Strawberry Shortcake

I make a damn good shortcake and anyone who has had it can tell you so. With today being a traditional Strawberry Shortcake holiday, I thought I share my recipe for the delicious biscuit shortcake I make.

Mind you, it takes years of trial and error to come up with the perfect recipe, and also mind you there is always room for interpretation and improvement. This was my thought process as I began delving into the world of biscuits. Following the traditional methods I would fail every time. I don’t know why, but something in those traditional recipes left my biscuits flat and chewy instead of light and fluffy. Eventually I employed the services of a food processor and my life would never be the same.

Instead of only making the butter pea sized, I processed it until it resembled bread crumbs before adding the liquids. This is quite contrary to most biscuit recipes, but has yielded the most superb results for me and hopefully will do the same for you. Just make sure your butter and buttermilk are cold.

Cory’s Shortcake

Preaheat oven to 450º

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)

Process in a food processor until completely combined, or whisk in a large bowl to make sure all dry ingredients are combined.

Add:
1 stick butter, cut into small cubes

Process in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs or use a pastry knife or two knives to do the same.

Add:
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Process in a food processor until a ball forms, adding more buttermilk a half teaspoon at a time if needed, or knead dough with your hands if not using a food processor until it is no longer dry. Place the dough ball on a floured surface and knead 10 to 15 times and flatten it out with your hands to about half an inch, working quickly so as to not melt the butter. With a sharp knife, cut the flattened circle into 8 to 10 triangles and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove shortcake to a wire rack and allow to completely cool.

Once your shortcake is ready, simply top it with some delicious fresh strawberries (some varieties this time of year are so sweet no sugar is needed) and some whipped cream, or for a festive Red White and Blue variation, add a few blueberries too. Enjoy!