Not strawberry shortcake as you know it
This might be a controversial position in the world of desserts, but I think berries and whipped cream go better with a nice, crisp cookie than with the soft biscuits of a classic New England strawberry shortcake.
I adore biscuits, but, to my mind, they’re bread, not cake, and best eaten for breakfast, not dessert.
Cookies are decidedly sweet, and crunchy, offering textural contrast to all that syrupy fruit and fluffy cream. They are also more convenient. You can make the cookies a few days in advance while biscuits need to be eaten within a few hours of baking.
To make these cookies extra crisp, I added a little more sugar than I usually would for shortbread. I also used cultured butter to make them especially rich. But regular butter works perfectly well, so use what you have. You could even use salted butter. Just reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
A word of warning, though: The dough is very sticky. The easiest way to deal with it is to squish the dough into a log (or two), wrap it in plastic, then chill, slice and bake.
I like to bake them until they have a deep brown ring at the circumference and are slightly caramelized in flavor. My husband likes them baked until the tops are barely pale gold and the flavor is more vanilla-focused. Pulling one baking sheet out of the oven sooner than the other means we are both happy. Do whatever works in your household.
Because the cookies are on the sweeter side, you won’t need much sugar for the berries. If you’re lucky enough to get strawberries so ripe they leak scarlet juice when you cut them, sprinkle them with just a bit of sugar, as if you were seasoning them with salt. Berries that are less ripe might need a little more, but use just enough to bring out their juiciness.
Then set out the whipped cream, strawberries and cookies in separate serving dishes and let everyone combine them individually in bowls, adding cream or berries to taste.
I like to use the cookies instead of a spoon, scooping up berries and cream and nibbling as I go. Just try that with a biscuit.
STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD AND CREAM
Yield: 4 servings, plus extra shortbread
Total time: 1 hour, plus chilling
For the shortbread:
1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter
(2 sticks), preferably cultured (European-style), at room temperature
3/4 cup/150 grams sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeded with the tip of a knife, or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water or grated orange zest (optional)
2 cups/255 grams all-purpose flour
For serving:
1 pint strawberries, sliced Sugar, to taste
1 cup/240 milliliters heavy cream
Preparation:
1. Using an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or an electric hand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg yolk, salt, vanilla seeds and orange blossom water, if using. Beat in flour until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
2. Scrape the dough onto a 12inch-long piece of plastic wrap and form it into a log, 11/2 inches in diameter. It will be very sticky, so use the plastic wrap to help form the log (or make two shorter logs if that’s easier). Then wrap it up and chill until it’s thoroughly cold, at least 3 hours (and up to 5 days).
3. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick liners.
4. Unwrap the dough log and slice it into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Arrange them on the prepared baking sheets and bake until the cookies are golden at the edges, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be baked up to 4 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
5. When ready to serve, sprinkle strawberries with a little sugar and let them sit for 15 minutes to release their juices.
6. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk, or a whisk and elbow grease, whip the cream, adding a teaspoon or two of sugar, if you like. Note that the cookies are very sweet so you may not want to add any sugar at all.
7. Spoon the strawberries into serving bowls and top with whipped cream. Drizzle cream with juices from the strawberry bowl. Tuck a cookie or two in each bowl and serve with spoons.