a weekend affair

As I've already mentioned, I come from a rather large immediate family. Two of my sister's and I live close to my parents, but my brother and his family live in China and my sister and her husband live in Chicago. With that being said, the odds of all of us being able to get together all at once are pretty slim which is why my mom demanded that all of us spend the fourth with her and my dad.

Since she wanted us there for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I decided to make something to bring for breakfast. Surfing across Martha's website I found this recipe for strawberry shortcake cookies and I was sold. The only change I'd make next time is to use less strawberries (maybe even just 1 cup instead of the 2 cups it called for)...I had trouble mixing them into the dough and half of them didn't make it into the cookies.

Oh but we had a wonderful weekend. We camped out at my parents house Friday night, or I should say, Brad and my brother-in-law Justin and Woody (our dog) slept in a tent, while my sister Mary and I slept in our childhood bedrooms. We awoke early Saturday morning to the sounds of my mom and dad scurrying around in the kitchen, making coffee and preparing the food for the cook out later that day. By eleven o'clock everyone was there enjoying bagels and fresh fruit and strawberry shortcake cookies. We spent the day playing horseshoes and cornhole and talking and laughing...what a wonderful day it was.

strawberry shortcake cookies

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

recipe found on marthastewart.com