Love mason jar desserts? Then these cute berry shortcakes are for you! Mixed berries are layered with whipped cream and buttery shortcakes in jars to create the perfect single-serving summer dessert!
Why You’ll Love Mason Jar Desserts
Mason jars aren’t just for canning and Pinterest-inspired home decor: they’re also a fantastic tool for the home baker! They’re endlessly versatile. You can:
- Bake directly in them, like this Pear Pie in a Jar
- Fill them with mousse, pudding or custard, like with these Dirt Pudding Cups
- Assemble layered trifles in them, like these Red Velvet Cake in a Jar or Doughnut Trifles
- …and so much more!
Best of all, Mason jar desserts are portable, single-serving, and–need I mention?–extremely cute! So as berry season approaches, I’m sharing a wonderful spring and summertime dessert: Mixed Berry Shortcakes in Jars!
🧾 What You’ll Need
Ingredients
Fittingly, the ingredient list for these shortcakes is blessedly short. You’ll need…
- Crescent dough: This recipe makes use of crescent dough as a shortcut to creating buttery, crisp shortbread rounds. Crescent dough is typically found in the refrigerated section near canned cinnamon rolls and biscuits. If you cannot find it sold in whole sheets, you can use the precut croissant rolls. You can also use homemade biscuits, shortcrust biscuits (like in this Strawberry Shortcake recipe!), or even puff pastry.
- Berries: You’ll want about 3 cups of berries. Feel free to swap in whatever is available and fresh where you are. For a more tropical fruit jar, consider adding in kiwi, mango, or dragon fruit.
- Lime juice: Lime juice adds a little bit of tartness to the fruit mixture, and also helps them release their juices. Lemon juice will also do the job here, and you can use either fresh or from concentrate.
- Whipped cream: Nothing beats homemade whipped cream, but swapping in a tub of whipped topping is also perfectly acceptable!
🥄 Equipment
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- Mason jars: This one is pretty obvious! You’ll want to use 8-ounce wide-mouth mason jars. You could also use smaller jars for mini desserts.
- Round cutters: You can use either a 2-inch or 3-inch round cutter.
- Baking sheets: Heavy-duty baking sheets will keep the bottoms of the shortcakes from burning and help cookies bake evenly.
- Parchment paper: I never bake directly on my baking sheets–it’s all about the parchment, baby! Save time and cleanup by using silicone liners or parchment paper when baking.
📋 Instructions
How to Prepare Berries for Shortcake
The first step is to macerate the berries. Macerating is similar to marinating, in that you mix fruit with sugar (and in this case, lime juice) in order for the fruit to soften and release its juices. Some fruits with thick skin, like blueberries, can be macerated for longer, while others, like strawberries, will need much less time.
- Wash and prepare the berries, then place them in a bowl with granulated sugar and lime juice.
- Stir well, then let the berries sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. During this time you’ll notice the berries softening and the mixture become much juicer!
Bake the Crescent Dough Shortcakes
- Unroll the crescent dough sheet. If you’re using the precut dough, gently press together the seams so it stays in one sheet.
- Using a 2 or 3 inch round cookie cutter, cut out 9 circles. If you use a 3 inch round cookie cutter, you may need to cut the cooked biscuits down slightly to fit inside the jar.
- Line one of the baking sheets with a parchment paper sheet, and lay the crescent circles on top. Top with another piece of parchment and a second baking sheet–this is to weigh the crescent rolls down during baking so that they don’t puff up too much.
- Bake until golden brown, then cool completely.
Assemble the Shortcake Jars
Now for the fun part…assembly! Start layering shortcake -> mixed berries -> whipped cream, and continue until each jar is full. You should get about 3 layers in each jar.
Top with more whipped cream, berries, and a sprig of mint if you’re fancy!
💡 Storage Instructions
My personal preference is to eat these desserts as soon as they’re made. I love the contrast between the buttery, crisp shortbread and the soft berries and cream.
However, if you don’t mind a softer, cakier shortbread experience, these shortcake jars do keep well! To store them in the refrigerator, place lids on your mason jars and eat them within 2-3 days. You can also store these in the freezer for a few months, then thaw in the refrigerator for a delicious cold, creamy dessert.
Don’t miss the step-by-step tutorial showing how to make Berry Shortcake in Jars – check out the web story here!
🍓 More Fresh Berry Desserts
Blueberry Layer Cake
Pear Pie In A Jar
Berry Shortcake in a Jar
Ingredients
- ¾ cup blueberries
- ¾ cup strawberries hulled and sliced
- ¾ cup raspberries
- ¾ cup blackberries
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 TBSP fresh lime juice (from approx 1/2 a lime)
- 1 crescent dough sheet (8 oz sheet)
- 2 cups whipped cream
- fresh mint leaves optional garnish
Instructions
- Wash all the berries, and hull and slice the strawberries. Place all the berries in a bowl, and cover them with the granulated white sugar and lime juice.
- Stir well, then let them sit for 30 minutes before plating. Stir them a few times during this time, so they get nice and sweet and juicy.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare two baking sheets and two parchment paper sheets. Set this aside for now.
- Roll out the crescent roll sheet. Using a 2 or 3 inch round cookie cutter, cut out 9 circles.
- Line one of the baking sheets with a parchment paper sheet, and lay the crescent circles on top.
- Place the second parchment sheet on top of the crescent roll, followed by the second baking sheet. This is to weigh the crescent rolls down during baking so that they don’t puff up too much.
- Bake in the oven for 5-6 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool completely.
- To assemble, use a wide mouth mason jar and assemble layer by layer.
- For the first layer, place a shortcake cake followed by a handful of the berries mixture followed by the whipped cream. Repeat until the mason jar is full (about 3 sets). Top off with a little more cream, and a few fresh berries and mint (optional). Repeat until you've assembled all the jars.
- For the best taste and texture, these jars are best enjoyed within a few hours of assembly. However, if you don't mind a softer, cakier shortbread experience, these shortcake jars do keep well! To store them in the refrigerator, place lids on your mason jars and eat them within 2-3 days. You can also store these in the freezer for a few months, then thaw in the refrigerator for a delicious cold, creamy dessert.
Recipe Notes
- If you want a thicker biscuit, double up the croissant sheet and bake for 2-3 minutes longer.
- If you use the 3 inch round cookie cutter, you may need to cut the cooked biscuits down slightly to fit inside the jar. I used a 2-inch cookie cutter because of this.
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
Nutrition
About Elizabeth LaBau
I’m Elizabeth, but you can call me SugarHero! I’m a former pastry chef turned blogger, cookbook author, and baking instructor, and I consider myself sugar’s #1 fan. Learn more from my About page, or connect with me on social media:
Love Jar Desserts, because there is so much portion control. This one is too good to resist!
Agreed! Cute AND single-serving…what’s not to love? 😀
These are going to be just perfect for Memorial Day and the 4th of July!
Yes!!! I see lots of picnics with these in the future. 🙂
A delicious and tasty treat with a fun presentation; was exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth!
Thanks Sara! Haven’t found a cure for my own sweet tooth yet, but maybe one day, haha.
This is such a fun and easy dessert to make! It’s super refreshing, kid friendly, and feels like summer in a jar! 🙂
Thank you Anjali! Summer in a jar is the perfect way to describe it. 😀
I love the presentation of these! I have enough mason jars to make these for a summer get together! Thanks so much for the idea!
Thanks Jamie! Mason jar desserts are the BEST!
I love learning how to make desert s
Hi Cathy! I’m so glad! Thanks for trying out my recipes. Happy baking!!