Strawberry Maple Cornmeal Biscuits

If you like the sandy, gritty texture of cornmeal and the intense burst of flavor of dried strawberries, these biscuits are the breakfast treat for you. The recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours, and our only adaptation was the addition of the strawberries for extra richness.

Strawberry Maple Cornmeal Biscuits

1 C all-purpose flour
1 C yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 C dried strawberries
1/2 C cold whole milk
1/4 C maple syrup (we prefer Grade B for its deeper flavor)

Preheat your oven to 425 F.

Cut your dried strawberries in half and put them in a small bowl. Cover them with hot or boiling water and leave them to reconstitute. If you don't do this step, they're likely to pull too much moisture out of the rest of your dough.

Whisk together all the other dry ingredients. Add the butter and work it in with your fingertips until it is roughly incorporated, with most pieces pea-sized or so.

Stir the milk and maple syrup together, and pour them over the ingredients. Drain the strawberries and add them in, too. Mix it all up gently with a fork just until incorporated.

Set up a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Use a tablespoon to drop mounds of dough onto the baking sheet at least an inch and a half apart.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until they are golden brown.

They taste best right out of the oven, but there isn't really much fear of having any left over to worry about by the next day.