Vanilla Berry Shortcake

A few months ago, a couple of gals came over for a cooking class. I had so much fun teaching them a few new things, and the dessert we made happened to be such a hit, I had to put it on the blog. This Vanilla Berry Shortcake is not your traditional shortcake - it's got a fun spin on it and it's absolutely delicious! Thank you Nicole and Megan for inspiring this dish! 

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!!! 

Grocery list: 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I like White Lily)

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 5 tbsp granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter - cold and cut into small cubes

• 2 cups heavy cream, plus more for brushing

• 1 vanilla bean - split, seeds scraped out

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, plus a dash

• 2 cups fresh berries (any kind you like or several different kinds)

• 3 tbsp powdered sugar

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and 3 tbsp of the sugar into a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it looks like coarse cornmeal.

2. In a measuring cup, add 1 cup of the heavy cream, vanilla bean seeds, and ½ tsp vanilla. Mix together well so they vanilla bean seeds are broken up. Make a well into the dry ingredients and pour in the heavy cream mixture. Fold everything together until the dough starts to form. Dump onto a floured surface and bring dough together until incorporated, but DO NOT overmix. Press dough out into a ¾ inch disk. Using a large cookie cutter, cut shortcakes into circles. Put cakes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush the tops with the extra cream, sprinkle with extra sugar, and bake for about 12 minutes or until golden. Let cool.

3. Make the filling by adding berries to a bowl with the remaining 2 tbsp sugar and stir together. Let mixture sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. In another bowl, make the whipped cream by whipping the remaining 1 cup cream with the powdered sugar and dash of vanilla until soft peaks form.

4. Cut shortcakes in half when cooled, fill with berries, & top with whipped cream.

Andrea's Cooktales - Series 2, Episode 12 -Vanilla Berry Shortcake

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RECIPE!

Andrea's Cooktales - Series 2, Episode 11 - Roasted Red Snapper w/ White Balsamic Tomatoes

LINK TO FULL RECIPE 

Andrea's Cooktales - Series 2, Episode 1 - Mascarpone French Toast Bake

GET THE FULL RECIPE HERE!

Andrea's Cooktales - Episode 3 - Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Relish

Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Relish

Fall is by far my favorite time of year for one reason: Halloween! I live life for this holiday. I look forward to October 31 all year, and aside from my brother's birthday being on November 1, I think that is the worst day of the year (my husband claims it's his favorite day of the year but I can't imagine why? :) My obsession with Halloween goes back to childhood memories. My family always welcomed fall with such open arms, and my dad made a huge deal out of Halloween. We would go to the extremes with decorations - making scarecrows and monsters out of old flannel shirts, hay, and scary masks. Pumpkins and hay bells would always be at the end of our driveway, complete with monsters hanging in trees and scarecrows sitting in chairs. My dad and my Nenne were both big on dressing up, and they always had such memorable costumes! My dad loved to buy a new scary mask every year and play tricks on people with it.

Looking back, I feel like we celebrated Halloween the entire month of October. I can remember being just a little girl, and telling my mom, "There's something extra special about fall.. It's the only season I can smell." That stands true today. I can smell fall when it's coming, and starting October 1, our house smells of pumpkin, chili is often on the stove, our television plays only movies in the scary genre, and I insist on buying at least 20 gigantic pumpkins and squash to decorate with. I get chills just thinking about it.

This soup is special to me because we do a Halloween dinner party every year, and this was the first fall soup I ever created for it. It was a huge hit, so I make a batch (or three) every fall.

SEE THE VIDEO HERE!!!

Grocery List:

Soup:

2 large butternut squash - peeled and chopped into 1 in pieces

1 sweet potato - peeled and chopped into 1 in pieces

1 carrot - peeled and chopped into 1 in pieces

3 tbsp olive oil

Kosher salt

Pepper

1 small onion - chopped

1 stalk of celery - chopped

2 tbsp garlic - chopped

2 tbsp shallot - chopped

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or apple liquor

6 cups chicken stock

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp sage

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cayenne

Relish:

1 Fuji Apple - finely chopped

1/4 cup walnuts - toasted and finely chopped

1/4 cup red onion - finely chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries - finely chopped

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp - apple juice

4 small acorn squash (optional)

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Directions:

Step 1:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss squash, potato, and carrot with 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast veggies for 35 minutes or until soft.

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Step 2:

While veggies are roasting, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Sautée onion and celery with a dash of salt until translucent. Add garlic and shallot to the pot with a dash of salt and cook for one minute. Add the vinegar or liquor, stock, maple syrup, spices, and roasted veggies to the pot. Stir to combine. 

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Step 3:

Using a hand blender (or transfer soup to an electric blender working in batches) blend soup together until smooth. Let the soup sit over low heat for 30 minutes or longer (the longer it sits the better it tastes).

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Step 4:

Make the relish. In a bowl, stir together the apple, walnuts, red onion, cranberries, maple syrup, apple juice, and about 1/8 tsp salt. Make the squash bowls by cutting off the corner of the bottom (this makes a flat surface for it to sit on). Then, cut off about 1 inch of the top. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and insides until smooth and in the shape of a bowl. Taste soup before serving and add more salt if needed. Ladle soup into the squash bowls and top with apple relish.

CHEERS TO HAPPY EATING!!!