Oat Brown Sugar Strawberry Shortcake…and Happy Birthday ‘Merica!

Jul 4, 2013

Happy 4th of July! Here in Atlanta, everyone will be swimming…and by swimming, I mean trying to avoid floating away in a flash flood, not hanging out poolside. I will hopefully be avoiding the worst of the rain down on the Gulf Coast, but we’ll see how that goes.

Oh, yeah, back to ‘Merica. You know, apple pie tends to get all the glory when it comes to “American desserts”. But for my money, nothing is more American than strawberry shortcake.

First of all, it’s got the colors working in its favor. I mean, just look at it. And it’s got the sweet/cold/creamy combination that apple pie just can’t match. There’s no question that my go-to summer dessert is strawberry shortcake. This one’s a little different, though.

And what makes it different is the oat flour. I happened across this recipe on A Cozy Kitchen and was immediately intrigued. The oat and brown sugar combo definitely sounded up my alley. I’d also never used oat flour, so I was curious about how it differed. It was kind of amazing actually, because it added this whole new, cool texture to the shortcakes. They were moist and fluffy when they shouldn’t have been (I mean, look how thin I accidentally cut them). They were moist and fluffy the next day, which everyone knows is death to biscuits. So I totally recommend going the extra mile and making the oat flour. It’s so easy, it’s not even an extra mile, really. Not even an extra kilometer. Extra few feet…?

You can use whatever fruit you want, I’m partial to strawberries. Cut them up ahead of time and throw in a little sugar (like not even 1/4 cup) with a tiny bit of water. You can add vanilla or orange zest or something too, to make it special. Shake it all up and put it in the fridge til you’re ready to serve. You can also get fancy and make your own whipped cream—which I totally recommend—but my hand mixer is loaned out right now.

Making your own oat flour if you don’t have some on-hand is super easy and fast, and totally worth it—adds something special to the texture of the response. Add 1 1/4 cups of old-fashioned oats to a food processor. Pulse until the oats turn into a fine powder. Measure out one cup and proceed with the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the regular flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.

Using a box grater, grate the cold butter into the flour mixture. As you can see from the picture above, I didn’t follow directions well and just cut it into chunks and then tried to cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender. However, I really struggled with getting it as combined as I’m used to, so next time I’ll try the grater. Transfer the bowl to the freezer while you get the wet ingredients together, so the butter doesn’t start to melt.

Whisk the buttermilk and egg together. If you’re using the egg wash (I didn’t for time’s sake), you can also make that now with the other egg and buttermilk, then put it back in the fridge.

Get the bowl out of the freezer, gently break up the butter and combine with the flour (using your hands) until it resembles small peas. Add the buttermilk mixture and mix until barely combined.

Lightly knead the dough until it comes together into one piece. I had to add some more buttermilk to get it to the right consistency. Sprinkle the kitchen counter or a pastry mat with flour and dump the dough onto it. Press the dough into a 3/4-inch thickness (I made mine too thin, definitely err on the side of thicker), and then cut out the biscuits. If you’re using the egg wash, brush the tops with the egg wash and top with a sprinkling of turbinado sugar and oats.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until they’re tall and golden brown. Serve with your awesome juicy strawberries and homemade whipped cream!

Oat Brown Sugar Strawberry Shortcakes

• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of oat flour (see below for instructions on making oat flour)
• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 sticks of cold butter
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• Topping (optional): 1 large egg, splash of buttermilk, turbinado sugar, handful of old-fashioned oats
• Strawberries, sugar, lemon zest (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (regular flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon). Using a box grater, grate the cold butter into the flour mixture [note, I cut it into chunks and then tried to cut it in with a pastry blender instead but really struggled]. Transfer the bowl to the freezer while you get the wet ingredients together.

3. Whisk the buttermilk and egg together. You can also make the topping egg wash now if you’re using it (egg & buttermilk), then put it back in the fridge.

4. Get the bowl out of the freezer, gently break up the butter and combine with the flour (using your hands) until it resembles small peas. Add the buttermilk mixture and mix until barely combined. Lightly knead the dough until it comes together into one piece. I had to add some more buttermilk to get it to the right consistency.  Sprinkle the kitchen counter or a pastry mat with flour and dump the dough onto it. Press the dough into a 3/4-inch thickness and then cut out the biscuits. Transfer to the baking sheet.

5. If your butter has tried to melt a little, you can stick the baking sheet in the freezer for a couple minutes. Otherwise, brush the tops with the egg wash, top with a sprinkling of turbinado sugar and oats, and then stick them in the oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until they’re tall and golden brown.

To make your own oat flour, add 1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats to a food processor. Pulse until the oats turn into a fine powder. Measure out one cup and proceed with the recipe.

Original recipe here