Southern Style Strawberry Shortcake
I don't know about you but I love it when the strawberries are in season! Here in Indiana, we have to wait a little longer than some folks do down south. So, until my strawberries are ready for picking I have to rely on the local grocery store for those beautiful, red, sweet, delicious, and amazingly perfect berries. However, you get your strawberries I know that Strawberry Shortcake is a Southern staple dessert. So no matter where you are from I can guarantee that this dessert will always be a favorite!
Ingredients:
Pre ~ Heat 425*
Strawberry Filling:
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4 Cups of Strawberry's hulled and washed
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1 Cup of Granulated Sugar
Biscuits:
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2 cups all-purpose flour
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1 tablespoon baking powder
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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4 tablespoons sugar
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1 stick butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
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3/4 cup of milk
Whipped topping:
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1 Cup of heavy whipping cream
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dash of vanilla extract
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(optional) 3-4 TBS Sugar
First, don't forget to pre~heat your over to 425*.
Next, wash and hull all of the strawberries. Put Slice them lengthwise down the center and then 3-4 times the other direction.
Toss them in a large bowl with 1 Cup of granulated sugar and cover. Set them aside for about an hour or so. The longer they sit the more syrupy goodness it creates!
In a large mixing bowl combine the 2 cups of flour,
1 TBS of baking powder, ½ tsp. salt, and 4 TBS of sugar.
Whisk together.
Cut the stick of butter into about 24 pieces and add to the mixture. Blend with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. It is perfect when it still has small sized chunks of butter left in the mixture.
Next, make a well in the center. With a rubber spatula stir in the milk just until the dough is moist. Be very careful not to overwork the dough. The dough will be very sticky and not hold up well together. Set the dough aside and let it rest in the bowl for a few minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. I mean very lightly floured surface, you can dust a little on your hands. But the more flour you put into it the harder the biscuits will be. I prefer them light and fluffy so don’t use too much extra flour if you can help it. Fold the dough over on itself and knead it only about 2 or 3 times, until it starts to hold together better and is a little less sticky in consistency.
With your hands pat the dough until it is about 3/4-inch thick and cut into 8 biscuits with a floured round cutter or if you’re me and don’t have one a floured glass.
Arrange the biscuits on a buttered foil-lined cookie sheet.
Place the biscuits on a buttered foil-lined cookie sheet. Brush with a little milk and sprinkle tops with some sugar.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until they have risen and become a beautiful golden brown color on top.
So as the biscuits are baking we can make some homemade whipped topping! It tastes so much better than store bought!
With the whisk attachment, whip the heavy whipping cream with a dash of vanilla extract together.
(If you want to sweeten it up a little drop in about 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar.)
When it holds a soft peak, like a meringue you will know it is ready. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Ok, back to the strawberry part of this recipe!
The luscious strawberries and sugar mixture should now be almost ready with its' beautiful syrupy goodness! But, to help it along I like to take my potato masher and gently squeeze out some of the wonderful syrup.
Now, just assemble. Cut the biscuit down the center top the first layer with the strawberries, add the top biscuit with a little bit of whipped cream and a garnish of more strawberry.
Enjoy!
