STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Strawberries:
3 pints strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/3 c. granulated sugar, or to taste
Whip Cream:
1 c. COLD heavy cream or whipping cream
1 Tbls. confectioners' sugar, or to taste
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Biscuits:
2 c. all purpose flour
1 Tbls. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. heavy cream, plus some for brushing

In a bowl, mix the berries and sugar with a wooden spoon. I like to mash a few of the berries on the side of the bowl with the back of the spoon. It gets the juices flowing. Let this mixture sit while you prepare the biscuits and whip cream. Stir occasionally. Pick a berry out of the bowl and eat one every time you walk by it. They are good! Pretend to yell at the kids when they do the same.

Now for the biscuits. Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly butter a baking sheet OR use your SILPAT. I usually avoid anything non-stick or silicone. However, I make an exception for the SILPAT. They are a must for your kitchen, The first time you make cookies on one you will fall in love. Click here to see them.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add cream and stir just until a dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and gently knead just a few times on a lightly floured surface. Gently roll, with a rolling pin, the dough into a circle about 10" in diameter. Cut out as many rounds as you can fit with a lightly floured cutter. I used a 2" cutter. If you don't have biscuit cutters, you can use a cookie cutter with whatever shape is fun. Gather the scraps, re-roll and cut more biscuits.

Brush the top of the uncooked rounds with heavy cream. Bake until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

For the whip cream:

Beat the heavy cream and confectioner's sugar in a medium bowl with electric hand mixer or in your stand mixer. Make sure your cream is very cold. When I was in pastry school part of our final was to make whip cream by hand. We would hold big stainless steels bowls filled with cream over even bigger stainless steel bowls filled with ice. Then, with whisks the size of baseball bats, we would whisk until the pain in your arm travelled up into your neck and down into your hip. We did this many times. I kiss my Kitchen Aid mixer every time it makes whip cream for me!

To assemble:

Split biscuits. Place bottom on plate, load up with some strawberries, give it a good dollop of whip cream and top with the other half of the biscuit. If you grow mint in your garden, grab some for garnish!