I almost can’t believe I’m going to tell you this, but here goes: I need a break from dessert. The past two months have included more baking than I’ve done in a while, and I feel like a few day mini-break from butter, sugar, eggs, etc. is in order. December is almost here, and that means intense Christmas cookie baking will be underway shortly, so it’s the perfect time to step away briefly. I’ve got a substantial backlog of posts to share so you won’t even notice I’ve stopped baking, but I’m certain my body will thank me :)
Before I gave my oven a break, I whipped up this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, which was chosen by Tania of Love Big, Bake Often – devilish shortcakes. Over the summer we tried Dorie’s recipe for tender (non-chocolate) shortcakes and they ranked among my favorite recipes from her book, so I thought these would probably be terrific too. As an added bonus, I was pretty sure I could convince Shane to eat them so I wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone to take them off my hands. The shortcakes freeze well (before or after baking) which makes them a nice addition to your freezer stash, something to be popped in the oven when you need a quick dessert fix.
The recipe was a cinch – whisk together dry ingredients, cut in the butter then add liquid to bring the dough together. I scaled back to make just 1/4 of the recipe and wound up with 4 fairly large, rustic shortcakes. I’d been warned by other TWD bakers that the shortcakes weren’t very sweet, and they were right. These shortcakes are essentially chocolate biscuits, and they’re the perfect vehicle for any sweet addition you have in mind. Were I going to eat them, I’d definitely have added berries and whipped cream, but for Shane there was only one way to go – ice cream! I sandwiched a big scoop of cookies ‘n cream ice cream between the cut halves and drizzled with chocolate sauce, and he was a happy guy.
Many thanks to Tania for hosting this week! You can find the recipe for the shortcakes on her blog here or on page 425 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Lemon Bars
Glazed Grapefruit Cake
Orange Sherbet
Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
Looks amazing with that cookies ‘n cream ice cream in the middle! I’m with you – it’s definitely time for a vacation from dessert!
oh my gosh, these look fabulous! like you, I need a break from dessert (though I’m not sure I’ll actually take one…esp now that I saw these!)
oh, these look fabulous!!
all we had for dessert this year was my pumpkin ice cream and pecan pie bites… I was still too full at dessert time, so I only had one spoon of ice cream as I was getting everyone else’s…
so I feel like I could still use a sweet right now!!
WEE!!
I know what you mean….we have had way more than our fair share of desserts around here too! Have to try my leftover shortcakes with ice cream next.
You are so right – these babies are quite versatile; I can see how Shane was happy. That combination looks fab.
This was a fun compliment to ice cream, thanks for making them!
I think added chocolate sauce was definitely the way to go with these. =) I love your ice cream choice–sounds delicious.
Looks delicious! Mine are in the oven now.
Oh, yeah – GREAT with ice cream. That’s how I ate mine. Bill’s with strawberries and cream.
I only got 3 from 1/4th recipe and that was plenty.
Will miss you on TWD, but understand completely.
The shortcakes look great! Josh liked the shortcakes with ice cream, too. I almost sat out this week, but I’m glad I tried these.
It’s funny, even when I don’t really want dessert, I still want to bake; I should follow your lead and take a break, though.
TWD has been dwindling since the summer. I think we’re all having dessert fatigue. Though my family wouldn’t agree. ::g::
I haven’t made these yet, but they simple and delicious stuffed with ice cream. Very nice!
It looks perfect with ice cream and chocolate sauce!
Wow, you did a great job with these.
These definitely need some major sweetness in the middle. I definitely don’t need more sweetness in MY middle.