Cottage cheese has a knack for making baked goods extra tender (pancakes, French toast bakes, even puffy Dutch babies) and these drop biscuits are no exception.

They come together with simple pantry ingredients and zero fuss: no rolling, kneading, or special equipment required (not even a biscuit cutter). Just mix the dry ingredients, rub in the butter, stir in the milk and cottage cheese, and scoop straight onto a baking sheet.

The cottage cheese adds a boost of protein while keeping the biscuits exceptionally tender. Serve them the classic way with juicy strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream, or try them deconstructed as strawberry shortcake cottage cheese breakfast bowls.

strawberry shortcake with cottage cheese biscuits

makes 8 shortcakes

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon
  • 2 pounds strawberries, rinsed, stems removed, and quartered
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 cup 4% small-curd cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • Turbinado sugar (optional)
  • whipped cream, plain Greek yogurt, or more cottage cheese, for serving

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Zest the lemon into a large bowl. Squeeze the juice into a medium bowl.
  • To the medium bowl with the juice, add the strawberries and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar and toss to coat. Let macerate while you make the biscuits.
  • To the large bowl with the zest, add the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and rub between your fingertips until the sugar is fragrant.
  • Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a fork. Add the butter and use your fingers to rub it into the flour mixture until it forms pea-sized pieces.
  • Stir together the cottage cheese and milk in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Drizzle it into the flour mixture and mix with a fork until combined. Use your hands to gently bring the dough together, if needed.
  • Use a large spoon to form the dough into 8 large, tall mounds and space 2 inches apart on the baking sheet (the taller the mounds, the easier they will be to slice in half). Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar, if desired.
  • Bake until the bottoms of the biscuits are deeply golden brown and the tops are lightly browned, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool completely.
  • Split the biscuits in half crosswise. Spoon the strawberries over the bottom half and top with whipped cream or plain Greek yogurt. Close with the top biscuit. Alternatively, make strawberry shortcake bowls with cottage cheese, strawberries, and a biscuit on the side.
Adapted from my recipe for The Kitchn.