Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcake

It's finally strawberry season here in the north woods. To celebrate, I made Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcake.

Now, I'm all in favor of whole grains. But I don't default to whole wheat for everything. It's nuttier, sweeter flavor does not always work best. But for strawberry shortcake, it's divine. It adds a layer of flavor that is missing from many commercial preparation. (And it adds it without any effort at all.) I use white whole-wheat flour from King Arthur because it maintains the proper pastry texture.

INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups white whole-wheat flour

scant 1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup butter (5.5 tablespoons)

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons milk

4-6 cups sliced strawberries

whipped cream

Preheat oven to 400. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease the sheet.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade, pulse together the first five (the dry) ingredients. Then cut the butter into chunks, add them and pulse until you achieve a gravel texture.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, sour cream and milk together. Pour this mixture into the processor and mix just until combined.

Heaping tablespoons of the thick batter should be spaced about 1.5 inches apart on the sheet. (I make 8 large shortbreads.)

Bake for approximately 15 minutes until golden. Cool thoroughly.

Meanwhile, clean and slice the berries. They can be dusted with extra sugar to taste. (But unless berries are sour, it is fine to omit the sugar.)

Slice the shortbreads the long way. Spoon berries and whipped cream onto halves and serve immediately.