Can you believe it…it is fourth of July week already! Where is summer going? This week I promise to bring you some very popular yet healthy fourth of July recipes. Festive right? Usually I remember these things the week after a Holiday. So I’m stating it here, my goal, healthy, summery, yummy, recipes. I’m coming around people, I really am! But before we get to this delicious strawberry shortcake I wanted to give you all a little motivation on this Monday.
Our town hosted it’s local celebration and with that was the annual 5K and kids fun run. My daughter is of course up for any running event! Even practicing up and down our lane (for you city folk, a lane is a extra-long driveway normally found in the country). She loves to go outside in the mornings for her “morning run,” as she says. Now her running attire isn’t always so professional. Most mornings it is PJ’s but you can usually always count on the running hat. Apparently “real” runners wear hats.
And lets talk about this picture for a second. Biting her medal, apparently she is already practicing her Olympic skills of standing on the podium with the medal in her mouth. I never really understood this, so fill me in please but I would totally do it if I won a Olympic medal. I mean why not? This picture is classic. The reality is that she has no idea what she is doing. It could possibly be that she is really hungry or that she just enjoyed biting down on that plastic medal, who knows?
Regardless, this girl and the other kids at the race had a sheer excitement for running. The entire time is held with laughter and smiles. I know that some of you didn’t even know that running and happiness could be put together in the same sentence. Let’s be real, kids love exercise and they love to run. Where did we lose that motivation? The effortlessness and excitement to just move is amazing. Ahhh… to be three again! Either way, lets all take note, exercise can be fun and it is something that was born into us. We have just lost it, somewhere, sometime. The good news, we can gain that encouragement and motivation again. It may take work, but it will be worth it!
Now that I have lost the majority of you reading this with my soap box on moving, let’s move on to food. A subject many more of us can get excited about. Are you feeling me on this shortcake? Seriously, there is nothing quite like a sweet, buttery, dense biscuit topped with fresh berries and some coconut whipped cream. Hello deliciousness.
Doesn’t this just scream summer?
Now I do realize there are many ways people like to enjoy their shortcake. Some dense, others fluffy. But a true shortcake, in the foodie world, is made of biscuit dough which is dense. My first real experience of a “true” shortcake was at the Iowa State Fair. A place famous for their food, specifically that which can be sold on a stick. Just to clarify, I didn’t eat it on a stick, ut that may be a good business proposal for someone. I’m sure that you could bank if you put chunks of dense biscuit with strawberries on a stick served with a side of whipped cream. It could be the latest “hit” at the fair which brings in hundreds of thousands of people. Wait a second, you would probably have to fry it to make it gain popularity. Scratch that idea.
Anywho… the State Fair is home to some of the most true, delicious, scrumptious shortcakes ever. Unfortunately, they are wheat/gluten containing and probably contain crazy amounts of sugar. Don’t fret, I am here to tell you that this is pretty darn close and most importantly very low in sugar (only natural of course) and grain-free. O yes, all of the characteristics of shortcake without all the dangers! Sound the trumpets! This beauty is sure to please at your next gathering and so festive for the fourth.
The bonus is that these biscuits are just a sweetened rendition of these buttery grain-free biscuits. Add a couple of tablespoons honey, keep the remaining ingredients the same and viola, sweet, dense, buttery, shortcakes. Make it, now, you won’t regret it. And I won’t tell if you don’t share with anyone… But I would never do that…
- 2 Cups Fresh Strawberries
- For the Shortcake:
- 2 cups blanched almond flour, loosely packed
- ½ cup tapioca starch
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup butter
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ tsp vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- For the Whipped Cream:
- 1 Can Coconut Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- For the Biscuits:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a bowl combine the Almond Flour, Starch, Salt and Baking Soda.
- To the bowl, add the butter.
- Cut the fat into the flour until the fat is about the size of a pea.
- In a separate small bowl whisk together the eggs, vinegar or lemon juice and honey.
- Pour mixture in with the flour and mix just briefly and gently until the dough comes together. It may feel a little wet.
- Spoon out biscuits onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet to create 6-8 biscuits.
- Bake for 18 minutes.
- For the Whipped Cream:
- Refrigerate can of Coconut Milk until chilled overnight
- Open can and remove fat from top
- Place in bowl and add vanilla and maple syrup
- Beat with hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Top biscuit with strawberries and whipped cream and enjoy!