Munchie Monday: Southern Buttermilk Biscuits. Sort Of!

 The other night Dear One and I were watching "The Chef Show".  This is a bad idea.  We think about food way too much after watching the show.  The chef was making Southern Buttermilk Biscuits.  Dear One asked me to make some biscuits since we had everything in the house for them.  SO...this morning I made them.

It turned out that one major ingredient we did NOT have: self-rising flour!  Well, that was easy enough to replicate.  May I say at this point that there is more self-rising flour on the grocery store shelves than there is regular all-purpose flour? And most other flours that are so common in the Upper Valley are not there at all.

So this is what I did.

In a large bowl I place 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 TABLESPOON baking powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. I whisked them together well then got out a stick of frozen butter from the freezer.  As quickly as I could, I grated 3/4 of the stick on a box grater on the larger holes. 

When grating the butter I placed the grater on a piece of Cling Wrap.  The Chef grated his onto a piece of parchment paper.  Good idea.  Grating on a piece of Cling Wrap: bad idea.  The butter "clung'!!!  So annoying that I did not think of that beforehand.

See the little balls of frozen grated butter?  So annoying it did not just fall off the Cling Wrap.  Next time: parchment paper.

Working as quickly as I could I scraped the butter into the flour and mixed with a fork until the butter was all coated with flour.  At that point I dumped in 3/4 cup of buttermilk and stirred around a few times.  I needed to add another bit of buttermilk to bring it all together.

At that point I dumped the whole thing onto the counter which had a little flour on it. I pushed and pulled the dough together just a little then flattened it and cut out biscuits with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.

Slapped the pan into a preheated 450 degree F. oven and let them cook 10 minutes.  Not done so I put them back for another 2 minutes plus 2 more minutes.  Took them out at 14 minutes but they really could have used even another minute or to.  The top and bottom were a little bit crispy. I never had crispy biscuits before but they were so good I want them to be even crispier!  Yes.  I did eat more than one.  BUT I did not put butter on them. I left the butter for Dear One who loves butter. I used apricot jam...

These really were nice and high and fluffy.  I asked Dear One why he liked high biscuits.  He said that was what he had when he lived at home with his parents.  I should have realized that because one time we were at their home and I commented on the nice biscuits.  His dad said he always put a lot of extra baking powder in them to make them him!  So...there you have it!

Munchie Monday: Quick and Easy Herbed Biscuits

Biscuits can be so comforting.  We like Eggs Goldenrod on biscuits.  I have posted about cheesey biscuits.  This time I made some herbed biscuits.  They were certainly edible.  The recipe makes 9-12 nice biscuits.  There are only three left!

Quick and Easy Herbed Biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon parsley
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add the shortening and cut in well.  Add the milk and cream and stir with a long-handled wooden spoon until mixed together.  Put a little whole wheat flour on your counter and put the dough on it.  Knead together 3-4  times then push the dough together into a nice fat rectangle.  Cut into squares with a pizza cutter.

Place on baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.  Check to see if they are done.  Your oven may be different than mine.  I had to bake another 2 minutes for 14 minutes total.

These were good right out of the oven with butter on them.  They were particularly good with the Eggs Goldenrod on top.  Would have been superlative if I had had life enough to make some sautéed kale and broccoli salad.  Maybe next time.

Food Friday: Quick and Easy Biscuits

The idea of quick and easy biscuits is one I can buy into since biscuits are a nice treat every so once in a while.  These really are quick and so easy.  And they come out pretty well in just a few minutes.

These are a variation on King Arthur Flour's Never Fail Biscuits.

Quick and Easy Cheese Biscuits

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, or a little more
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.

In bowl, stir flour, salt, cheese, and cream together until it holds together well. If it does not glob together to your satisfaction, add another bit of cream, one tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition.

Use a portion scoop to divide into biscuits or just use a solid spoon.  Probably a tennis-ball sized plop of dough should be placed on a parchment-paper-lined pan.  With your hand, flatten slightly then bake for 10-15 minutes.  Check at 10 minutes, then every 2-3 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown.

We liked them.  They make a nice foundation for Eggs Goldenrod.