June 14th is National Strawberry Shortcake Day!
It’s also Flag Day!
It’s also my birthday 
Because my birthday falls on Flag Day, I am partial to red, white, and blue. They are the colors in my kitchen and I will be wearing the colors today (yes, I am one of those people!).
To keep with the theme, I decided to incorporate it into my strawberry shortcake! I made a batch of biscuits that I dyed blue! Top the biscuits with your choice of whipped cream, Cool Whip, or vanilla ice cream, then top with strawberries!
Strawberry Shortcake
Makes 6 biscuits
Prep time: 10 minutes Bake time: 10 minutes
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, cold and diced
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup milk
Blue gel food coloring (I use Americolor)
*Cut-up strawberries
*Whipped cream, Cool Whip, or vanilla ice cream
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the milk, vanilla bean paste, and a few drops of blue food coloring. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, triple sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in the cold butter, and using a fork or a pastry blender, work in the butter until the flour and butter mixture resembles coarse sand. Add in most of the milk mixture and mix until the dough just comes together (adding the rest of the milk, if needed). Turn out onto a floured surface, and gently gather the dough into a ball. With your hands (no need for a rolling-pin today!), gently flatten out the dough (no specific size or shape, but don’t go thinner than 1/2 inch thick). Fold one side of the dough into the middle, then fold the other side of the dough all the way over the first fold (like an envelope). Gently flatten the dough again, then fold the dough like before. Note: after the 1st folding, I had more of a rectangle shape, so for the second folding, I took the top and folded it towards the middle, then took the bottom and folded it over the top. Folding the dough like this gives you layers to your biscuits!
Gently flatten the dough one last time. With a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into the desired quantity. Note: I cut mine width-wise in 3, then each one in half (to give me 6 biscuits). Transfer to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool (at least for a few minutes) before eating!
To prepare, cut each biscuit in half (through the middle) and set on a plate (or bowl). Top with whipped cream (or Cool Whip or vanilla ice cream!), then top with strawberries. Serve and enjoy!
Note: I cut up my strawberries ahead of time and mix them with a little sugar. *I’m not listing amounts for the strawberries and whipped cream, because everybody likes different amounts of each (my brother would eat half a container of Cool Whip on these, if I would let him!).
Made with love, not calories!
I’m linked at: Saturday Dishes.
Also, last month’s challenge was to make sourdough bread with a natural starter…they had to nurture the starter for 7 days before making bread!)
