Strawberry Shortbread Cookies: A Very Easy Recipe.
In June, the strawberry season comes to an end and you have to hurry up to enjoy Gariguettes, Mara des bois and Cléry. If you don't have the courage to turn on the oven and prepare tarts, I suggest you discover a much easier alternative: the recipe for strawberry shortbread!
Ingredients
Here are the necessary ingredients to prepare strawberry shortbread cookies for 4 people:
250g of small strawberries
8 large shortbread cookies
250g of mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons of fresh cream
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 packets of vanilla sugar
1 sprig of mint
Note: In this recipe, you can replace mint leaves with fresh basil leaves.
Preparation of mascarpone whipped cream.
For this strawberry shortbread recipe, I recommend preparing a whipped cream enriched with mascarpone. Of course, it's not the lightest version, but this mascarpone cream will help you assemble your "tartlets" as it has a better hold.
1- Pour the heavy cream and mascarpone into a high-sided bowl.
2- Add the sugar and vanilla sugar.
3- Whisk this mixture using an electric mixer until grooves appear in the whipped cream.
4- Reserve this vanilla and mascarpone cream in the refrigerator until assembly time.
Preparing strawberries.
While your whipped cream patiently waits in the fridge, prepare the strawberries that will be used to decorate your strawberry shortbread cookies.
1- Gently wash the strawberries under a stream of cold water before removing the stems. Rinse the sprig of mint as well and dry it with paper towels.
2- Select the 8 smallest strawberries from your basket and keep them whole for decoration purposes.
3- Remove the stems from the remaining strawberries and cut them in half.
Assembly of strawberry shortbread cookies.
When all the ingredients are ready, you can move on to assembling the strawberry shortbread cookies. This is the most delicate step of the recipe, but it is still much easier than making real homemade strawberry tarts!
1- Spread a generous spoonful of mascarpone cream on each cookie, being careful not to break the shortbread biscuits which are by definition very crumbly.
2- Place a small whole strawberry in the center of each cookie.
3- Arrange the half strawberries in a rosette around the whole strawberry, almost vertically planted in the mascarpone cream.
4- Finally, sprinkle some small fresh mint leaves in the middle of the strawberries.
Tasting advice
The strawberry shortbread cookies have a delicious taste that will make you want more, so I recommend planning at least two per person.
With the generous proportions given above, you may have some mascarpone whipped cream left over...
Don't worry! This cream can be stored in the refrigerator for one or two days without any problem and can be served the next day with other fruits or with a scoop of blackcurrant sorbet, for example.
