Strawberry Cobbler with Vanilla Cream Biscuits

It is officially strawberry season in North Carolina and there are farm stands full of beautiful berries posted up roadside around town. For $20, you can bring home a 5 pound box of the biggest, juiciest strawberries ready to be transformed into something spectacular and today, we are doing just that…

Although strawberry shortcake originated in the United Kingdom, it is incredibly popular in America’s south. The state of Florida actually made it the states official dessert! Everyone loves it and it really feels like the quintessential summertime dessert, but did you know that you can make it all in one skillet? You can and today we are making a strawberry cobbler that will give you all of the nostalgia of strawberry shortcake baked into one beautiful skillet.

Let’s get started…

We need to start by making a small batch of vanilla cream cheese biscuits. Sure, you can use store bought biscuits, but these subtly sweet, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside biscuits with flaky layers of cream cheese throughout the dough are definitely worth the time.

Begin by whisking  1 cup of cake flour with 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar in a large bowl.

Add 1/2 cup of cold shredded or cubed butter and gently work it into the flour mixture until you have pea sides pieces of butter evenly distributed throughout.

Pour 3/4 cup of cold whole fat buttermilk into the bowl and use a fork to bring a shaggy dough together and then transfer that dough onto a floured surface.

Very gently knead the dough enough to mostly bring it together and form it into a rectangle. Use a sharp knife to divide the biscuit dough into 4 equal portions and top 3 of the portions with thinly sliced cream cheese.

Stack the cream cheese topped layers and add the fourth layer on top and use your hands to press all of the layers down into a rectangle that is about an inch thick.

Use a sharp knife or biscuit cutter to divide your dough into 6-8 equal portions and transfer those portions into the freezer to chill while we prepare the strawberries.

The strawberries can all be prepped right in your skillet, so clean up your biscuit making situation and lightly grease a 10″ or 11″ oven safe skillet.

Add 3 pounds of strawberries into the skillet along with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, a tablespoon of cornstarch, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Mix everything really well and grab your chilled biscuits.

There is no right or wrong way to arrange the biscuits over the strawberries. As long as they are all fairly even height wise (so they brown the same), you’ll be good to go!

Brush the tops of each biscuit with buttermilk and sprinkle with some coarse sugar. This will create a sweet, crunchy topping over the biscuits as they bake.

Bake your strawberry cobbler in a 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until your biscuits are lightly golden brown and the strawberries are bubbling.

Note: Keep an eye on how your biscuits are browning. If some of them are getting darker than others, adjust your skillets placement in the oven to allow them to develop even caramelization. Most ovens have hotter areas and rotating your skillet mid way through the bake can help your biscuits brown evenly.

Once your biscuits are lightly golden brown, transfer the cobbler out of the oven and let it relax for a few minutes.

You can dig in as soon as you pull this beauty out of the oven, but the longer it relaxes, the more your saucy strawberries will thicken up and surprisingly, this cobbler actually reheats pretty well. The texture of the biscuits will soften over time, but there is something that I really enjoy about them both fresh out of the oven and after a little nap. So whether you have leftovers or want to make this cobbler a little in advance, things will work out well.

Transfer a vanilla cream cheese biscuit onto your favorite dessert plate and spoon some of those beautifully roasted strawberries oven top.

I like adding a dollop of fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to round out the whole cobbler vibe, but this is totally optional and kind of unnecessary, but I’m doing it anyways…

This strawberry cobbler will definitely be on rotation in my kitchen this summer and if you are looking for a beautiful skillet dessert to whip up and wow your friends and family then you should definitely give this one a try!