Strawberry Shortcake (Recipe for Shortcakes)

This year I decided I didn't want to buy the strange little spongey, moist-yet-dry shortcakes that are sold in the produce section right next to the strawberries. I decided to apply the whole "cook it yourself" mantra to Strawberry Shortcake. The result? I was asked to not lose this recipe. It's old school--Betty Crocker. The dough makes a sweet biscuit that soaks up the magic strawberry goodness. I used the recipe for macerated strawberries (strawberries, with fresh OJ and sugar) from last April's post. I also omitted the sugar from one batch of strawberries and that worked fine too.

The Shortcakes
1/3 C butter (chilled)
2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/3 C sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 C milk
1 egg yolk slightly beaten
1 t granulated sugar

Cut butter into flour and add the 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into flour with butter knives or a pastry cutter until it resembles large crumbs. Add milk and knead until dough forms. Pat out to about 1 inch thick. Cut into rounds (I chose to make diamonds). Place on cookie sheet and brush tops of biscuits with egg yolk and sprinkle with the 1 t sugar. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Cool.

How to Turn this into Strawberry Shortcake
Prepare the strawberries as listed above at least 2-3 hours ahead so the syrup has a chance to get rolling. To serve, cut a biscuit in half then spoon the strawberries (and juice/syrup) over the biscuit letting the juice soak in. Add whipped cream and it's done.

Enjoy!

Suz

Recipe Source: BettyCrocker.com: Strawberry Shortcakes