Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Raise your hand if you like doing dishes.

I didn't think so.

And, as you may have seen, I am the not-so-proud-probably-a-little-ashamed owner of a perpetually full sink.

So, when I am presented with the opportunity to make something awesome that requires no plates or utensils to eat, I jump on it.

And being that homemade strawberry shortcake is almost as awesome as it gets, making strawberry shortcake that you don't need plates or forks to eat is out-of-this-world amazing.

Because who wants to do more dishes?

No one.

But who wants to eat some delicious strawberry shortcake?

You do.

This is adapted from Martha Stewart's Strawberry Shortcake Cookies.

(Cue gasps - Yes! I attempted a Martha! I've made it!)

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups diced strawberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, diced
2 tablespoons melted butter, COLD (melted 30 seconds, put in freezer 5 minutes)
2/3 cup milk, cold

1/4 cup sugar for topping

Whisked flour.

Step #1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.





Step #2: Dice strawberries, and combine with lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Sandy: butter cut in.

Step #3: Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl.





Step #4: Cut in cold diced butter.  Use a pastry cutter, or just use your fingers.  When using your fingers, cut up the butter really small and drop it in the bowl.  Then, smash each piece of butter within the flour mixture.  Once you think you've smashed each piece, start raking the mixture with your fingers and fluffing it up a little bit.  It will start to feel less like flour and more like sand.  Once the entire bowl feels like bits of sand, you're done.




Step #5: Add COOLED melted butter and cold milk to the sandy mixture slowly while stirring.  It will turn from sand to sticky dough.

Doughy: milk and melted butter stirred in.

Step #6: Stir in strawberries gently.





Step #7: Using a spoon, drop balls of dough on a greased cookie sheet, 12 per sheet. Sprinkle with sugar.





Step #8: Cook at 375 degrees for 24 minutes, until edges are golden.

strawberries stirred in.

Step #9: Cool on a cookie rack.  These are best eaten as soon as possible.  Refrigerate left-overs in a baggie; humidity will make these a little soggy if you leave them out.