Strawberry and white chocolate cookies

Strawberry and white chocolate cookies

Ingredients

• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 1 stick {8 Tbls} butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 oz Neufchatel cheese {light cream cheese}, room temperature
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 c M&Ms

Directions

• Combine, butter, egg, vanilla, and cream cheese in a bowl. Mix together thoroughly.
• Add cake mix, half of the box at a time, mixing until well combined.
• Stir in chips and candies by hand.
• Refrigerate for at least one hour and then roll dough into 1 inch balls.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place dough balls onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes - you don't want the cookies to brown at all! Set a timer.
• Let cookies cool on a baking sheet for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
• Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Fresh Strawberry Fritters

Fresh Strawberry Fritters

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbls baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 egg whites
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 Tbls vegetable oil
• 1 Tbls lemon juice
• 2 1/2 c fresh strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped {drain on paper towels to elminate excess moisture}
• 1/4 cup blackberrry preservs - seedless
• Oil for frying
• Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions :

• Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Whisk together the milk, egg yolks, oil, lemon juice and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and beat until nice and smooth.
• In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. The batter will gain quite a bit of volume at this point.
• Coarsely chop the strawberries. You want nice big chunks in the fritters. Fold the strawberries gently into the batter.
• Stir up the blackberry preserves so they are nice and loose. Swirl the preserves in the batter.
• Heat oil to 375 degrees in a deep, heavy saucepan. Drop a couple tablespoons of batter into the hot oil and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown. I used an ice cream scoop for mine. You want the fritters to have enough time to cook all the way through without burning the outside
• Fry up a test fritter and make adjustments to size and temp as needed.
• Remove the fritters from the hot oil and drain on paper towels. You can keep the fritters warm in the oven – just set on a low temperature. Serve hot!
• Top with powdered sugar or a light glaze for yummy perfection!