Strawberry Ice Cream Topping

For the first few weeks of our summer CSA, Dave and I got some very lovely, very sweet strawberries that we enjoyed just rinsed and sliced and in smoothies.  But they were so farm fresh that I was afraid we wouldn't be able to enjoy the whole pint (or two) before they turned.  So I looked for a way to use them without adding a ton of sugar or masking their natural sweetness.  And what better way to enjoy strawberries than on top of vanilla ice cream?  Just a little slicing and a few minutes on the stove top, and this strawberry sauce is exact what you want to top your ice cream sundae.  Dave hasn't touched the chocolate syrup or hot fudge since I made this.  And rightfully so.

Last summer, Michelle at Brown Eyed Baker spent a week seducing ice cream lovers with her homemade toppings, including this strawberry sauce that couldn't be simpler.  I remembered that she'd made it, but I was skeptical because I didn't want to turn these beautiful berries into something too sweet to truly enjoy since they were so perfect from the start.  So of course I was tickled to read the recipe used just a little extra sugar and some vanilla to make a perfect topping.  Honestly, it took me longer to chop the berries than it did to make the sauce, mostly because my berries were so small from the farm (small ones are sweeter!).  The good news was that I didn't need to hull the majority of these strawberries, so that saved some time.  do yourself a favor and either pick up some farm fresh strawberries or use only the small, bright red variety, not the enhanced, super huge and low flavor varieties you often find in the grocery store.  It'll be worth the difference when you build an amazing ice cream sundae.

Strawberry Ice Cream Topping

Ingredients

1 pint strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Rinse, hull and chop strawberries.  Set aside 1/3 cup chopped strawberries and put the rest in a medium sauce pan.

Add sugar to the saucepan and place over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens.

Remove from heat, stir in reserves strawberries and vanilla.  Allow sauce to cool to room temperature.

Spoon over ice cream and store remaining sauce in an airtight container, refrigerated.

Makes about 2 cups.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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