Balsamic Strawberries with Biscuits & Cream

My local farmers market has been KILLING IT this summer! Some of my go-to binge eating items have been cherries, snap peas, and *drumrollllllll* strawberries. If you've never had locally grown strawberries, they're the bee's knees - they are smaller than what you might find in the grocery store but their vibrant color and compact size means that they are bursting with flavor!

I first discovered the epic combo of balsamic and strawberries in culinary school when I roasted them and added them to a vanilla bean ice cream base (OMG!!!!). It was insanely delicious and I had to physically restrain myself from double-dipping and eating the ENTIRE batch. This time around, I wanted to skip the step of roasting and instead just use the acid in the vinegar to break down the sugar and make a nice "sauce" to soak into some warm and buttery biscuits.

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While there might be several components to this dish, it's actually super easy to create and assemble and it would make for a great crowd-pleasing summertime dessert.

If you want to check out some markets near you, LocalHarvest is a great tool to discover new ingredients while supporting your local farmers.

For the strawberries...

1 lb strawberries washed and sliced
3 TBS balsamic vinegar
3 TBS sugar

Mix and let sit in the fridge overnight

For the biscuits…

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
2 TBS baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
8 TBS cold unsalted butter (grated)
1 cup buttermilk
2 TBS salted butter melted to brush on top

1.Preheat oven to 425. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl. Using a large cheese grater, grate cold butter into shreds and add to flour, then mix until it looks like a loose crumble. Place the dough back in the bowl, add buttermilk and stir with a spatula until it forms a rough ball (don’t worry if it is a little sticky).

2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a rough rectangle, about an inch thick. Fold it over and gently roll it down again. Repeat 6 times.

3. Gently roll out the dough once more, so that it forms a rectangle. Cut dough into biscuits using a floured glass or biscuit cutter. Do not twist cutter when cutting; this will crimp the edges of the biscuit causing it not to rise. If you have scraps just reform a rectangle and cut additional biscuits.

4. Place biscuits on a baking sheet and place in oven. Make sure they're touching. Bake until golden brown, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

For the cream...

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
Contents of one vanilla bean
1/4 cup powdered sugar (maybe more depending on desired sweetness

1. In a mixing bowl, add ingredients and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Taste, adjust, then enjoy :)

Sliced almonds and more powdered sugar for garnish