These bright and cheery low-fat Strawberry Lemonade biscuits, which I served up with local orange blossom honey and a slab of melted, dripping butter, were just the ticket to a “we have to stay home and study AP US History” kind of Sunday.

They aren’t a scone, so they are not overtly sweet. Infact, most of the sweetness comes from the honey you slather on. But they are fluffy, a tad crunchy from the turbinado sugar they have sprinkled on top, and they literally burst with lemon and strawberry flavors as you bite into them.

These biscuits were actually a little present to myself since I knew the day ahead would be “so fun”. Kindly note sarcasm.

It’s been a bear around here the last two weeks. Between the two of ’em, my teenagers have been up to their eyeballs in monstrous projects and studying for AP Tests and finals, and I am either quizzing somebody or Googling research for the other kiddo. I am so tired of trying to simultaneously be taking both 8th and 11th grade. It’s a pain in my ______!.

You would think helicopter parenting would end somewhere around middle school. But no, being a card carrying, badge wearing, annoying mom from he!!, I am proudly still hovering. 🙂

Stop rolling your eyeballs. No, I don’t do their projects for them and yes, you would think that magically these kids could get the work done without my foot being firmly planted on their backside, but around here, that just doesn’t happen.

Both kids are stellar students so there’s no complaining here about grades and such, BUT I think there’s no kid in existence who decides, “Hm, maybe I should get a jump start on finals and study AHEAD of time or finish my project early…or at least not at the stroke of midnight.”

If you find those kids, or have those kids, PLEASE DON’T SHARE that they exist with ME. I prefer to think of kids like that as urban legends, similar to unicorns and leprechauns. It works better for my psyche and definitely works better for my kids.

Luckily for me, I have good friends who all seem to be in the same boat, and who are all suffering from AP Finals’ emergency preparedness mode right about now. I am thinking a weekly daily happy hour is in order for us worn down and stressed out moms, don’t you? Maybe I’ll make more biscuits and deliver them to their doorsteps.

Hey, I think I am on to something…care packages for stressed out moms; just because.

Anyhow, even if you are not a stressed out mom (Greg, John and Jed come to mind), I think you will be more than happy to make these Strawberry Lemonade biscuits because they are just the perfect breakfast side note to scrambled eggs on one of these fine spring mornings, or perhaps with some tea  in the afternoon. Ah, yes, that would be perfect.

Low-Fat Strawberry Lemonade Biscuits

S&C’s own recipe
Makes 9-11 biscuits, depending on size
9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
3 tablespoons honey
1 T. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
zest from one lemon (no white pith…it’s so bitter)
1/2 t. natural lemon extract (this is optional BUT does add a punch of lemon flavor)
2/3 c. chopped strawberries
1 T. Turbinado sugar for topping the biscuit dough

To make the biscuits: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet with either a Silpat mat or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour through salt and whisk together.  Cut the butter into small cubes and then place in the flour mixture. Honestly, the BEST way to combine the butter, is to crumble it between your fingers and mix it in with the flour. The batter should resemble course meal with bits of clumped butter.

In a large liquid measuring cup or small bowl, put in the buttermilk through the lemon extract. Whisk together. Then add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber scraper.

Chop hulled strawberries and toss them in 1 Tablespoon of flour to coat. Add the strawberries to the dough and gently stir them in. Using a medium-sized ice cream scooper, drop balls of biscuit dough onto prepared cookie sheet about 1.5 inches apart. Sprinkle each biscuit with a pinch of Turbinado sugar or regular granulated sugar for a little outside crunch.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until browned just a smidge and fairly firm to the touch.