Mint Strawberry Shortcake

 

Was talking with my friend Julie (Hi Julie!) yesterday about post ideas for today.  I said I still had a fridge full of berries and thought about doing something with those again.  She suggested doing a write-up about the proper way to make strawberry shortcake because depending on who you talk to, the make-up is different, some people do biscuits, some people do sponge cake, was there a reason for the difference, what was the what?

After doing some research, I discovered that there's really not much to it, but as not to leave you hanging, here's what I discovered in a nut shell.

In the 1840s, someone decided hey, if I cut open a shortcake (rich biscuit) and fill it with mooshed strawberries and throw some icing on it, it tastes pretty good.  Mmm.

Then somewhere down the line, someone decided, hey, instead of a biscuit, what if I put mooshed strawberries on some sponge cake/lady fingers/angel food cake and top it with whipped cream, it tastes pretty good.  Mmm.

Then somewhere further down the line, someone decided, hey, I think I want mooshed strawberries on a split biscuit with whipped cream.  Mmm.

The end.

So I dug through my old cookbooks and found this shortcake recipe in my 1941 Magic Chef Cooking cookbook.  Added some mint to the strawberries and voila!

Mint Strawberry Shortcake

1 qt. fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4-1/2 tbsp. butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup milk

Leaving 2-3 whole, hull and chop the rest of the strawberries. Mix in a bowl with the sugar and mint, then set in the fridge until ready to use.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Chop the butter into small cubes, then using a pastry blender or fork, work into the flour mixture until evenly distributed.  Will have a crumbly appearance, don't want it to be smooth.

Make a well in the middle of the mixture, then pour in the milk.  Using a fork, incorporate the milk until a sticky dough forms.

 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured mat and roll out to 3/4" thickness.

Cut dough with a biscuit cutter.  Dough can be re-rolled to make more biscuits.  You can get about eight 2-1/2" biscuits or six 3" biscuits from the dough.

Place biscuits on a greased or baking paper lined cookie sheet and brush with milk.

Bake at 450 degrees for 13-15 minutes until a golden brown color.

Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.  Cool to room temperature or you can eat them warm.  Though it might melt your whipped cream.

Split biscuits in half and cover bottom with berries.  Add a dollop of whipped cream before putting the biscuit top back on. A little more whipped cream, a strawberry slice or two to garnish and you are ready to go.

NOTES

The original recipe called for 4-1/2 tbsp. fat, so you could use shortening instead of butter if you wanted.

The sugar will bring out the strawberry juices, which soaks into the biscuit nicely.