Friday, October 12, 2012

Kit’s Blueberry Cream Cheese Shortbread


The key to this desert is the use of Comstock Blueberry brand pie filling and Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Cool Whip. Kit has substituted other brands and was not happy with the results. She has also made her own whipped cream and cannot tell the difference.
***As a side note, did you know that Comstock is making their pie fillings without corn syrup?**
I used strawberry pie filling, since that was what I had in the pantry. When I served this to my family I also added in fresh strawberries to offset the canned taste. If you like, cheesecake you will love this, I am sure it would taste good with cherry as well.
I also used whipped cream from a can, instead of Cool-Whip. Whipped cream, I personally think has better taste than Cool-whip, but it would be a personal choice.
Since my 9” X 13” was being used for another recipe I used a 7” X 11” pan, I would not recommend it. The shortbread was too thick; it was still enjoyable but would have been much better in the larger pan.
Below this recipe, I am going to include how to make your own pie filling if you would like to try a different fruit or to make entirely from scratch. The glaze is very simple to make and the flavor is splendid.


Crust
2 sticks butter
4 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cups chopped pecans
The edges were just turn brown

Combine ingredients. Press into 9x13 pan. Chill for 1/2 hour. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly brown (about 20 minutes)



Filling

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
1 teaspoon vanilla
 8 oz whipped cream
1 21 oz can blueberry pie filling

Cream cheese and sifted powdered sugar




Mix sugar and cream cheese. Fold in whip cream and vanilla. Pour on cooled crust and chill until ready to serve. Serve topped with chilled blueberry.

Make sure you get your berries spread evenly, having berries at one end is not pretty!


To make pie filling from scratch: I am going to write for strawberries, you can substitute any berry you chose.
1 cup of strawberries mashed
1 cup of white sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
¾ cup of water
Directions:
Over medium heat, in a small /medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch.
Add mashed berries and water to pan, stir while bring to boil.
Continue to stir while cooking at a boil for three minutes. Remove from heat allow to cool ten minutes before adding 4 to five cups of fresh sliced strawberries to glaze.

**Usage Note** If you were going to use for the Shortbread recipe above, I would make the glaze first. This way it will be completely cool before layering on whipped cream.