The Recipes of our Lives: Strawberries and Cream Dessert Squares

Strawberries and Cream Dessert Squares

Strawberries and Cream Dessert Squares

I made this today for a Ward get together and it was a big hit! i will definitely be making this again!

Prep Time:30 min

Start to Finish:2 hr 30 min

Makes:20 servings

Crust
1	pouch Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2	cup butter or margarine, softened
1	Egg
Filling
1	cup white vanilla baking chips (6 oz)
1	package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
Topping
4	cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2	cup sugar
2	tablespoons cornstarch
1/3	cup water
10	to 12 drops red food color, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 15x10x1- or 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Press evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown. (i cooked mine for about 21 min, and it was perfect! not to soft and not to hard. do NOT over cook, the cookie will get to hard and it will be hard to cut when you are serving it)

Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

2. In small microwavable bowl, microwave baking chips uncovered on High 45 to 60 seconds or until chips are melted and can be stirred smooth. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Stir in melted chips until blended. Spread mixture over crust. Refrigerate while making topping.
(be sure NOT to over cook the vanilla chips in the microwave, i did and that is why there are some brown specks in my mix. it didn't taste any different, it just looked weird.)

3. In small bowl, crush 1 cup of the strawberries. In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Stir in crushed strawberries and 1/3 cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. (next time i do it i will add a little more corn starch to make it a little thicker, it was a little runnier then i would like it)

Stir in food color. Cool 10 minutes. Gently stir in remaining 3 cups strawberries.