Strawberry Shortcake with Crunchy Drop Biscuits
Make your own super easy crunchy drop biscuits for a strawberry shortcake that beats any store-bought version!
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Growing up, I only knew strawberry shortcake as something made with a sponge-cake (usually the store-bought little cakes they sell next to the berries) that without fail became a soggy mess, usually before the first bite.
Yeah, strawberry shortcake was not high on my list of favorite desserts.
So if it was being served, I always asked for just the berries and whipped cream, please.
When Brian and I were invited to some friends house shortly after we were married my heart sank (ok, maybe I’m exaggerating…) when my friend said she was serving strawberry shortcake. I didn’t know her well enough to ask for no cake, so I resigned myself to soggy cake.
Except, she started making biscuits for the shortcake!
And not regular biscuits, but drop biscuits (a very important distinction I found out).
This was a revelation to me, although when I mentioned it she looked at me like I was very weird, and said something like, “it’s just a biscuit.” Lol.
I ate every last bit of that shortcake.
It was warm and every bite was crunchy with the strawberry and slightly sweetened whipped cream. Yum. I was now in love with strawberry shortcake!
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake with Crunchy Drop Biscuits
In order to have the most nooks and crannies that cook up all crisp and crunchy, you need to make drop biscuits.
Yes, the biscuit you don’t have to roll or fuss with is the best for this recipe (although this classic biscuit recipe is pretty easy, too, with just a few folds-and-rolls to get flaky biscuits).
Isn’t it nice that the super-easy recipe is the one you’re supposed to make?
It’s literally a 5-10 minute job to get them ready for the oven. In fact, I usually do it while dinner’s simmering or baking, so that they will be nice and warm for dessert, although they are fine made a few hours before dinner, too.
The one thing to know is that drop biscuits have a much wetter dough than shaped biscuits. Using a muffin-sized scoop is the easiest way I’ve found to quickly drop them onto the lined baking sheet (I prefer black teflon liners over lighter liners because they produce better browning).
Just in case you’re wondering…I never use Bisquick, etc. I just don’t understand this product, I mean- biscuits are one of the easiest things to make needing just flour, butter, baking powder, salt, and milk. I need a product to premix the flour, salt and baking powder? Or worse yet, to have shortening added (give me butter any day!) and all the other things that come with a packaged food. If you really find it convenient, I urge you to make up your own mix, since it’s a 10-minute task.
After about 15 minutes in a hot oven, they are wonderfully browned. See all those light and darker brown spots? Crunchy goodness, right there.
I actually like to prepare the strawberries about an hour or so before serving them – if you let them sit in just the tiniest bit of sugar at room temperature all those wonderful juices will release and they will be SO flavorful.
And by tiny, I mean 1/2 teaspoon of sugar sprinkled over 2-3 cups sliced strawberries (which is about what a 1-lb container yields).
You can of course skip this step, but it’s such a small amount and makes such a big difference (especially with store-bought strawberries) that I never skip, though sometimes I have drizzled with honey (which does affect the flavor).
After slicing and sprinkling, let the berries sit on the counter until you serve the shortcake.
When it’s time to serve, split the biscuit and pile the berries on the bottom half. Replace the top of the biscuit and add a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream (I use honey-sweetened cream – it works great!). Mmm…heaven.
And no one will ever guess that this dessert has less than 1/4 tsp. of added sugar per serving!
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Strawberry Shortcake with Crunchy Drop Biscuits
Ingredients
For Drop Biscuits (see note below):
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 cup cold butter cut into 8 pieces
- 1 cup milk
For Strawberry Shortcakes:
- 6 warm biscuits
- 1 pound strawberries about 2 to 3 cups sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar, to taste
Instructions
- To Make Biscuits:
- Heat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with a baking liner or parchment.
- Add flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar to the bowl of a food processor* and pulse to mix. Toss in the butter pieces and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Add milk all at once and pulse until the dough comes together (don't process too much). The dough should be a "wet' dough.
- Using a 1/4 c. scoop,** drop onto prepared pan 2-3 inches apart.
- Bake 15 minutes, turning halfway through if needed for even cooking. Let cool on a wire rack until serving.
- For Strawberry Shortcakes:
- Slice strawberries, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. of sugar and toss gently. Let sit at room temperature until serving.
- Whip cream with honey (or sugar) until stiff peaks form. This can be done and hour or two in advance and kept in the fridge until serving (if you use honey, it helps keep the cream from separating after whipping, so it stores better).
- To serve, split each biscuit needed and place the bottoms on small plates or bowls. Top with about 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries, replace tops and add a spoonful of whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Looking for more ways to use strawberries?
Use Frozen Berries to Make Delicious Berry Smoothie
23 Recipes for Preserving Fruit
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These turned out really well. I decided to soak the grains overnight in buttermilk (in place of the milk), and followed the rest of the recipe as written. (My body likes soaked grains a lot better…) They turned out just right! And I love how little sugar is used, and they still taste nice and sweet.
So glad to know that worked to soak them, Alison! It’s amazing how we can get used to smaller amounts of sugar, isn’t it? I find I can cut the sugar down in most recipes and never notice. 🙂
These look so good, I will have to try the drop version, I’ve always rolled mine out and used a cutter, oh roll on strawberry season!
I think you may be converted, Julie. 😉
My mom always made drop biscuits for the strawberry shortcake when I was growing up in the 50’s. She did use Bisquick, though I’d probably use your recipe for making my own biscuit mix instead if I were indulging now. Have to watch my carbs, so my strawberries have no shortcake. But the drop biscuits sure are wonderful and make the dessert so much more interesting than those sponge cakes. Thanks for the memory.
I hear you on the carbs, Jane! I only make this a couple times a year and often just have one half – and it’s worth it. 🙂
This is going to sound weird, but my grandmother taught me to add a sprinkle of salt to the berries. It brings out the juices and enhances the flavor. I could never figure out why her strawberry shortcake tasted so much better than mine did – we used the same family biscuit recipe. Then it came out one day: not only does she put in sugar, she sprinkles salt on the berries too! I guess if you’re watching your sodium intake, you should be careful, but it’s so worth it! If you’re ever having a “brave” moment, you should try it! You won’t be disappointed!
Can’t wait for Michigan berry season! Yum!
Oh, wow – I will try that, Kris! I have often heard how a sprinkle of salt on unusual things boosts flavor, so we’ll have to do a taste test this year.
Your discovery (of using drop biscuits with their lovely crunchy texture for perfect strawberry shortcake) is better late than never. Glad you shared it. A lot of people don’t know that those sad little sponge fingers are pretenders. I grew up with the real thing. My mom always made drop biscuits for strawberry shortcake. She always added a little sugar to the dough, and always, ALWAYS, mashed half the strawberries (with a tiny bit of sugar added unless they were really sweet), and slicing up the rest of the strawberries. She’d split the biscuits into serving bowls, and butter the open tops. Setting aside a little of the juice from what she crushed, she’d ladle the rest of the delicious, juicy slurry over the unbuttered bottom halves. The biscuit bottoms held the crushed berries nicely, while letting some of the juice run in red rivulets off their sides, and allowing some of the juice to seep in. Mom then would heap the sliced berries on top of the crushed, and pop the buttered biscuit tops on, slightly askew. The final touch was to dollop on some whipped cream, and drizzle the reserved juice across the whipped cream. Sooo good. I do buy strawberries and other berries year round, but really look forward to strawberry season here in New Jersey. Nothing like homegrown, especially if you pick ’em yourself.
Oh, your word picture literally made my mouth water. 🙂
Forgot to say how Mom would make sure she had everything standing by and ready when the biscuits came out of the oven. So everything was dished up and served while the biscuits were still nice and warm. It was great, too, when she’d serve the shortcake with ice cream instead of whipped cream… rich, cold vanilla ice cream melting down onto strawberry heaven on a warm, buttered biscuit!
My mom always made biscuits for strawberry shortcake. Tried to get the recipe, but got “page not found” instead
Sorry Cheryl – thanks for letting me know! I had to fix the html, which is not my strong point. 🙂