TWD: Tender Shortcakes

What could be better than strawberry shortcake on a summer evening?  I mean seriously...it's perfect!

I was super excited when I saw that our pick for this week was Tender Shortcakes from page 423 of BFMHTY.  (Thanks to Cathy of The Tortefeasor for the pick!)  I was contemplating making them on Sunday evening when I was reminded that I had left my camera at my dear sis-in-law's house.  And I realized that I had no strawberries...so no shortcake.  I went to the grocery on Monday after work and got the strawberries, but still no camera.  I contemplated making them and posting w/out pictures, and then thought I would just wait and make them over the weekend when I got the camera back, but it ended up that she needed to bring one of her girls in to see the doctor where I work, so I got it back! 

Thankfully, this is a super easy recipe and comes together quickly enough to make it after making dinner on a work night and still have enough time to get natural light pictures for the post deadline!  woohoo!!

I threw these together while hubs' dinner was cooking, and was about to pour in the cream when I realized that I had forgotten to add sugar to the dough!  In it went with a bit of extra mixing, but I don't think they were any worse for the wear.  I am always afraid that I am handling my dough to much, but--as with the sweet cream biscuits--I got a pretty good rise on these!  I was quite surprised, and even wondered if I had left the full amount of baking powder even though I cut everything else in half (I got a bite from an edge that I don't think the sugar had reached and thought something was off). 

After my first iffy taste test I ate a whole shortcake...just to be sure that they were good you know...and then offered one to hubs with the unassuring comment that "it's okay, they aren't bad"  How are you supposed to distinguish "they aren't bad"=they have not been ruined vs. "they aren't bad"= they're just okay?  He took it as the latter, but after a bit of prodding he finally tried a tiny bit and said...and I'm shocked..."They're good!"  This is my husband who 1. generally refuses to try anything that I make and 2. even when he does like something only ever says "it's fine."  I feel like walking on air!

Well, despite the fact that I had already eaten a whole shortcake for my taste test...and the fact that I had consumed numerous  pecan pie & lemon bars that someone brought to our office from a local bakery and rudely placed on my desk...I had to make some real strawberry shortcake!  I didn't let my berries macerate for as long as I would have liked so they didn't extract quite enough juice for my taste, but it was still so good!  Last year at work everyone went crazy when I brought in strawberry shortcakes made from Bisquick and cool whip--I must say that I feel like I've moved up in the baking world now that I make it all including whipping the cream ;) 

I halved the recipe, and just patted them into a large rectangle and sliced from that so I got 6 square-ish shortcakes.  Thanks so much to Cathy for choosing this delish recipe, and check out the TWD leave your link post to see how everyone else did!