Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake was always my favorite dessert growing up.  But we never made it with angel food cake or frozen strawberries.  In my fam it was the real deal.  My mom baked these sweet biscuit-like old-fashioned shortcakes, and topped them with sugared strawberries and fresh whipped cream.  The great part is these shortcakes are made from Bisquick and take all of two minutes to whip up and throw in the oven.  The recipe has been tinkered with quite a bit and adapted from Bisquick's original recipe.  It is not at all the same as the one on the box.  These shortcakes are thick and much heavier than angel food cake shortcake so know that before starting so you won't be disappointed.  I so prefer this version and hope you will love it as much as we do.

This is my definition of the perfect breakfast. (Pumpkin pie comes very very close.)

It has fruit and dairy in it so your dietician would probably approve.

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Coconut Cream Cupcakes

I feel like I might be running out of ways to tell you how good things are.  Let me just say, these are beyond fantastic.  I could NOT stop eating these.  The cream filling isn't very sweet and pairs perfectly with the sweet sweet frosting and the crunch of the coconut on top.  I screwed up and made the frosting with salted butter which made them a little strangely salty and they were STILL fantastic.  That, my friends, is the sign of a great recipe.

This is one of those weird cupcakes where the pieces all by themselves are just ok, but when you combine them all together, something magical happens. So wait until they are all assembled to judge.  (I actually think they get better as they age so you may want to make these 24 hrs before serving.)

Don't be intimidated by the long recipe.  Yes, there are a lot of steps, but they are all easy (the coconut cream filling doesn't even require any cooking!)

When I do cupcakes I usually bake them the night before and do fillings/frosting the next day to break things up a little bit. Plus then you'll have naked cupcakes to munch on the night before.


For an Easter version you can throw a few jellybeans on top of the coconut or stick a peep on top.

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Lemon Pull-Aparts (& a Key Lime version)

In honor of my mom, the biggest citrus lover I know, I thought I'd post these sweet glazed lemon/key lime rolls today.  I really wish I could send you some of these through the computer.

(Seriously... we can send people to the moon, but we can't figure out how to send food through the internet?  Come on now. 

Some smarty pants from Harvard better be inventing *that* in his dorm room right now.)

Mom, Thanks for changing my diapers, letting me wear my shoes on the wrong feet, and teaching me it's okay to change your name. (Also for constantly watching my children who love you to PIECES.)

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all moms! May your children be grateful and your husbands not forget lest they all be sleeping on the couch next week.

(Based on the flowers, cards, and candy practically barfing out of Walmart's Enter/Exit doors for at least a month in advance can you believe anyone forgets??  I so don't understand.)

These rolls are great for brunches and holiday breakfasts and since they use Rhodes rolls as the bread base, they are easy peasy.  I have tried an orange version of these and didn't care for them much, so stick with lemon or lime.

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