Brown Butter, Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chip Shortcakes.

Slow down. Like... just slow down. 

I don't need to see Halloween candy just yet. I know I've already started my Christmas list, but this is different. 

And maybe I'm already thinking about candy corn dinners (just let it happen), cut-out sugar cookies, and gingerbread cakes, but why are you all seriously baking with pumpkin already? P.S. It's August and I'm still eating kettlecorn for dinner, looking for pools to jump into, and baking with fresh summer fruit. 

Or, you know. Sandwiching it between chocolate chip shortcakes. Which is totally the same thing and you know it. 

This is the kind of girlfriend I am. Can I tell you? 

Strawberry shortcakes are kind of our thing. Kind of like cheesecake is our thing... except yeah, we'll definitely bring strawberries and whipped cream and those round, sponge-y yellow shortcakes to the drive-in and on picnics and on long-distance road trips. We'll do that. No problem. We know how to shortcake it up. 

So I made these homemade shortcakes because it's still August and I refuse to bake with pumpkin, full of brown butter, chocolate chips, and loads of brown sugar. 

They looked like pancakes. 

Then they turned into crumbly, soft, for real shortcakes. 

Which are basically just giant biscuits for berries. 

... and maybe I baked them a minute too long because I was busy swirling Oreo cheesecake tuffles into cookie dough at the same time. Totally a normal day.

Then I piled on whipped cream and big slices of strawberries to make up for it and ended up with this fancy shortcake situation. 

Which he devoured in two bites and declared "hella breakfast-y" before wandering off in search of Oreo truffle chocolate chip cookies. 

And that's our relationship. 

So in case you weren't aware: strawberry shortcakes are officially a breakfast thing. Put that in your summer and seriously, on our friendship, put down the pumpkin.

Brown Butter, Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chip Shortcakes

Printable Recipe 

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, browned

1/4 cup brown sugar + 1 tablespoon for sprinkling

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Sliced strawberries & whipped cream 

Brown butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. (Click here for a post on browning butter.) Pour into a separate bowl and allow to cool slightly. 

Preheat oven to 425°F. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Whisk brown sugar into slightly cooled browned butter. Add mixture to the bowl with flour and whisk until just combined. Add the milk, a little at a time, and continue whisking until a smooth dough begins to form. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by the spoonful onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, form into a round shape, and sprinkle with a little brown sugar. Bake for 12 minutes. 

Allow to cool completely, then slice and layer with sliced strawberries and whipped cream. 

Makes 6 shortcakes.

Source: Baking Serendipity.