Happy Belated Father’s Day to all the wonderful dad’s out there!
I happened to be lucky enough to have the weekend off and was able to go back to my hometown, Portage to see my parents and wish my dad a happy Father’s Day. Before leaving Saturday morning, I got up a little early and made some whole grain honey biscuits to bring with me (recipe below).
On my way home, I stopped and picked up some of the very last strawberries of the season. They were nice and ripe and perfect for shortcake.
To prepare the strawberries for shortcake, start by removing the stems and slicing into a bowl. Add some water, not too much, just enough to cover about 1/3 to 1/2 of the berries. Sprinkle in sugar to taste. I added a little more than I meant to, but hey, it is dessert after all! Smash the berries just a little to release some of the juices.
Strawberries this good deserve homemade whipped cream. So instead of picking up some cool whip, I grabbed a pint (2 cups) of heavy whipping cream. Making homemade whipped cream is actually quite simple, takes 5 minutes with an electric beater, and tastes 100 times better than anything you can purchase.
Start by placing your beaters and a glass bowl in the freezer for about 5 minutes. The colder these are, the better this will work. When ready, pour the cream in the bowl and using your hand mixer, whip until the creams just begins to thicken. At this point, add in 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract. It is helpful to have these pre-measured. Continue to whip until you have soft peaks (when you dip the beaters in and back out a peak will form and start to fall over on itself). Make the whipped cream right before you are ready to eat it for best results.
To prepare the shortcakes, place a biscuit in a bowl, or on a plate, and break it into a few large pieces, top with strawberries and juice, the whipped cream, then more stawberries.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the end product because we were too busy devouring our treat, which we enjoyed for Father’s Day breakfast! Blueberries made an excellent addition!
Honey Whole Grain Buttermilk Biscuits
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour*
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2-1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
3 Tbsps honey
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk, plus a little extra**
Sugar and cinnamon for topping
*you can use regular whole wheat flour here if you would like
**Buttermilk substitute: add 1 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar to just under 1 cup of milk, let sit 5 minutes
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the cold butter. Cut the butter into chucks first to make this task easier. The flour mixture should look crumbly.
4. In a small bowl combine the honey, egg and 3/4 cup buttermilk Add to dry ingredients just until moistened.
5. Pour onto a lightly floured surface and work it until it all comes together. Press it lightly into a 9 x9 inch square.
6. Using a glass (I used a wine glass) or a sharp cookie cutter press into circles. The sharper your object is the higher and fluffier your biscuits will be.
7. Brush the tops with buttermilk, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutritional Benifits
Whole grains! from the whole wheat flours
Fiber! from the whole grains and the fruit
Calcium! from the cream
Antioxidants! from the fruit
Vitamin C! from the strawberries
You can still make healthy choices and enjoy dessert. Yes, this recipe does have saturated fat from the whipped cream, but in moderation that is okay. The nutrition facts for cool whip don’t look so bad at first, no fat, not much sugar. But after looking at the list of ingredients, I prefer the homemade stuff! Taste better too! The first 3 ingredients in the cool whip are water, corn syrup, and hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans fat).
Food should be enjoyable!
