2stickunsalted butterfrozen for at least 30 minutes
1 ¼cupbuttermilkchilled
¼cupturbinado sugarfor sprinkling on the tops before baking
INSTRUCTIONS
Macerated Strawberries
Cut the strawberries into quarters and place them into a large bowl.
Add a few tablespoons of sugar. Toss, cover, and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Shortcake Biscuits
Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Using a box grater, grate the frozen butter directly into the flour mixture. *Reserve 2 tablespoons of butter for later and set it aside. Toss the butter into the flour mixture gently using a fork to combine.
Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture and use a spatula to combine the ingredients. The dough will look rough and dry. Turn the dough out onto a liberally floured counter and dust the surface with additional flour. Using your hands press the dough into a square shape.
Roll the square into a 12 x 9-inch rectangle. Fold the 9-inch sides into thirds, like you are folding and business letter.
Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again to a 12 x 9-inch rectangle. Repeat the rolling out and folding process three additional times. (You should roll and fold a total of 5 times). Roll the dough out the dough one last time into an 8½ x 8½-inch square.)
Transfer the dough to the prepared sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. While the dough is resting in the refrigerator preheat the oven to 400°F.
Transfer the dough to a floured cutting board. Using a very sharp floured chef's knife trim the edges off of the biscuit dough. You want to free the edges so that the layers can expand without hindrance as they rise in the oven.
Arrange the biscuits one inch apart on the baking sheet.
Melt the reserved butter and brush the tops of the biscuits. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake until the tops are golden brown. 22 to 25 minutes. Let the shortcake biscuits rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Whipped Cream
While the biscuits are cooling, place the chilled whipping cream in a bowl. Beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.