Oregon strawberries are the best. That’s not just my biased opinion as a native Oregonian; there is science to back it up. They’re juicier than average, packed full of flavor and bring up so many memories from childhood that it’s impossible to beat our home state’s varieties of (accessory) fruit.

If you want to jump in the Oregon strawberry action, now is your chance as they are finally in season. But don’t sleep on these sweet treats of nature. They don’t last long. Farm stands and growers at the farmer’s markets sell out of them quickly, though some offer pre-orders and notifications when they come in. Just make sure you get there early the day they have them.

However, if you miss out on the more homegrown variety (like I did recently) you can still pick up some great berries from local stands or at your favorite farmer’s market and serve great summertime treats via the following recipes.

Strawberry vanilla sorbet

This easy and fast no-churn sorbet is the perfect treat at the end of a hot summer day, and a great use of those strawberries that have gone a little mushy or aren’t the best looking among your flat. Make it the night before you want to serve it, or in the morning the day of in order to ensure it has time to set.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 pints of strawberries

⅓ cup lemon juice

Directions

In a small or medium saucepan over medium heat make simple syrup by heating the water, sugar and vanilla until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Turn off the heat, remove the pan from the burner and allow the syrup to cool to room temperature. You can refrigerate it if you plan on making the rest of the sorbet later, otherwise make sure it’s cooled to at least lukewarm before continuing.

Clean your berries, de-stem them and leave them whole. Place them in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth but not pureed.

Add the syrup and lemon juice and give it a couple of blitzes in the blender to incorporate them.

In a small loaf pan, pour the entire mixture and freeze, uncovered for about two hours then give the mix a stir while still in the freezer. Allow to freeze for at least five to six hours before serving. If you freeze it overnight, allow it to warm up for about 10 to 20 minutes (depending on how deep the dish is) and serve.

Strawberry shortcake

You may already have a go-to recipe for shortcake. You may even like to use your pantry-staple pancake mix as a start. Now, you could be very uniform with this recipe and roll out your dough and use a biscuit cutter to make evenly sized shortcakes, but that takes more time and space than my life and kitchen allow. Plus, I prefer a more home-style look to my shortcake.

Ingredients

2 pints of strawberries, washed and de-stemmed

4 tablespoons of sugar or more to taste (for strawberries)

4 cups flour

4 tablespoons sugar (for shortcake)

¼ teaspoon salt

5 teaspoons baking powder

1½ cups butter (1 cup softened, ½ cup melted)

1½ cups heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped cream to serve

Directions

In a medium mixing bowl, mix sliced strawberries with 4 tablespoons of sugar, or more depending on your taste and personal preference. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow juices and sugar to fully integrate.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

In another medium mixing bowl, sift flour, 4 tablespoons of sugar, salt and baking powder. Add in 1 cup of softened butter and work it through with your hands until combined with the dry ingredients. Add whipping cream and work through until you have a soft dough.

With your hands pull some dough off and roll it into a ball and flatten it into a palm-sized round about a ¼-inch thick. This should make about 12 rounds. Place half on a greased or buttered baking tray.

Mix the vanilla with the ½ cup of melted butter then coat the rounds on the tray. Add the remaining half of the rounds on top of the others and brush with the remaining butter.

Bake for 10-20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Allow it to cool slightly.

Slice in half and place a hefty scoop of strawberries in the middle with whipped cream then place the top shortcake half on top. Add more berries and whipped cream and serve.

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