Strawberry Shortcake In A Jar

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Strawberry season is upon us! Are you looking to up your strawberry shortcake game? This Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar is an easy recipe that makes a lovely presentation. Instead of pound cake, this recipe uses homemade biscuits with brown sugar along with real whipped cream. You’ll love this twist on a classic!

Mason Jar Strawberry Shortcake 

Not many things say Summer like strawberry shortcake. There are a lot of variations out there so it can be just what you like. Sometimes the strawberries are chopped, sometimes they aren’t. I’ve eaten it with flavored whipped cream and plain sweetened whipped cream. You can serve it with cake, or with biscuits.

My very favorite happens to use biscuits instead of cake. Especially when those biscuits are homemade. Those buttermilk biscuits soak up the strawberry juices like nothing else can, and their buttery flavor is perfect with the whipped cream. While we’re at it, why not put the whole thing in a jar? 

We are making strawberry shortcake in a jar from scratch, and you won’t believe how easy this is!

Strawberry Shortcake In Jars

Yep, strawberry shortcake in Mason jars! Why not?! This is the same strawberry shortcake you’re used to, with all the usual flavors but served in its own lovely little jar. For another dessert served in jars, try these refreshing Mojito Cheesecakes In a Jar!

I love desserts that can be served this way. Why?

1. They are stored in the same container they are served in.
2. The jars can be repurposed for other uses.
3. Portability. This is fabulous for picnics!

Ingredients For Strawberry Shortcake In A Jar

Fresh Strawberries- Any fresh strawberries will do, whether they are from the grocery store or a roadside stand. These berries are much smaller than what you find in the grocery store, so I was able to leave them whole. Your berries may be larger, so you might want to cut them in half or in quarters. I used berries that I picked myself from Bells Farm, a local farm near my home. If you want to know more about using local produce in your cooking and how this site can help, visit the About Page!

Granulated Sugar- A little granulated sugar is all you need for the berries! It’s a good idea to let the berries and the sugar sit for a little while so they get nice and sweet. This can be done while the biscuits cool and the cream is being whipped. 

Heavy Whipping Cream- If all you have is regular whipping cream, you can use it here. I find the heavy cream gives the finished product more body, so use it if you have it.

Make sure the cream is very cold. Leave it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the whipped cream. It’s also a good idea to put your bowl you’ll be using for whipping the cream in the fridge too.

Of course, we can’t forget those biscuits!

Drop Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits are often a part of strawberry shortcake, and I prefer the flavor and texture of them over cake. These biscuits have a little light brown sugar in them, which I love because it adds some depth. 

These buttermilk drop biscuits are really easy to make! Because they are a drop biscuit, there is no rolling the dough and cutting and rerolling the scraps. 

The reason for drop biscuits instead? You are going to be cutting the biscuits into pieces before assembling the dessert, so there is no need to have perfectly round biscuits.

This is a pretty standard buttermilk biscuit recipe with the addition of light brown sugar. I normally leave sugar out of biscuits entirely, but in this case I think the added sweetness is nice. 

Drop Biscuit Ingredients

All Purpose Flour- regular all purpose flour is all you need here. No need to use anything fancy. I prefer unbleached all purpose flour.

Baking Powder- You will need this to help the biscuits rise.

Baking Soda- You’ll need this along with the baking powder because of the acid in the buttermilk.

Light Brown Sugar- Brown sugar provides a nice toasty flavor to these biscuits and it adds depth. If you only have dark brown sugar, feel free to use it.

Salt- You don’t need much!

Unsalted Butter- What’s a biscuit without butter? You want your butter as cold as possible!

Buttermilk- Low fat or full fat buttermilk will work the same here. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, measure out about ¾ of a cup of milk, and add 2 Tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice to it, and let it sit in the refrigerator for about a half hour, then make your biscuits.

How To Make Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

1. Mix the dry ingredients together.
2. Cut the butter into the flour.
3. Add the liquid.
4. Spoon onto sheet pan and bake.

Tips For The Best Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

• Make sure your buttermilk and butter are cold. This makes for loftier and flakier biscuits!
• Don’t forget to pop the sheet pan with your biscuits into the freezer for a few minutes prior to baking. This means cold ingredients! For more info, please see my chorizo biscuits and gravy post.
• You can use either a food processor, pastry blender, or two knives to cut the butter into the flour.

How To Make Strawberry Shortcake In A Jar

This is very much the same process as making any other strawberry shortcake with biscuits, except that rather than serving the berries and whipped cream between halved biscuits, you are cutting the biscuits into cubes and layering everything in the jars. 

It’s similar to making a lasagna, trifle, or any other layered dish. Just add your biscuits, then whipped cream, then strawberries, and repeat until all your jars are filled. 

Equipment You Will Need

I love it when a recipe is easy, and does not require a gadget I don’t already own. This is one of those recipes!

Strawberry Shortcake Jars- I used pint size (16 ounce) jars for this dessert. I was able to get two layers each of biscuits, strawberry, and whipped cream in a jar this size. If you use a smaller size jar, your dessert servings will not be as large, but it also means you could serve more people by using a larger number of smaller jars without doubling the recipe.

Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer- Don’t fret if you don’t own a stand mixer! A handheld mixer and a large mixing bowl will do the job making whipped cream. 

Sheet Pan- I recommend a rimmed baking sheet for this recipe, just in case your biscuits leak some butter as they bake. This way you won’t have melted butter dripping onto the bottom of your oven.

What to Serve With Strawberry Shortcake In A Jar

These are perfect to serve at a barbeque, take on a picnic, or any other gathering. They are a nice and refreshing light dessert. Want more strawberry goodness? Serve my Easy Strawberry Basil Lemonade alongside! 

If you want to jazz up this recipe, you could even try replacing the fresh strawberries with Pickled Strawberries if you make a large enough batch. If you want to try this, then make at least a double batch of them to have enough.

Here are some other suggestions to serve with this dessert:

• Rigatoni Primavera
• Farro Salad
• Strawberry Basil Lemonade

How To Store Strawberry Shortcake In A Jar

One thing I really love about this dish is that it comes in its own storage container. They will keep for three days in the fridge, anything more than that and the biscuits get a bit soggy. Unless you don’t mind soggy biscuits.

I hope you love this recipe, and thank you for stopping by! If you’d like to try other desserts on the blog, check out Desserts and Baking for more recipes.

If you tried this strawberry shortcake in a jar recipe, I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a rating or comment, or take a picture and tag me @thecoppertable on Instagram, pin to a Desserts or Picnic board on Pinterest or share with your friends on social media! 

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