Summer Peach Shortcakes

In a small bowl, toss the peaches, lemon juice, and brown sugar gently. Set aside at room temperature for an hour or so.

To make the biscuits, sift the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Gently work in the butter with 2 knives or your hands, breaking it into pea-size pieces but taking care not to overwork the dough. Form a well in the center of the mixture, add 1 ½ cups buttermilk mixed with the baking soda, and lightly fold the mixture so that it’s just sticky and the dry ingredients just moistened. If needed, add the additional buttermilk. The idea is to create layers so the butter will steam and serve as a leavening agent to help the biscuits rise. The less you handle the dough, the flakier the biscuits will be.

On a work surface lightly dusted with flour, flatten the dough to 1 ½- inch thickness. Using a flour-dusted cutter 2 ½ inches in diameter, cut the dough into 6 or 8 biscuits. Set the biscuits touching each other in an ungreased pie tin so that they stay moist while they bake. Bake biscuits for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not overbake; remember that the final 10 percent of the cooking will happen after they are removed from the oven.

Using a stand or hand-held mixer, whip the cream and sugar together until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.

To assemble the peach shortcakes, split the biscuits horizontally, and place the bottom halves on plates. Top each with some peach slices and the juice that has accumulated at the bottom of the bowl. Top with a biscuit top and whipped cream.