Strawberry Shortcake

My kids and I officially kicked off our summer with a visit to a local farm for some strawberry picking! I had a fantastic time in the kitchen finding multiple ways to use up the delicious berries. This was the first thing I made (more strawberry posts to come!). It's hard to go wrong with eating strawberries on homemade shortcake (sorry, Mom). I halved the recipe to make four small cakes. We ate two that night and enjoyed them again for lunch the next day, but they were just ok on day two. Fresh is definitely best with this one. For step by step pictures, visit Ashley's post.


1 1/2 pounds (about 6 cups) fresh strawberries
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for dusting
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
whipped cream


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make the sweetened strawberries: Hull and quarter strawberries; toss in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup sugar (I only added about 1 Tbsp. The berries were so sweet and fresh, I hated to mess with the natural flavor). Let stand until syrupy, tossing occasionally, at least 20 minutes (and up to 1 day, covered and refrigerated).

In a food processor (or using a pastry cutter), combine flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk; pulse/mix just until moistened, 4 or 5 times. Do not overprocess.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; with floured hands, gently pat dough into a 4-by-8-inch rectangle.

Dust a large knife with flour; cut dough into 8 squares. Transfer to a baking sheet; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes; cool on baking sheet. To serve, split biscuits with a serrated knife; layer with berries and whipped cream.