Strawberry Shortcake Cookies from Martha

Martha Stewart sends me (and probably most of the rest of the English speaking world) three emails every day: one with a Cookie of The Day; one with a Craft of the Day and one with an Organizing Tip of The Day. Some are very useful:

- a downloadable stain chart to stick on the inside of the laundry cupboard

- how to fold a T-shirt (who knew there was a "right way'?)

Some are stupid:

- Rope seat stools which seem to me a good way to make a perfectly comfortable stool a lot less comfortable

- Clothespin picket fence for pot plants when surely not even the most desperate housewife feels the need for picket fences around her pot plants.

And some make me want to run straight into the kitchen and start cooking.

I know that I was not the only one to feel that way when this recipe turned up recently, because I saw it surface on blog after blog. Shortcake is an American bakery icon similar to scones, with a texture somewhere between cake and biscuits. These biscuits are easy to make with a very light and deliciously cakey texture. Just the thing to enjoy with a cup of tea and the paper, if the kids don't demolish them first.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

from Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Makes about 3 dozen
350g strawberries, hulled and cut into a small dice (2 cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
90g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup pouring cream
Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 185 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.