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I recieved mixed reviews about these treats from my friends.  Some said that they loved the combination of the vanilla and cranberry flavors but some said that they would have been better if I took the cranberries out.  I decided to use vanilla flavored Rice Krispies and added extra vanilla extract into the marshmallow mixture.  Overall, the vanilla flavor of the rice krispie squares were great but I may leave out the cranberries next time as they weren't everyones favorite. 

Tips for Chocolate Covered Strawberries

• Always wash and dry the strawberries before using them
• I find its best if you make the chocolate covered berries the day of eating
• I like to use semiweet chocolate (I find that milk chocolate is too soft and dark chocolate is too hard when they dry)
• I like to use white candy coating rather than white chocolate (it melts better and is easier to use)
• I find that it is better to dip the strawberries when they are at room temperature rather than cold because the combination of the hot chocolate and the cold strawberry can cause the berry to 'sweat'
• I like to flash freeze the berries for 1min after I dip them - Once I've dipped about 10 berries I put them in the freezer for 1min or less so the hot chocolate doesn't 'cook' the berry too much
• After some testing I've found that the chocolate covered berries can last overnight at room temperature and still be fine (I stored them in a box but still allowed some air to breathe)
• If you need to keep them longer than overnight I would recommend you keep them in the fridge or else the berries might go bad (the only down side to this is that when you remove them from the fridge the berries form beads of condinsation - this is from the berries trying to breathe through the chocolate - they will still taste good but the apperance isn't the same as the first day you made them)
• All in all making chocolate covered strawberries can be fun but can also be frustrating and involves a lot of trial and error - to be safe buy and make your strawberries the day of eating them and enjoy!

A good family friend of mine asked me to bake for her son's engagement party that she was hosting at her house.  Since it was the beginning of summer she thought it would be a great idea to take advantage of the local strawberries and asked me to bake her chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry tarts, strawberry shortcakes and strawberry shortbread cookies. 

For the chocolate covered strawberries, I thought it would be a cute idea to decorate the strawberries in outfits of chocolate covered wedding dresses and tuxedos.  I used semisweet chocolate for the tuxedo jackets and white candy coating for the wedding dresses.

For the shortbread cookies, I got the idea from the Pioneer Woman for this recipe.  I thought the combination of shortbread, creamcheese, and strawberries was perfect for a light and sweet simple dessert. I decided to use a flower shaped cookie cutter and sprinkled the dessert with raw sugar to make it look more prettier.

The tarts were very fun to make and I used this vanilla pudding recipe that turned out really well.  I didn't have any vanilla beans so I added an extra 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla to the recipe and used 2% milk.  I made the pudding the day before assembling and let it sit in the fridge overnight so it was extra vanilla tasting.  Hope you enjoyed all the strawberry treats, happy baking!

A little while back, Archway Cookies sent me an e-mail asking if I wanted to participate in their summer baking contest and I immediately said yes!  So last week they sent me a bunch of smaples to bake with for their contest.  I've made a few recipes so far using their cookies and I thought I would share them with you one at a time.  I started off simple with a classic ice cream sandwiche recipe.  I found the classic oatmeal and the dutch cocoa from Archway to be the best to use for the sandwiches because they were perfectly round and very soft and chewy (which I prefer for a sandwich cookie).  I used vanilla ice cream for both sandwiches and decorated them with mini chocolate chips and toffee bits to give them a little bit more yumminess.  Feel free to use any of your favorite ice creams and decorate them with as much toppings as you like.  Think of ice cream sandwiches as sundae's but in the palm of your hand!

Ice Cream Sandwiches

2 Large cookies (I like to use soft and chewy cookies)
Approx. 1/3 Cup ice cream, depending on the size of your cookies
1/4 Cup dessert toppings (ie. chocolate chips, sprinkles, toffee bits, or even blueberries etc.)

1) Lay each cookie face open and spoon ice cream onto one cookie evenly
2) Place other cookie on top of ice cream and lightly press down just until ice cream reaches the edges
3) Sprinkle toppings on ice cream, gently pressing down to keep them in place
4) Cover and store sandwiches in the freezer for 30min or until you want to eat them and enjoy!

Side Note:  My boyfriend tried one of these sandwiches after it had been in the freezer for a few days and said it was even better then the day they were made.  He said the cookies were softer from the moisture of the ice cream and the ice cream kept its shape better too.