart shaped strawberry. 
sigh. i wish summer would stay forever. heart you guys! 


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