posted by Archana on Baking, Cookies, Dessert, Fruit, Vegging In

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This weekend I got a little ahead of my November 1 resolution to bake more and whipped up some of Martha Stewart’s strawberry-shortcake cookies. I love the cake version so the cookie incarnation had to be just as good…and it was!

It’s a pretty easy recipe that gives you the exact flavor of strawberry shortcake thanks to fresh pieces of strawberries and heavy cream. The recipe calls for some sanding sugar (harder, more coarse sugar) to sprinkle atop the cookies, but I didn’t have any, plus, the cookies were sweet enough without it!

Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies (from Martha Stewart Living)

What you need:

• 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into ¼-inch dice (2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon coarse salt
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Combine strawberries, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

3. Using a 1 ½-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

These were, for the most part, a success. But I had two problems with this recipe–one my fault, one not. The first was my cookies turned out too flat, so I recommend just plopping them from the ice cream scoop as is, without flattening them. The other problem was that the cookies got way to soft/soggy when left out. My hot apartment may be to blame for that, but either way, they’re much better when refrigerated. Bon appétit!