Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries are here!!!! The season doesn’t last very long, so when I saw our local farmers market post on facebook that their strawberries were in, I decided to go get some because I knew exactly what I wanted to make with them…Strawberry Shortcake!!

Now, I’ve had some really bad strawberry shortcakes. Seriously, the biscuits were too dry and the crumbly. Not good. There was also the issue of the strawberries. They were just heaped on top of the shortcake…again, dry. I knew I could do better. I started looking at recipes and took what I liked from several and came up with my own version.

On to the farmer’s market for strawberries! Kuhlwein’s Farm Market is a short jaunt from where we live. I headed over early so I could grab a couple quarts of berries before they ran out.

Holy cow! Look who wanted to come say hello!!! How cute are you?! Do you want to come home with me???

I’m so lucky to have this farmer’s market close to my house, but if you aren’t close, it’s totally worth the drive. They sell all sorts of local, homegrown produce and other dry and baked goods. One thing that caught my eye was the Ohio honey! Yum!

Now on to the pièces de résistance, the strawberries!!!

These are not your regular grocery store strawberries. If you don’t eat them within a few days, they will go bad. I have heard that rinsing them with vinegar will help them to last longer, but I haven’t tried it.

I took 2 quarts home and made THE BEST strawberry shortcake EVER! Please, if you have some fresh berries, I am begging you to try this recipe. You will not regret it!

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Step 1:

I started with 2 quarts of strawberries and sliced 5 cups (pictured left), and quartered the other 3 cups (pictured right).

Step 2:

Crush the quartered strawberries with a potato masher and mix with sliced strawberries. Add 6 tablespoons of sugar and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Step 3:

Biscuits!

Mix together 2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Wisk together until incorporated

Step 4:

Quarter 1/2 cup butter and add to flour mixture and cut in with a pastry blender (2 knives work well if you don’t have a pastry blender).

Step 5:

Make a well in the center and pour in 1/2 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of half-and-half.

Step 6:

Mix with fork just until flour is moistened. Dump onto floured surface and knead 13 times. Pat dough into a 9 x 9 inch circle about 1 inch thick. Cut out 10 dough rounds using a floured biscuit cutter (a floured wine glass works well if you don’t have a biscuit cutter).

Step 7:

Bake biscuits at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Step 8:

Assemble and enjoy!!!!

Strawberries

Quarter 3 cups strawberries and mash
Slice 5 cups strawberries
Mix together berries with 6 tablespoons of sugar
Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes

Biscuits

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
In an mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.
Quarter 1/2 cup butter and cut in to flour mixture with a pastry blender.
Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in 1/2 cup milk and 1/4 cup half-and-half. Mix with fork until moistened.
Pour dough onto floured surface and knead 13 times. Pat into 9 x 9 in round, 1 inch thick. Cut out biscuits with floured biscuit cutter.
Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

*Assembly – cut biscuits in half, horizontally. Spoon onto one half strawberries and whipped cream. Top with other half of biscuit.