Strawberry Shortcake is an old favorite for summertime. In honor of the 4th of July, here's a a twist on this dessert to make it more festive.

Pastry Recipe

3 c. All-Purpose Flour
6 T. Granulated Sugar
4 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Salt
1 1/2 sticks Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces (12 Tablespoons)
1 t. Orange Peel, grated
1 c. Heavy Cream
1/2 c. Whole Milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift dry ingredients into mixing bowl and add cold butter. Mix thoroughly and add grated orange peel. Add cream and milk while mixing on low speed.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and pat or roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a 3 inch star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 12 stars from the dough and lay out on a cookie sheet. Brush the stars with a small amount of heavy cream, then sprinkle with sandy sugar to give the shortcakes a shine and a crunch.

Bake stars for about 18 minutes, or until golden.

Using a smaller star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out another 12 stars from the remaining dough. Brush the stars with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the smaller stars until golden.

Cut pastries in half to make sandwich style stars.

Berry Mixture

Fresh Strawberries
Fresh Blueberries
2 T. Granulated Sugar
2 T. Orange Juice

Cut strawberries into halves or quarters. Mix blueberries and strawberries together with sugar and orange juice. Set fruit mixture aside until pastries are completely cooled.

To serve, add a small amount of whipped cream to each dessert plate and set the bottom half of a star on the whipped cream. Add another small amount of whipped cream on top of the star and spoon fruit mixture on top. Set the top half of the star on top of the fruit mixture. Top with another small amount of whipped cream.