Things that I love that I didn’t realize I really loved until this year:

1. Valentine's day with all the hearts and love proclaiming

2. Brown butter

Not sure what it is about this Valentine's day, but I am really into all the hearts and reds, pinks and whites, and mostly the appreciation and recognition of love. That must be it, I love LOVE, and I think that love is so important. Either way, I am here for making everything into hearts this week, including the little strawberries I cut into heart shapes. It felt fun and took a lot longer than just slicing them. The biscuits turned shortbread were perfect because they weren’t overly sweet, and the whipping cream and strawberries complemented it perfectly. I would even serve them for breakfast or brunch.

And brown butter – that nutty flavor that makes butter flavor even better. I am not sure that there is anything that has butter in it that wouldn’t be made better with brown butter.

This is my favorite biscuit recipe that I have been using for a few years, and through my times of not eating dairy, it has always worked well with vegan butter (even did coconut oil a couple of times) and plant-based milk. I finally found a reliable way to make them flakey by rolling the dough out, cutting into thirds, and then stacking and rolling out and repeating.

Brown Butter Biscuits + Shortcake (vegan options*)

Makes about 9 biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tbsp sugar + ¼ cup if making shortcake

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ cup cold brown butter **

Scant ¾ cup cold plant-based milk with 1 tsp vinegar (or buttermilk)

+sprinkling sugar on top if making shortcake

Instructions:

1. The day before you are baking biscuits (at least 6 hours before) make brown butter. Put butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted and starts to become foamy, and the white foam turns a light brown. Remove from heat, let cool and then transfer to a container to put in the fridge to firm up again. Skip this step if not using brown butter.

2. reheat oven to 450° and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar (add the extra sugar if making shortcake), baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.

4. Cut in the cold butter and mix it into the flour until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.

5. Add the milk and mix until combined and no dry flour spots; be careful not to overmix.

6. On the cookie sheet (or another piece of parchment), carefully roll the dough out into a rectangle. Cut it into thirds and then stack them on top of each other (see picture).

7. Roll the dough out again, cut it into thirds, stack them again, and then roll the dough out until it is about 1 ½ inches thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut into shapes, or use a knife to cut it into squares.

8. Arrange on the prepared cookie sheet, so there are about 2 inches between them. If you are making shortcake, you can sprinkle some sugar on top of them.

9. Bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes, they will be golden on top. They are best enjoyed the day they are made.

For shortcake:

Top cooled biscuits with whipped cream and strawberries (or other berries).

*To make this recipe vegan, use a vegan butter (earth balance or similar) and plant-based milk with vinegar.

**Can replace butter with vegan butter, but I have never tried to make brown butter out of it and don’t know if it will work, but you can use it to make a normal delicious flakey