Strawberry Shortcake

Another entry in the "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" files :)
I love strawberries. Looooove them. I'm allergic to a lot of fruits, but not berries.

My mom's birthday request is always strawberry shortcake. I'll be in London on her birthday, so I decided to make strawberry pie for Mother's Day! The pie part didn't work out great, so I made these yummy biscuits and called it shortcake!

Me & my mom at my high school graduation :)

These biscuits are probably better for dinner, but we loved them nonetheless.
The strawberry mix would be delicious on top of ice cream, pound cake, brownies, even as cake filling! The possibilities really are endless with these babies.

Did anyone else watch Strawberry Shortcake as a kid? I LOVED that show. Apparently I always called the main character Strawberry Shortcakie, so that's what I'm gonna call these :)

Strawberry Shortcakies
Strawberry Topping
Adapted from The Nifty Foodie
Ingredients:
Fresh strawberries- 4 pints (~3 lbs), gently rinsed, dried, and hulled
Sugar- 3/4 c
Cornstarch- 2 tbsp
Sure-Jell (liquid)- 1 1/2 tsp
Table salt- a generous pinch
Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
Cool Whip (for topping)
Directions:
1. Pick through your strawberries and choose ~6 oz worth of the ugliest ones- misshapen, squashed, under-ripe, etc. Halve the large ones. Use a food processor or blender to puree the berries ~30 seconds. This should leave you with 3/4 c of pureed berries.
2. Combine pureed berries, sugar, cornstarch, Sure-Jell and salt in a medium sized saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
3. Bring mix to a full boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Make sure you scrape the bottom and sides of the saucepan multiple times.
4. Take mix off the stove and stir in lemon juice. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.
5. Pick through remaining strawberries and choose 2 lbs of the prettier berries. Halve the large ones.
6. Add the berries to the cooled strawberry mix and fold gently to coat. Let cool ~1-2 hours. Serve over warm biscuits with a dollop of Cool Whip.
Buttermilk Biscuits
Courtesy of The New York Times, via Food People Want
Yield: a LOT of biscuits, depending on the size of your biscuit cutter (at least 2 dozen 3")
Note: these steps have to be done one right after the other, so make sure you have all your ingredients out and measured before you start!
Ingredients:
Cream of tartar- 1 tbsp
Baking soda- 1 1/2 tsp
All-purpose flour- 5 c, plus more as needed
Kosher salt- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Lard or unsalted butter- 1/2 c + 2 tbsp (1 stick + 2 tbsp), chilled and cut into pieces
Cultured buttermilk- 2 c, chilled
Unsalted butter- 3 tbsp, melted (for brushing on biscuits afterward)
Directions:
1. Make your own baking powder by combining cream of tartar and baking soda in a large bowl (makes biscuits with lots of lift).
2. Add flour and salt. Add lard/butter and quickly toss the pieces with the flour and rub together. The pieces should be coarsely blended and look like large peas.
3. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. Mix ingredients together until mixture just comes together. Add 1-2 tbsp more buttermilk if it seems dry.
4. Turn out the dough onto a generously floured surface and knead about 10 times until a ball forms. Gently flatten the dough and use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out a thickness of 3/4 inch.
5. Dip a fork in flour and pierce dough at half inch intervals. Stamp out biscuits using a 2 1/2 or 3" biscuit cutter. (The recipe recommends fluted, but my straight edged ones worked fine.)
6. Arrange biscuits on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at 500 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter.

Note: for dessert biscuits, use just 1 tsp of salt, and sprinkle some sugar on top before baking.

Enjoy!