Cardamom Biscones for Strawberry Shortcake

I currently have the newest cookbook from Cheryl and Griffith Day checked out from the library: Back in the Day Bakery Made With Love. In it, they have a recipe for whole wheat biscones, a take on their "usual" biscones. A biscone is as it sounds - a hybrid between biscuit and scone. I hunted down a version of the original recipe because that sounded perfect to eat with the fresh local strawberries we picked up at the Travelers Rest Farmers Market.

I found the recipe on Pure Wow, but they took it from the original Back in the Day Bakery cookbook. I visited this bakery briefly when I was in Savannah, and if I remember correctly, my sister and I split a brownie. Their baking is very similar to my style - simple but delicious, nothing super fancy but everything tasty.

The biscones fit that description, and they were very tasty with strawberries and whipped cream!

Buttermilk Biscones
 (slight adaptations to directions by yours truly since the original had berries in the dough)

• Makes 12 biscones
• Start to Finish: 45 minutes

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

Salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (I love cardamom and used 1/2 tsp)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups buttermilk, plus more as needed (I used whole milk + lemon juice)

1 large egg

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 375° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour with the cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and cardamom until combined. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, work in the butter until you have various-size pieces ranging from sandy patches to pea-size chunks and some larger bits as well.

3. Gradually pour in the buttermilk and gently fold the mixture until there are no bits of flour remaining in the bottom of the bowl. If the dough seems dry, add a little more buttermilk until it is moist and slightly sticky.

4. Using a large ice-cream scoop, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart. Lightly tap down the tops of the biscones with the scoop.

5. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with a pinch of salt. Brush the tops of the biscones liberally with the egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the biscones are golden and fully baked. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar with the grated lemon zest and juice until smooth and creamy. Drizzle over the biscones and serve immediately. (I skipped this step since I was using them as shortcakes.)