What’s Cooking: Fresh eggs and strawberries for holiday dishes

Cut the strawberries in half lengthwise. Try to keep some of the leaves on each half. Place strawberries cut side down on a paper towel for 10 minutes. Strawberries need to be as dry as possible for the coating to stick.

Place the white chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl (wider is better than deeper). Microwave on medium-high for 20 seconds, stir and repeat until melted. (Avoid overheating white chocolate.) Dip each strawberry half in the coating until covered. Coating the cut side thoroughly is more important than covering all of the rounded side.

Immediate place berries, cut side down, on a sheet of parchment paper on a flat pan. Allow to set in a cool room, at least 15 minutes, though a few hours is better. Save any extra coating.

Carefully peel dipped strawberries from paper and set on curved side. Berries may “weep” a bit after setting; dab with paper towels. Gently remelt extra coating, if needed, to repair holes or thin spots; use a small spatula.

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium-high until well combined. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and food dye (12 to 14 drops for a yolk color), combining thoroughly.

Put the cream cheese mixture in a piping bag with a large tip or a zip-close plastic bag and cut off a small corner. Pipe into the center of the strawberries. Best served the day they’re made.

Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 10-inch springform pan.

Beat egg whites, vinegar, vanilla and salt with electric mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form (when you lift beaters, you’ll get soft peaks that slump over). Gradually beat in sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, with mixer on high, until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Spread in prepared springform pan. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes or until lightly browned and puffed. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. (Meringue will fall in the center.) Run a knife around the edge of the pan before removing outer ring. Run knife underneath to release it from the pan bottom.

Place meringue on a plate. Just before serving, spread center with whipped cream and top with strawberries. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin cups with paper baking cups; coat cups with cooking spray. Set pans aside.

In a small bowl, combine egg and whipping cream; set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the 1 cup strawberries. Make a well in the center of flour mixture.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the egg-cream mixture. Add the remaining mixture all at once to flour mixture. Using a fork, stir just until moistened (dough will be crumbly).

Spoon half of the dough into the muffin cups, filling each one-third full. Using a spoon or your thumb, make an indentation in the center of dough in each cup; fill each indentation with 1 teaspoon of jelly or jam. Spoon the remaining dough into cups. Brush with the reserved egg mixture.

Bake about 25 minutes, or until tops are golden. Cool in muffin cups on wire racks for 5 minutes, then remove from cups. Drizzle with scuffin icing. If desired, top with additional strawberries. Serve warm.

To make icing: In a small bowl, stir ingredients together. If needed, stir in enough additional whipping cream or milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to reach drizzling consistency.

Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Break croissants into bite-size piece and spread on the bottom of the pan.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, coconut flakes and 1/4 cup sugar. Add 1 cup of the strawberries and stir to combine.

Pour mixture evenly over the top of the croissants in the baking pan. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, remove foil and place remaining 1 cup of sliced strawberries evenly on top. Replace foil.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar evenly over the casserole. Put back in the oven without foil for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup if desired.