Easy and quick dinner. favored by the family. My mum made this recipe. She was, in my honest opinion, the best cook ever. This recipe can be seasoned in a variety of ways and is very adaptable. Feel free to experiment with the seasoning combinations that you prefer. This straightforward dinner is a favorite of my husband, my two grown sons (who are now 27 and 31), and me. I’ve taught the guys how to cook it, but they claim my version tastes better. They love to eat, and I love to cook. This dish is quite easy to make, and I often double it to give everyone plenty to take home. Well, it heats up.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Additional Time: | 2 hrs 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs |
| Servings: | 9 |
| Yield: | 9 squares |
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip®), thawed
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ (3 ounce) package strawberry-flavored gelatin (such as Jell-O®)
- 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Beat butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl until well combined. Add flour and continue to beat until dough comes together and is no longer dry.
- Press the dough into an 8×8-inch pan, smoothing the surface evenly with your fingers. Prick the dough all over with a fork to allow any steam to escape.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the edges begin to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Fold in whipped topping until combined. Refrigerate while the shortbread cools and you prepare the strawberry topping.
- Whisk water, sugar, and cornstarch together in a small pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Add gelatin and whisk until incorporated. Remove from heat and set aside to cool, whisking occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on the top.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled shortbread. Top evenly with sliced strawberries then pour gelatin mixture evenly over the strawberries. Refrigerate until set. Cut into squares
- You can switch up the fruits and/or Jell-O(R) flavors to suit your tastes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 445 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 51 g |
| Cholesterol | 55 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Sodium | 173 mg |
| Sugars | 38 g |
| Fat | 26 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I’ve made this 3 times now. The shortbread crust works perfectly. This dish is well balanced with sweetness and creaminess.
looks yummy.
I liked it
Good
First off we really did like this (still have some in the refrigerator) but, I’m only giving it 3 stars for a couple reasons. First, the crust was extremely hard. My husband said he almost needed a chisel to cut it! I don’t know why, other then maybe I pressed down too much on it before going in the oven. I think next time since the filling is lighter that I’m going to go with a graham cracker crust. That just seems like it would go better. Secondly, there is just way too much sugar in this!! I will probably use 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in the filling next time instead of a cup since the whipped topping is already sweet. Then there’s the strawberry layer. The recipe as is calls for another 1/4 cup of sugar along with the strawberry gelatin. I thought that was a little excessive so I only used 1 Tbls. and it was still plenty sweet, (I don’t like things overly sweet). The gelatin on it’s own has enough sugar in it so next time, if I make it, I will eliminate sugar in that step. It’s just overkill and not necessary.