roasted strawberries

This recipe is a perfect example of ‘do as I say, not as I do’…

Well, not exactly.

You see, the recipe part is fine. But when you look at my process pictures you might notice how slapped down a piece of parchment on the baking sheet. Well, I didn’t properly cover the baking sheet when I did that. Nope, I should have ripped off another big ass piece of parchment to cover the ENTIRE baking sheet. If you don’t then the juices will make a mad dash to the edge of the parchment and hop onto the baking sheet. And that lovely, sugary syrup will toil and boil on your baking sheet and cement itself on there.

So, cover the ENTIRE baking sheet with a big ass piece of parchment so you won’t have to throw out your baking sheet like how I had to throw out mine. Okay, so I probably could have scrubbed with all my might to get the cemented on syrup off but 1) I have no time for that crap 2) I probably would have just scraped off the non-stick coating making the pan just about useless.

Anyway, the strawberries are incredible. They are juicy, full-bodied, and down right scrumptious. The combination of the strawberries, sugar, lemon, and bourbon all work so well together. The sugar makes the strawberries even sweeter and helps make the best syrup ever. The lemon makes all to pop and enhances the sweetness too. And the bourbon… well, the bourbon just makes them all the better to the 10th power.

The concentrated flavor in the mushy berries are perfect for topping a cup of yogurt, bowl of oatmeal, slice of toast, adding to smoothies or milkshakes, piling on a scoop of ice cream, or layering in parfaits. And, of course, awesome for piling on pancakes or waffles. Yep, you’re damn right I was gonna say waffles. #WaffleWednesday

I used vanilla sugar, which is just sugar that has been infused with scraped vanilla beans. I have a big ‘ol container of this that I use in tea or things like this. But plain granulated sugar is just as fine as well. And if you have a vanilla bean lying around then scrape that and add it to the while mess of ingredients when you are mixing them up.

You’ll love these strawberries. I insist that when you have the chance stock up on this beautifully ripe summertime fruit when you have the chance. Fill your cart up and then make loads and loads of roasted strawberries. They won’t last long in the baking sheet or in your fridge.

These strawberries will change your life. I swear. Now, do as I say!

Roasted Strawberries

Makes 1/2 Cup

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Bourbon
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Process

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover your entire rimmed baking sheet with a large piece of parchment paper or a non-stick baking liner.
2. Hull the strawberries. Halve the strawberries. Only quarter them if they are really large.
3. Combine all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
4. Pour the strawberries on the baking sheet.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Store in an air-tight container for up to 1 week. Serve on pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, quinoa, or yogurt. Enjoy!