Fresh Berry Shortcakes

OH.MY.GOODNESS!!!! These are delish!!!! I have to be VERY honest....I have never made shortcakes before...I generally just use angelfood cake when I do this kind of thing. Well, never again....These shortcakes are SUPER easy and reeeaalllllyyyy good. I am a HUGE fan of homemade whipped cream too....so when I came home the other day with a big container of strawberries from Costco I pulled this recipe out and got busy. Cindylou was hanging around the kitchen while I was making them....and I mentioned to her that when you make homemade whip cream you should always put your mixing bowl in the freezer for a while before you make it. She answered back that she would never be making it because she has me!! .....alrighty then........Let's get on to the recipe.

Prep: 35 minutes
Bake: 20 minutes
Yield: 10

Ingredients:

5 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice

Shortcakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream, divided
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Coarse sugar, optional

Whipped cream:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In a small bowl combine the strawberries, sugar and orange juice; set aside.

2. For the shortcakes, combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, orange peel and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbles. Whisk 1 1/2 cups cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla; add to flour mixture. Stirring just until moistened. Turn gently onto a lightly floured surface; gently knead 8-10 times.

3. Roll out to 1 inch thickness. Cut with 3 inch round biscuit cutter. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush tops with the remaining 1 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

4. For whipped cream, beat cream in a large bowl until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners sugar; beat until soft peaks form.

5. Just before serving, cut shortcakes in half horizontally. Place bottoms on dessert plates; top with strawberries. Replace the tops and dollop with whipped cream. And if you're like the Treatgirl....put some extra whipped cream on your plate to dip into!! You will loooooooove these....Enjoy!

Also......I've linked up to Hope Studios Tutorial Tuesday Linky Party....hop over there and check out all the cool stuff!!!!