Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake

Gluten is pretty crucial when it comes to baking. Trying to make a delicious baked good without gluten is like trying to build a skyscraper without steel, or an ice rink without water, or a teen movie without Zac Efron. Without gluten, which is in flour, you’re left trying to MacGyver together a batter with rice and nuts and xanthum gum… it’s a pretty scarring experience.

But, my sister Grace is gluten free. She slam-dunked us with that news about 8 years ago, and ever since then we’ve been on the search for the perfect gluten free desserts. We’ve found great GF brownie and cake mixes, but by far the biggest success story has been Pamela’s Gluten Free Baking Mix. I don’t know who Pamela is, but I’m pretty sure she is some sort of mutant super-baker/savant with magical powers.

So my sister Clare and I really wanted to make Strawberry Shortcake, and since Grace was around we decided to try a gluten free version. It came out well so it made it to the blog. Normally my GF creations crash and burn and get filed under Never, Ever Speak of This Again.

Preheat the oven to 425⁰. Into the bowl of your food processor, dump 2 cups of Pamela’s GF Baking Mix, the sugar, the baking soda, and the salt. Pulse a few times, and then add the butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Dump this dry mixture into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together the milk, sour cream, and egg with a fork until reasonably combined. Then, pour that over the dry mixture and gently fold it barely together with a spatula.

Dust a non-wooden countertop with a little more GF Baking Mix, and turn the dough out onto the surface. Sprinkle more GF Baking Mix on top and gently press it down with your palms until it’s about 1 inch thick. Cut it into 9 pieces, roughly 2”x2” squares, and transfer to a baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little water and sprinkle with Sugar in the Raw.

Bake for 12 minutes, until the shortbread starts to brown. While it’s in the oven, toss your strawberries with ¼ cup of sugar, and whip your cream. Remove the shortbread from the oven, allow to cool slightly, and serve covered with sugared strawberries and whipped cream! You can also serve this room temperature hours later. So delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Pamela’s GF Baking Mix, plus extra for dusting
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 stick of cold butter, cut into small slices
• ½ cup of milk
• ¼ cup of sour cream
• 1 egg
• Sugar in the raw

• 2 pounds of strawberries, cored and halved
• ¼ cup of sugar
• whipped cream

Serves nine