Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
Strawberry season here in the Midwest seems to take place on one glorious week I can never locate. Those perfect, ripe jewels call my name in all their elusive glory and never disappoint. My sweet springtime muse has inspired so many unforgettable outfits- galettes, donuts. scones, muffins, cakes - the list goes on. I’ll never move on. The recipe I’m sharing today is inspired by perhaps the most famous iteration, strawberry shortcake. It is part cookie, part scone, and all the way delicious. She’s a little too fussy for our daily rotation, but is a common special order. Those who know, really know; and keep us busy (for which we are ever grateful)!
The technique I’d love to spotlight in this recipe is “cutting butter.” A pastry cutter (linked here in case you need one; not sponsored), is a fantastic tool often overlooked in favor of its less laborious friend, the food processor. If you bake routinely, you’ll surely be familar with the direction to cut cold butter into pea-sized pieces spread throughout a flour mixture. This can be accomplished in many ways, but the trusty pastry cutter is perhaps my favorite. It allows you manual control over your dough so you can avoid overworking it. I love to cube my butter with a benchscraper (another favorite tool), and place in the freezer ahead of time. This step will yield such better strawberry shortcake cookies you won’t believe your luck.
Be Sweet &
see you soon,
Geri
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
Ingredients
1 C strawberries, hulled and diced
1 tsp. fresh lemon zest and juice
90 grams plus 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 C Cherbourg flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
3.5 ounces of cold salted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 C heavy cream
sanding sugar, for sprinkling
¾ C mini white chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat over 350 degrees F.
Combine strawberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a tablespoon of granulated sugar in a small colander. Allow juices from strawberries to drain into a dish.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and 90 grams of sugar in a large bowl. Cut in cold butter pieces with a pastry cutter. Do this until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Cut in cream until dough starts to come together, but still appears shaggy. Then gently fold in strawberries and white chocolate chips until evenly distributed. (Mixing too much will break down the berries, so take her easy.)
Form the dough into small balls, roughly the size of a ping pong ball (approximately 30 grams), onto a lined baking sheet. Space evenly apart.
Press down lightly and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown, 15-17 minutes. Transfer finished cookies to wire rack to cool.
