Warm Cranberry Shortcakes

I just  love cranberries.   Out of the many holiday flavors that I enjoy, cranberries win hands down.  So, I am always trying to come up with yummy uses for them, and I think this is my favorite so far.  Shortcake is usually something eaten cold in the summer, but this time of the year, warm is definitely better, so I came up with these warm cranberry shortcakes.  Oh my, these are just incredible.  Not only are the biscuits and cranberry topping warm, but the biscuits are sweet and cinnamonny and the cool whipped cream sets them off nicely.  Now, of course, the whipped cream does melt pretty quickly – as you can see in the photos, but trust me sweetened whipped cream melting over warm cranberry shortcakes is not a bad thing.

The cranberry topping I used for the shortcakes is an adaptation of my favorite cranberry sauce recipe from Southern Living via MyRecipes.  Mine is a little less alcoholic than the original version, and I like to keep my cranberries whole, so I don’t process them in the food processor.  For the biscuits, I gave amounts for both self-rising flour and all-purpose plus the salt and baking soda to make them rise.  Here in the south, we almost always use self-rising flour for biscuit type things, but I know the rest of the world doesn’t.  This recipe made 5 shortcakes for me, but I made really big ones.  The serving really do depend on how large you cut the biscuits.  My husband and I shared one, but it was good enough that I could easily eaten the whole thing – I just really don’t need to be eating quite that much dessert.

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Warm Cranberry Shortcakes

Prep 25 mins

Cook 20 mins

Total 45 mins

Author Michelle Hilton

Yield 5

Ingredients

• 1 12 oz. package cranberries, washed and picked through to remove any bad berries or stems
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup orange liquor
• 2 cups self- rising flour, plus more for rolling or 2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 1/2 tsps. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/3 cups whipping cream, for biscuits plus 1 1/2 cups whipping cream for whipped cream
• 3 Tbsps. confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan combine cranberries, 1 1/2 cups sugar, pomegranate juice, and orange liquor.
2. Bring to a boil and cook until all cranberries have burst and lost their shape. (There may be a few under ripe stubborn ones that you have to mash with a spoon.)
3. Set aside while you make the biscuits and whipped cream. You want it to cool a little, so that it thicken a bit, but you want it to remain warm, so don’t refrigerate it.
4. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Whisk together flour, 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon (and salt and baking powder if using all-purpose flour).
6. Stir in 1 1/3 cups whipping cream, stirring just until all is moistened and sticks together.
7. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
8. Sprinkle lightly with flour and knead folding the dough over itself just a few times until it is no longer sticky. Don’t over work the dough our it will be tough.
9. Pat dough out until about 3/4 inch thick and cut with desired cutter. Place on prepared baking sheet and baked approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown.
10. While the biscuits are baking, place the remaining whipping cream in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip on high until soft peaks form. Add confectioners’ sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
11. To serve, split the biscuits. Top the bottom half with cranberry topping and then whipped cream. Add the top half, and top it with more cranberry topping and whipped cream. Serve immediately.

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This post was shared on Foodie Friends Friday!