By Tracey
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
adapted just slightly from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
- 12 oz strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- coarse sugar, for topping the cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, stir together the strawberries, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the sugar then set aside. In a large bowl, combine the lemon zest and remaining 7 tablespoons of sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips until moist and fragrant. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the zest/sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs. Add the cream to the bowl and stir until the dough starts to come together. Finally, gently stir in the strawberry mixture.
Use a small cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) to portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheets spacing the cookies about 1 1/2 – 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let the cookies cool. The cookies are best the day they’re made, but can be kept in an airtight container for 1 day.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
