Strawberries and Cream Biscuits
These strawberries and cream biscuits sit somewhere between a tender biscuit and a casual fruit scone. The dough is rich with cold butter and heavy cream, while the berries soften in the oven and leave small jammy pockets through the crumb.
Very ripe strawberries are best here because they bring the most flavor, but they also make the dough wetter as they sit. Keeping the fruit chilled, tossing it gently through the flour, and handling the dough with a light hand helps the biscuits stay tall and flaky instead of turning dense.
The finished biscuits are best warm, when the edges are golden and the strawberry juices are still glossy. Serve them plain, with a little salted butter, or split with extra berries and whipped cream for a shortcut strawberry shortcake.
Nutrition (per serving)
Directions
-
1
Heat the oven to 425°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
2
Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a wide bowl until evenly combined.
-
3
Add the cold butter and cut it into the flour with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture looks sandy with some pea-size butter pieces remaining.
-
4
Pat the chopped strawberries dry if they are very juicy, then fold them through the flour mixture so the pieces are lightly coated.
-
5
Drizzle in the cold cream and fold gently with a spatula until a shaggy, damp dough forms; knead it once or twice in the bowl only if loose flour remains.
-
6
Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface, dust the top lightly, and pat it into a 3/4-inch-thick round without pressing out all the texture.
-
7
Cut biscuits with a floured 2 1/2-inch cutter, pressing straight down without twisting, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet with space between each one.
-
8
Gather the scraps once, pat them back together, and cut the remaining biscuits; the second batch may look softer from the strawberry juices.
-
9
Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the biscuits are golden at the edges and berry juices bubble in spots.
-
10
Cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then move to a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour:2 1/4 cups
- Granulated Sugar:1/4 cup
- Baking Powder:1 tbsp
- Fine Salt:1/2 tsp
- Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes:6 tbsp
- Very Ripe Strawberries, hulled and chopped:1 cup
- Heavy Cream, cold:1 cup
- All-Purpose Flour, for shaping:2 tbsp
- Coarse Sugar:1 tbsp
Tips & Notes
- Use strawberries that smell sweet and are fully red; underripe berries stay firmer and taste less vivid after baking.
- If the kitchen is warm, chill the shaped biscuits for 10 minutes before baking to help the butter stay cold.
- Do not twist the cutter, because sealed edges can keep biscuits from rising cleanly.
- Unbaked biscuits can be frozen on a tray, then baked from frozen with 2 to 3 extra minutes.
