Strawberry shortcake holds a special place in my heart – for many years in a row I requested it for my birthday dessert when my mom offered to make anything I’d like.
I put a different twist on this one, using leftover defrosted peanut butter biscuits that I froze after making them for the Peanut Butter & Co. All-Star Recipe Blog.
Yep. Peanut butter biscuits. With rich peanut butter “cream” and juicy strawberries.
The inspiration for peanut butter cream came from the various vegan cashew cream recipes that circulated the blogosphere a few years back.
I soaked organic unsalted peanuts in water overnight to soften them.
The peanuts were then pureed with water, vanilla bean paste, agave nectar, and…
… unsweetened peanut butter.
I pressed the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to ensure as smooth a finished product as possible.
I could easily have eaten the whole batch like so:
But, I restrained myself and reserved most of it for the shortcakes.
The tender biscuits are the perfect vehicle for the rich and slightly sweet peanut butter cream, and the strawberries add the essential freshness that makes this dessert so lovely.
The assembled shortcake is less sweet than most desserts, but is delicious nonetheless.
The best aspect of this recipe is that you can make the individual components to enjoy separately or combine them for a delicious and healthy dessert.
Peanut Butter Strawberry Shortcakes
Printer-Friendly Recipe
serves 2
Ingredients:
- 2 peanut butter buttermilk biscuits, split in half
- 1 cup hulled & sliced ripe strawberries
- 1/4 cup peanut butter cream, recipe follows
Directions:
- Place each bottom half of the biscuits on an individual plate. Top each with half of the sliced strawberries, 2 Tbsp of the peanut cream, and the top halves of the biscuits.
Peanut Butter Cream
makes about 1/2 cup
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup raw peanuts
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- 1 Tbsp agave nectar
- scant 1/2 cup fresh water
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened all-natural peanut butter, well-stirred
Directions:
- Place peanuts in a medium-sized bowl and cover with water. Refrigerate overnight.
- Drain the peanuts and place into a food processor or blender. Add just enough water to barely cover the nuts, (about a scant 1/2 cup) as well as the vanilla bean paste and agave nectar. Process/blend until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary.
- Add in the peanut butter and process until thick and smooth, scraping down the sides.
- Pour the mixture into a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl and push it through to remove any remaining pieces of peanuts. Refrigerate until well-chilled.
