Strawberry time

I know I know, what is a good strawberry shortcake without whipped cream? Well I have no heavy cream and no cool whip in the house. Actually I baked up these shortcakes to take to my in-laws for a Father's Day dessert. They were not sponge cake like but more like a biscuit with a bit of sweetness added. I really enjoyed them and I think everyone else did also. I think a bit of lemon zest would also be a great addition to this shortcake recipe.

Scrumptious Strawberry Shortcake

(Source: Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2) In a large bowl, mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and cream of tartar. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives. Stir in cream and egg. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 2 minutes. Press into a half-inch thick sheet. Cut into squares. Place on baking sheets.
3) Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons sugar over sliced berries.
4) Let shortcakes cool before splitting and filling with sugared berries.

My modifications:

* I reduced the amount of cream of tarter to only 1/8 tsp rather than 3/4 tsp.

* I used the food processor to "cut in" the butter, worked wonderful and such a time saver!

* I used 2% milk instead of the heavy cream

* added 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract to the mixture

* Sprinkled top of shortcakes with sugar before baking