By Alan
In our household, a Saturday morning tradition is that Daddy makes breakfast for the girls, while Mommy tries to sleep in. The favorite version of breakfast is based on a simple recipe that appears on every box of Bisquick: Strawberry Shortcakes. (Disclaimer: No, we aren't affiliated with Betty Crocker or General Mills, and we get nothing for this recipe from them.)
Since we're making breakfast shortcakes (think big gooey cookies), and not a fruit dessert, we changed the recipe considerably.
Breakfast Shortcakes:
Preheat the oven to 425 deg F.
2 1/3 cups of Bisquick mix (about 11oz by weight)
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of white cane sugar
1/3 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp of Vanilla (you can vary this to taste)
2 Tbsp of cool butter or margarine (do not melt)
Wash Your Hands! (A cry well known by our littlest cooks).
Add the Bisquick to a large mixing bowl, then add margarine, sugar, and brown sugar. Break up the margarine with slight stirring, then add the milk and vanilla. Stir slowly (we do it by hand to involve the kids), until the mixture is consistent, but not super smooth. It's important not to overmix. If the mixture becomes too smooth, the final product will be more like cake, and not as crunchy with nice texture on the outside.
Put dollops a bit bigger than a golf ball onto a cookie sheet, with a large spoon or spatula. You might have to get your fingers dirty in order to get the goo onto the pan.
Put space between the dollops equal to the size of the dollops themselves.
Place into the 425 deg F oven on the top shelf for 12-14 minutes. High altitude cooks might have to cook longer.
Tip: We try to do clean-up in the kitchen during the oven cooking process, so the dishwasher gets emptied, and filled with dirty dishes, and the counter can get a quick wipedown. This is a good habit for all cooking, since raw vegetable or raw meat juices should be removed before the cooked version gets put back onto the counter.
The surface of the finished shortcakes should be slightly brown and dry. No raw dough should be visible in the cracks on the surface, but should still be moist in the middle.
We usually serve with maple syrup on a breakfast plate, but the variations are endless with toppings of caramel, chocolate syrup, fresh or cooked fruit, yogurt, or heavy cream. Even whipped cream or ice cream can be great toppings to this treat.
Every Wednesday, fellow blogger Kristen at We are THAT Family posts clever ideas for getting things done. She calls it, "Works For Me Wednesday" or WFMW. Be sure to go visit her blog to read her post along with links to other blogs who are participating.