Strawberry Fruit Leather
3 cups stemmed, washed and sliced strawberries
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
3 TBS. honey
2 TBS. lemon juice
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or heavy plastic wrap (for fruit leather I do like Saran brand plastic wrap).
Preheat oven on the lowest setting your oven will go…150 to 170°F if possible.
Add all ingredients to a blender and puree until nice and smooth. Pour mixture onto the lined cookie sheet pan and spread out to about 1/8th to 1/4th of an inch thick.
Place in the oven for 4-6 hours. Test for dryness…no longer tacky or sticky in the middle or thickest parts of the leather.
Cool and remove from the sheet pan. Trim off any really dry or crisp edges. Cut strips and roll. Store in an airtight jar or plastic bag.
Strawberry Lemonade Bars
for the crust:
½ cup butter room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
for the filling:
1 cup fresh lemon juice
2-3 teaspoons lemon zest
¾ cup chopped strawberries
1 ¼ cups sugar
5 large eggs
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil or parchment and spray with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together, until fluffy. Add the flour and salt and mix until a crumbly dough forms. Pat the mixture into the prepared pan, spreading in an even layer. Bake 15 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges.
While the crust is baking, in a blender or food processor, combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, strawberries, and sugar, and blend until smooth. Add the eggs and blend until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture onto the hot crust and return to the oven. Bake 22-25 minutes, or until the top looks dry and is just slightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Strawberry Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 cups washed, hulled, and sliced strawberries
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste, or pure vanilla
Heat water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved.
Add strawberries into your saucepan and bring to a boil and allow to boil for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for an additional 10 minutes until strawberries are cooked and soft and the sauce has thickened. Add in the vanilla and use an immersion blender to make a more smooth syrup.
Serve over pancakes, ice cream, cheesecake, poke cake, or many other desserts. Also great mixed in lemonade!!
Store unused syrup in a jar with a tight fitting lid and keep refrigerated.
Strawberry BBQ Sauce (Sweet Spicy and Tangy)
3 TBS. olive oil
1 large sweet onion diced
3 cloves minced garlic
2 cups washed, hulled and sliced strawberries
2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, depending on how spicy you want it
1 c. ketchup
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
¾ c. brown sugar tightly packed
2 TBS. Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS. ground mustard
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. salt
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add onion and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Add in garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in strawberries, chipotles, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ground mustard, salt, and all other ingredients. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce or transfer to a blender. Puree until smooth. Return to heat and simmer another 10 minutes.
Cool completely and store in an airtight container. Refrigerate up to 5 days.
