STRAWBERRY YUM-YUM

With fresh strawberries so plentiful right now in the grocery stores, I had some left after making two batches of strawberry jam. I decided to search out recipes using strawberries in some of my cookbooks. This recipe for Strawberry Yum-Yum actually calls for frozen strawberries, but I figured I could use fresh ones instead.

Well, the fresh berries worked perfectly. I even had an interesting experience using my scales to weigh out 10 ounces. Make sure you read all the way to the bottom of this post, so you can see what I mean.

The recipe was contributed by two different ladies - Esther Hershberger and Betty A. Hershberger who was a "Grill Cook" at the restaurant. Amish-Country Cookbook, Volume 1 Edited by Bob & Sue Miller is my latest Amish cookbook. Unfortunately, Volume 2 and 3 were no where to be found at the estate sale. Bob and Sue Miller from Sugarcreek, Ohio purchased a 24 - hour truck stop in Middlebury, Indiana in 1968. After renovations, they reopened it as a six-day-a-week Amish restaurant with Amish and Mennonite cooks and wait-staff called Das Dutchman Essenhaus on January 1, 1971. It has since expanded to much more than just a restaurant. If I ever make my road trip through Amish country, this will definitely be on my bucket list for places to check out. Back to the cookbook...the Millers compiled three cookbooks containing their own original recipes and others gathered from their employees, many never published before. I am sorry volumes 2 and 3 were not there for me to purchase.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE, CLICK HERE.

STRAWBERRY YUM-YUM

1       cup flour
1/2    cup butter (1 stick), softened or at room temperature
1/4    cup brown sugar
1/2    cup chopped nuts

2       egg whites
1       cup sugar (I used stevia)
2       teaspoons lemon juice
1       10 - oz frozen strawberries (I used 10 - oz fresh strawberries)
1       pkg Dream Whip

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the flour, butter, brown sugar, and nuts until crumbly. (I did this quickly and easily using my stand mixer.)

Press mixture into an 8 x 8 - inch square pan.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. (I baked mine the full 25 minutes.)  

Cool and break into crumbs.

(I used a fork.)

Combine the egg whites, lemon juice, sugar or stevia, and strawberries and

beat at medium speed for 15 to 20 minutes.

Place crumbs in the bottom of a 9 x 13 - inch pan that has a cover, if possible.

Spread strawberry mixture over the crumbs,

cover, and freeze.

Serve frozen. (Cut into squares using a sharp knife. The squares will come easily and nicely out of the pan.)







The dessert is thin in a 9 x 13 - inch pan. I think I will use one of my Pyrex rectangular dishes that is 8 x 12 next time. Then the strawberry mixture will be a little thicker. Don't get me wrong, it is fabulous in the 9 x 13 - inch pan if you want to stick with the recipe. Love the crumb crust also.

When I decided to use fresh strawberries instead of a 10 - oz package of frozen strawberries, I thought I would use my niffy kitchen scales with a container "bowl". I didn't think about seeing how much the bowl weighed because it was so light. Well, I added a handful of strawberries and couldn't believe they weighed over half a pound. I was just about ready to just use more when I decided I would remove the berries and see how much the bowl weighed. Surprise, surprise! It weighed a good 6 ounces! So I added berries until the container (with strawberries) weighed 16 ounces.

The 10 - ozs of strawberries...

I quickly softened the stick of butter in this exciting way I recently discovered. You can read about it here.