Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

I love biscuits. Hot from the oven, bare naked biscuits. Glutinous, tender, flaky biscuits. My quest one day not long ago was to make a tantalizing gluten free biscuit that my munchkins could enjoy. I searched online and found this recipe, which sounded too good to pass up. And it was incredibly tasty. A bit too much white rice flour for me, making it slightly gritty. I made a few alterations, like using coconut oil in place of butter. And coconut milk. And mixing up the flour combination. (I just can't leave a recipe alone anymore.) As I was eating them, I thought- 'If I add a pinch of sugar, this would make a darn yummy shortcake!'. And it was a plan.

I was planning on serving shortcake for dessert last night. But I ran out of time to make them. They sounded sooo good, I couldn't wait until dinner time. So I thought, why not have them for breakfast? Biscuits for breakfast makes sense. With berries, that's fruit! And whipped cream, there's calcium. Serve with a side of bacon and it sounds like a full and complete breakfast to me! Of course, you can stick to tradition and make Strawberry Shortcake for dessert, it would be just as yummy. However, I like to break the rules. I like pie for breakfast. Life is short, start your day sweetly.

And, if you aren't sold just by the mere thought of fluffy, tender, slightly sweet biscuits layered with berries picked at the peak of juicy ripeness and topped with a dollop of light and airy whipped topping...you're a hard sell. So is my husband. You know what? He liked it. No qualifiers. It was good.

Here it is. Enjoy. I know I did.

Old Fashioned Shortcake Biscuits

1/3 c white rice flour
1/3 c amaranth flour
2/3 c brown rice flour
1/2 c potato starch
1/4 c tapioca starch
1/4 c sugar (edited to add this very important ingredient!)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp coconut oil (or safe margarine)
2 Tbsp shortening
1 c coconut milk (or preferred milk substitute)
2 tsp vinegar

Preheat oven to 450. Pour milk into a small bowl, add vinegar and let stand 5 minutes. In another bowl whisk together dry ingredients. (Don't get hung up if you don't have this exact flour combo. Use what you have. This one is good though.) Cut in coconut oil and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in buttermilk mixture and slowly stir until well combined. Drop generous spoonfuls onto a well greased baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.

The slightly sweet coconut flavor these have goes so well with strawberries! Last time I made them, I used all potato starch, and they had a slightly more tender crumb. If you do use all potato starch, cut the xanthan to a generous 1/4 tsp.

Top with sliced berries and Coconut Whipped Topping made from coconut milk. I altered the recipe slightly by using DariFree powder in place of soy milk powder. I have a few sample envelopes left, so I used one of those. (21g as labeled) I also omitted the lemon, and used a splash of vanilla extract in place of vanilla powder. Wow. Sinful indulgence. Lick the plate good. Promise.