Is there any dessert that belongs to spring more than strawberry shortcake? I’ve been noticing big, beautiful red strawberries at the market for a few weeks and couldn’t resist their invitation any longer. They were practically begging me to turn them into this delicious dish. Okay, okay, Strawberries, I give in!

Strawberry shortcake is a fabulous party dessert, too, for a few different reasons: all the elements can be prepared in advance, and the cream/fruit ratio can easily be adjusted for individual tastes. Oh, and one more reason–it’s delicious!

This recipe is one of my standards and works beautifully as a compliment to any fruit and cream pairing, especially strawberries and peaches. Feel free to try it with your favorite fruit.

Strawberry Shortcake

Shortcake

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Fruit

2 pints strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Whip Cream Topping

1 cup heavy cream, well chilled
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter cake pans (I used two 9-inch round pans. 9-inch square pans work, too), then line pan with parchment paper and butter and flour the paper. The paper lining will allow you to easily remove the cakes from the pans. It will also create an interesting rustic edge.

Shortcake: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, stir together the butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pans to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out of the pans and let them cool to room temperature.

Fruit: In another large bowl, mixed sliced fruit with powdered sugar and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. A thin glaze will form around the fruit.

Cream: Put the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a chilled bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Use medium speed and chilled beaters for best results.

Before serving, spread a layer of cream one one layer of the cake, followed by a layer of strawberries. Place the other cake layer on top and garnish with more cream and berries. Enjoy!

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Thanks to all who entered our Happy Houseful Cookie Jar giveaway, and who spread the word through tweets and facebook! A winner has been randomly selected. Congratulations to Stefanie who said:

My favorite part of the cookie jar are all the bunnies, especially the little ones holding the eggs and peeking out the windows. I would love to win this!

Enjoy your prize, Stefanie!

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I’m fascinated with the topic of kindness these days. I mean, absolutely starry-eyed, head-tilted-and-pondering fascinated with it.

Think about it. Displayed in the smallest of acts, it can change a person’s mood, outlook, their entire day. It’s a form of love that can be shared even with strangers. It’s free. And more times than not, it’s extremely easy.

In the coming weeks, I have a lot of exciting ideas to share with you on this subject; ideas that I hope will inspire and excite you. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Today, I want to ask a simple question: What’s the kindest thing someone has done for you recently? I look forward to your comments!

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In a word, this recipe is golden. You absolutely won’t believe how easy it is to create something so dainty and delicious. These wafer-thin Lacy Oatmeal Cookies are the perfect accessory for a simple dish of ice cream, a tall milkshake, or a smooth sorbet. And if you hold them up to the light? They look like a stained-glass window.

Welcome to the Church of Cookies.

(Do you hear angels singing, or is that just me?) Try these cookies today and add a sweet, delicate crunch to your favorite dish of ice cream.

Lacy Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. (If you don’t have either of those, cover your baking sheet with foil and a coat of nonstick cooking spray.) In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed to form a grainy paste. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add flour mixture and blend just until combined. Drop dough by teaspoons onto your prepared baking sheets, with at least two inches between. Bake for 9-12 minutes or until edges begin to turn golden brown. Let cool, then peel off cookies carefully with your fingers.

Makes about 3-4 dozen.

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Happy Houseful Cookie Jar

Welcome, March, it’s so nice to see you! Let’s start the month off on a great note, shall we? That’s right, with a fabulous cookie jar giveaway.

I love everything about our Happy Houseful Cookie Jar, featured in our Easter catalog–the colors, the incredible form, the characters, and the overall emotion. I love that it represents a humble home filled with love.

Once again, our Creative Director Ronnie Kell has designed a one-of-a-kind keepsake for us filled with intricate detail, emotion, and character. Similar to our other collectible cookie jars, this jar underwent an extensive creation process–multiple ceramic molds and firings and color tests before it was hand-painted and glazed and ready for production.

Of course, my favorite thing about Ronnie’s cookie jar designs are all those little details. It seems that every time I look at one of these jars, I find a new little component to appreciate. As you can see, this jar is truly a work of art. My favorite detail? I’m drawn to that smile on the Mama Bunny’s face–so subtle and sweet.

How would you like this keepsake (filled with my gourmet cookies, of course) for your countertop? I’m giving one away to a lucky reader. Enter to win by leaving a comment that answers this question: What’s your favorite detail on the Happy Houseful Cookie Jar?

Bonus! Earn extra entries by spreading the word about this giveaway. How?
1. Mention this post on your facebook page. (Use the handy link below.)
2. Tweet a link to this post on your Twitter page. (Again, the handy link below.)
3. Link and mention this post on your own blog.

Please leave a new comment for every entry!

(Entries will be accepted until midnight, Sunday, March 7th.)

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For some people, it’s a tiny green crocus creeping up from the soil that announces the coming of spring. For others, it’s the first yellow branch of forsythia. But for me, it’s the faded blue holes worn into the knees of the kids’ jeans, the very jeans that were dark, crisp, and even a little too long in September. I love seeing those faded blue holes. That’s the first sign of spring for me.

And the next sign of spring? This in my mailbox:

Mrs. Fields Easter Catalog 2010

What about you? What are your first signs of spring?

(If you don’t already receive our catalog, order your free copy here.)

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Congratulations to the winners from our grocery store cookie giveaway!

Emily, who said:

No Milk! I am so excited for your cookies to come to local grocery stores. I will be first in line.

Priya, who said:

Yes indeed I need milk with my cookies..goes so well together!!

And Katie, who said:

Definitely need milk with my cookies!

Enjoy those cookies with or without a tall glass of milk!

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It’s happened to the best of us–you reach for your bag of brown sugar only to find that it has transformed into a hard, rock-like chunk of frustration. Never fear, and whatever you do, never throw it out! Here are some simple ways to bring that brown sugar back to life:

• Try kneading the bag in your fingers to break up the pieces.
• If you need to use the sugar immediately, place a large slice of an apple in the microwave alongside the open bag (set the apple near the bag opening), and heat for 10-15 seconds. It works like a charm!
• If you don’t need to use the sugar immediately, drop several marshmallows into the sugar bag and seal it tight. Your sugar will be soft in a day or two.
• For best future results, always store your brown sugar in a sealed bag with a few marshmallows on top. (The large marshmallows are best, because they’re easy to move out of the way.) Keep the sealed bag in an airtight container and say goodbye to rocky, brown sugar forevermore!

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I’m very happy to announce that five new flavors of Mrs. Fields^® cookies are now available in select grocery stores across the nation! Look for these fabulous, delectable varieties:

Rainbow Chocolate Chip
Snickerdoodle
White Chunk Cranberry
Triple Chocolate
Butterscotch Oatmeal

Find some of all of these flavors at select Meijer, CVS, Walgreens, Harmons, Dan’s, A-Fresh Market, Smith’s, and Stop ‘n’ Shop stores, as well as all Kroger grocery chains starting in May. If you don’t find these cookies at your local grocery store, request them from the grocery manager–most stores are happy to order in products requested by customers.

And, how about some more good news? Today I’m giving away a carton of these cookies to three lucky readers! To enter, answer this extremely pressing question: Milk or no milk with your cookies?

(One entry/comment per person, please. Comments will be accepted until midnight Thursday, February 25. Winners will be announced on Friday, February 26.)

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Did you know that our gift manufacturing facility is 158,000 square feet? That’s the size of more than 200 of our franchise stores combined!

Did you know that we can bake 57,000 Nibblers^® bite-sized cookies per hour? That’s one cookie each hour for every student attending Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford!

Did you know that we can ship up to 35,000 packages per day? That’s 24 packages every minute!

Did you know that in 2007 we baked over ten million chocolate chip cookies? That’s one cookie for every single resident of the states of South Carolina and Tennessee!

Did you know that we hand-tied over 200,000 bows in 2007? That’s one bow every three minutes for an entire year!

Did you know that we use over 200 miles of silk ribbon each year? That’s enough ribbon to stretch from Washington D.C. to New York City!

Did you know that each year we use more than 17 tons of frosting? That’s enough frosting to fill an Olympic size swimming pool!

Did you know that we recycle over 112 tons of waste and byproducts each year? That saves: 1904 trees, 778,736 gallons of water, 51,856 gallons of oil, 65,744 pounds of air pollution, 336 cubic yards of landfill, and 456,624 kilowatt hours of energy!

Did you know that we can produce up to 2500 gift tins per hour? That’s one tin every two seconds!

Did you know that we can customize over 200 tins per hour with a silkscreen print? That’s over three tins every minute!

Did you know that we use 2 million pounds of cookie dough each year? That’s enough cookie dough to fill 30 Boeing 747 airplanes!

Did you know that when we bake brownies, their sweet smell can be detected as far as 100 yards away from our bakery? That’s an entire football field of mouth-watering aroma!

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