Whole Grain Strawberry Shortcakes

Hi everyone! By God's grace, I'm almost all the way back to my peppy self since Friday!  Feeling myself again is such a blessing 😊!!  In today's post, I am going to share with you the recipe that I was planning to share last Friday 🙃.  (Better late than never, right?!)

If you had to name a quintessential summer dessert, what would you say?  In my opinion,  a classic strawberry shortcake is the epitome of summer.

The only downside of regular strawberry shortcake is how rich it is.  Now normally, I don't have a problem with rich desserts; I generally try to eat a wholesome diet and exercise, so a decadent dessert, (like these cupcakes) to indulge in is nothing to worry about.  However, since strawberry shortcake pretty much sums up summer, it must be readily available all summer long, which makes a lightened up version a must!

Let me walk you through this lightened up strawberry shortcake recipe by briefly breaking down the two main elements of this summer favorite:  the biscuit and the strawberry topping.

1.  The Biscuit

This biscuit recipe is so simple; It's prepped in just one bowl (except for beating the egg) and only requires basic ingredients that you probably already have at home.  In addition, after preparing the batter, all you have to do is spoon it into a greased round pan, bake it, slice the gigantic biscuit into triangles, and serve!

These biscuits boast some pretty sweet nutrition stats as well; they are 100% whole wheat and contain half the sugar of classic strawberry shortcake biscuits.  This makes these biscuits the perfect blank canvas upon which the strawberry topping shines!

2.  The Strawberry Topping

This strawberry topping is a study in textural contrast ( like this dish); half of the strawberries in the topping are sliced while the other half is blended down into a silky pureé.

Since strawberries are naturally sweet, juicy, and bursting with fresh flavor, I don't add a bunch of ingredients to the strawberry sauce.  I add some sugar to accentuate the sweetness of the berries and to draw out some moisture from the sliced portion.  I also add a bit of lemon juice to balance the sweetness of the strawberries and also to make them easier to blend up.

The result of pairing the biscuit in this post with the strawberry topping?:  A hearty, yet refreshing summer dessert.

While this strawberry shortcake recipe is perfectly tasty all in its own right, it's taken over the top on the tasty meter with a generous scoop of creamy, decadent vanilla ice cream.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do.  I based today's recipe from the strawberry shortcakes recipe in this cookbook.  Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!  I look forward to posting again on Monday 😊.

Whole Grain Strawberry Shortcakes

For the biscuits:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour, sifted
• 1/4 sugar
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 egg, slightly beaten

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2.  Grease and lightly flour the bottom and side of an 8 or 9-inch round pan.

3.  In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

4.  Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

5.  Stir in the milk just until blended.

6.  Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it around evenly.

7.  Bake the mixture in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the biscuit comes out clean.

8.  Cool the biscuit for 10 minutes before cutting into triangles and serving.

9.  Enjoy, storing leftover biscuits at room temperature for up to 3 days and freezing for up to a month.

For the Strawberry Topping:

• 2 pints strawberries, divided
• 2 T. granulated sugar
• 2 T. powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. lemon juice, divided

1.  Slice half of the strawberries lengthwise into thin pieces.

2.  Put these sliced strawberries in a medium bowl and coat with the granulated sugar and 1 tsp. of lemon juice, then set aside.

3.  In a food processor or blender, pureé the reserved half of strawberries with the powdered sugar and reserved 1tsp. of lemon juice until smooth.

4.  Add the strawberry pureé to the bowl of sliced strawberries, stir together, and spoon over sliced biscuits.  Enjoy!

5.  This strawberry mixture is best if eaten right away.