Deb, this is the shortcake REC my mom always made and is still my favorite after all these yrs!
RICH STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
My mother always made and served these homemade shortcake biscuits. This recipe came from her mother and is from at least the 1940s. I'm clueless as to where in the world Grandma Watkins originally found this recipe.
2 cups sifted enriched flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder (My mother always rounded her measuring teaspoons of baking powder for this recipe. Make sure your baking powder is fresh.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup light cream or whole milk (Mother always used half and half.)
Soft butter or margarine, for spreading
4 cups sweetened, sliced strawberries
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine egg and cream and add to flour mixture, stirring just until dough follows fork around bowl.
On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll dough to 1/2 inch depth. Cut out biscuits with a 3-1/2-inch round biscuit cutter. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet in a very hot preheated 450-degree F. oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until centers are done and not doughy.
Split shortcakes in half horizontally and butter the insides of the tops and bottoms. Spoon berries between biscuit layers and also over the tops. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream or homemade vanilla ice cream. Makes six servings. (Keep in mind that serving size was probably intended for threshers and farmers who worked with horses pulling the plows! Caryn aka Wigs)
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