Thursday, January 7, 2010

Country Biscuits & Honey

I seem to borrow quite a bit from Ann's (Thibeault's Table) repertoire of recipes, and I did it again today.  With temps in the 20's and wind chills in the teens, instead of my usual weekday fruit smoothie, I opted for something warm and cozy.  And Ann's biscuits were just what I wanted.  Hot biscuits with melting butter and honey and a freshly brewed cup of coffee - NOW I'm ready to face the day!

Country Biscuits

2 cups of flour
1 Tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, lard, Crisco or butter (Ann's note:  I use butter)
1 cup of milk (cream) or buttermilk
if using buttermilk add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda)

Optional. Add a little sugar if you prefer sweet rather than savory.

Mix the flour with the baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until it resembles coarse meal. Stir milk or cream in to flour mixture. Mix quickly with fork until dough comes together. Using hands gently pat the ingredients together. Do not over-handle.

Pat out to about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut with biscuit cutters and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes at 450°F.

If making cheese biscuits add the mustard and cayenne to the dry ingredients and add the cheese after the shortening has been cut into the flour.

Tip: An easy way to cut the butter into the flour is to use a box grater. The large side of the grater makes the perfect size pieces of butter.

Options:
You can use any favourite cheese. Gorgonzola and other blue cheeses are wonderful with the addition of black pepper. Cheddar cheese is good with chives or green onions. Sometimes I add dry mustard and cayenne pepper. Or bacon or ham.


14 comments:

  1. I have never thought to add dry mustard. I have added ham, bacon and cheese....love me some biscuits.

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  2. Biscuits are the quick bread of choice on the prairie -- and they are great for breakfast but we usually smother them in creamy white sausage gravy!

    Your biscuits look yummy and I'm craving some but . . . I need to be good, I need to be good!

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  3. Yes, indeedy, these biscuits are the best. I made them last week and ate way too many.

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  4. I'm a novice in the kitchen when it comes to non-Korean food... eh, who'm I kidding? I'm a novice in general! I'll give these biscuits a try, but I can't guarantee that you won't see a "I Burned My Kitchen - And My Dinner!" entry on my blog.

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  5. You borrow them beautifully and I do it all the time too:) Yours too:)

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  6. Your tip about butter is really helpful! Also, I'll try the biscuits, they must be very good.

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  7. Just beautiful...
    I have borrowed these a time or two also!
    Great pics Lori!

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  8. Wonderful biscuits! So homey on a cold day... and I think I have just enough buttermilk to make them!

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  9. Oh wow...those biscuits just made me really hungry!!! They look yummy :). Beautiful blog!

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  10. I have a secret. Promise not to tell? I grew up on homemade biscuits, I've always made homemade biscuits, that is up until a year ago. Then I discovered Pillsbury frozen biscuits — Southern Style. Haven't made homemade since. They taste perfect and are so convenient. Now I can easily make 2, 4, 20 or as many as I need at a time.

    Remember, you promised not to tell.

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  11. Pure deliciousness with a big side helping of genius. I love this idea.

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  12. Oh my! It looks so yummy! I'm now imagining myself eating those smothered either with cream cheese or clover creamed honey. (OK, I'm off to the kitchen to try this recipe!)

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