Frozen Strawberry Dessert

It's strawberry season and my family and I love to go to a farm just outside of town to pick strawberries. This year we picked 12 pounds and although we've been eating berries at every meal, I thought it would be a good idea to make some into a dessert to share with friends over Memorial Day weekend. In looking for a new strawberry recipe, I found this one and adapted it based on reviews of the original. Please keep in mind that this dessert needs to freeze for 2 hours before serving so plan accordingly.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.)

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 egg whites

1 cup sugar

2 cups strawberries, sliced into small pieces

2 tablespoons lemon juice

mint or basil leaves (optional)

Place the mixing bowl and beaters you plan to use to make the whipped cream with in the freezer. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix together the flour; brown sugar; and nuts, then add the melted butter. Dump this mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread out to a ¼ inch thickness. Bake for 20 minutes and then let cool while you proceed with the recipe.

Pour the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla into the chilled bowl and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Set aside.

If you're lucky you will have a second mixer bowl and beaters but if not, you will have to put the whipped cream in a different container so that you can wash your tools to start the next step. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. While still beating, very slowly add the sugar; once it has all been added, move up to medium-high speed and beat until stiff peaks form, then turn off the mixer. In a small bowl toss together the strawberries and lemon juice, then stir them into the egg mixture. Fold in 1 cup of the whipped cream until incorporated. (The remaining whipped cream can be stored in the refrigerator until serving time.)

Break the baked flour/nut mixture into small pieces and sprinkle 2/3 of it into the bottom of a 9 by 13” pan. Spoon the strawberry mixture evenly into the pan and cover with the remaining flour/nut mixture. Freeze for 2 hours. To serve, cut into squares and garnish each one with a dollop of the remaining whipped cream and mint or basil leaves.

If you have any leftovers, I recommend storing them in the refrigerator rather than the freezer because the dessert becomes too hard if you let it freeze solid.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/110543/frosty-strawberry-dessert/