Lemony Strawberry Shortcakes

Who doesn't love strawberry shortcakes? Cake. Strawberries. Cream. This sounds like a fantastic idea. Of course, the drawback comes in the fat and calorie content. Luckily, this favorite dessert can be made much healthier (I won't claim that it's actually healthy) so that you can snack away with far less guilt without having to sacrifice the flavor.

I actually whipped these up after dinner when some friends came over but you can even make them for an afternoon snack on their own or if you are having people over for just dessert. Or who needs an excuse? Just make them for breakfast - it has fruit in it so it must be good for breakfast, right?

Difficulty: medium
Cost: $4.99
Time: 1 hr



Lemony Strawberry Shortcakes
Ingredients:
2 1/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
6 tbsp butter, chilled
1 1/4 c buttermilk, low fat
1 tbsp lemon rind, grated
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 c strawberries, sliced
1 1/4 c fat-free cool whip, thawed

First, get your oven pre-heating to 425 degrees.

Place 2 c flour into a large bowl and add 1/4 c sugar, the baking soda, and the baking powder. Mix well.

Put aside 2 tsp butter but take the rest and cut it into very small pieces. Add them to the flour mixture and cut with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse meal.

Pour the buttermilk into the flour mixture and add the lemon rind. Toss gently with a fork or two forks until it is evenly mixed. Do not be worried if it's still a bit watery - it should be similar in texture to cottage cheese.

Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray (unless it's nonstick! then use a touch of oil) and place the remaining 1/4 c flour in a small bowl. Separate the biscuit dough into ten equal portions the size of a small handful. Taking one portion at a time, drop it into the bowl of flour and toss lightly to shape into a biscuit. Then place the biscuits on the cookie sheet.

Melt the remaining 2 tsp of butter that you set aside and brush the melted butter on top of the biscuits. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly on top of them. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let them cool for another 5-10 minutes before removing from the sheet.

While the biscuits are baking you'll want to prepare the topping. Put the lemon juice, berries, and remaining 1/4 c of sugar in a bowl. Toss gently to mix without smashing the strawberries. Let this mixture sit for 10-20 minutes as the biscuits cook.

Split the strawberry mixture evenly among the biscuits. Top evenly with the cool whip. Enjoy!

Servings: 10
Serving size: 1 shortcake
Nutrition: calories 235; carbs 42g; fat 7g; protein 4g; sodium 215mg; iron 7mg