Strawberry Biscuits With Whipped Cream and Fresh Fruit

I was recently looking through Alison Roman’s cookbook Dining In (if you haven’t spent time with this book yet, I highly highly recommend it…and so does The New York Times) and I found the biscuit recipe that awarded her a job as a recipe developer for Bon Appetit (talk about food job goals). Since the recipe literally got her a job, I wanted to try it out for myself.

Below is my take on Alison’s “Luckiest Biscuits in America.” I changed the recipe a bit, adding my own twist by incorporating freeze-dried strawberries into the biscuit dough. I did this to add extra tang and brighten the flavor of the buttery biscuits, as well as weave strawberry throughout the recipe.

Strawberry Biscuits

Yields: 8 biscuits and 2 cups whipped cream

INGREDIENTS

Strawberry Biscuits:

3 1/4 cups AP flour, set aside 1/4 cup for rolling dough
2 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 sticks butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, ice colllddd (#andre3000)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup freeze dried strawberries

Whipped Cream:

1 cup cold heavy cream

2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

STEPS

Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper.

MAKE THE BISCUITS: Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Next, combine the butter into the flour mixture. To get that flakey dough that we all know and love, make sure there are no massive pieces of butter in your dough, but small pieces are okay.

Pour the buttermilk into your dry mixture and begin mixing everything together with your hands. Once the mixture comes together to form a ball, knead the dough in the bowl to make sure no dry bits are left behind.

Lightly flour a clean flat surface with your remaining 1/4 cup flour.

Turn the dough out onto your floured surface and knead it a couple more times. Press the dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle about 12 inches by 6 inches. Cut the dough in half hot dog style, then cut each half in half. You will have four pieces. Split each piece in half (AGAIN), and you should now have 8 pieces.

Place the biscuits onto the baking sheet and glaze the top of each with a healthy portion of buttermilk. Don’t worry if some drips down the sides (it’s actually better that way). To give your biscuits some extra pizazz, sprinkle them with some flaky sea salt (I use Maldon) or extra freeze-dried strawberries.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once (this helps everything cook evenly). You will know your biscuits are ready when they are puffed out nicely at the sides, and are delightfully golden brown on top and bottom.

Remove from the oven and let cool for as long as your patience lasts.

MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM: Add all ingredients to a medium bowl and beat with a whisk or mixer (hand or stand, whatever you’re feelin’).

Once peaks begin to form in the cream, your work is done. You want it to look like the kind of whipped cream you want to eat. Trust your gut, you got this.

ASSEMBLE: These biscuits are incredible with cream, jam and fresh fruit. Any seasonal fruit will do, but because it’s summer I used plums and strawberries. If your fruit needs a little extra love, sprinkle some sugar (use any kind of sugar you want; granulated, powdered, coconut, brown, light brown…) and a squeeze of lemon on top to enhance flavor. As for the cream, dollop it right on top or into a bowl in order to suit individual preferences.