Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Delicious Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

I love when berries are in season.  Since I live in Arizona, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries can still be bought in grocery stores for a pretty decent price even now.  My family LOVES the rustic berry pie that I posted a few months ago so I baked one for them (It's great served with vanilla ice cream) last week.  Let me tell you, it doesn't last long. They consumed the whole pie in less than 24 hours! 

I had leftover strawberries and thought it would be cool to use them  in a cookie.  I scoured the internet to see if such a beast existed and lo and behold, found several recipes.  I decided to adapt my own version of what I found.  Here it is:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter (cold) cut into small pieces

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1-1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup heavy cream

1-2/4 cups strawberries cut into very small pieces

Raw cane sugar (to sprinkle on cookies before baking)(optional).

  

Aren't these lovely? Strawberries are my absolute favorite fruit.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Combine and whisk together flour, baking powder, and sugar in the same bowl.

Cut up your strawberries into small pieces like shown below. If the pieces are too big, the strawberries will dominate the flavor of the cookie. I like a nice balance of flavors but if you LOVE LOVE LOVE strawberries then cut them into bigger pieces.

In another bowl, combine strawberry pieces, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and lemon juice. 

Add butter to the flour mixture and use hands to work it into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. You can also use a pastry cutter to do this. Stir in cream until dough starts to form.  Fold in strawberry mixture and gently stir until thoroughly combined.

Drop dough (about 2 tablespoons) onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Sprinkle with cane sugar if desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  

The cookies will be soft and oh so delicious.  I resisted the temptation to add a dollop of ice cream on the top of each cookie and drizzling homemade strawberry filling over it but you can if you like! 

Enjoy!