Sunday, April 4, 2010

Buttermilk Biscuits

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Biscuits.  If I could, both time and hip wise, I'd eat homemade biscuits every morning.  Truth be told, I've yet to meet a biscuit that I didn't like, well, except for those things in the refrigerated section at the store.  Blech.  Growing up, we'd have biscuits on the weekend, usually made from Bisquik.  I liked them, I mean, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with them - it was a biscuit, plain and simple.  Then, along came the biscuits from Popeye's Fried Chicken.  Not the ones they've been serving in the last few years, but the ones they served back in the 80's.  Anyway, this was some biscuit, let me tell you.  I could never figure out how to achieve the texture; then, as things happen, someone began to pass around the "just like Popeye's biscuit" recipe.  Well, it, too, had Bisquik at its base, but rather than milk, the recipe called for sour cream and club soda, as well as melted butter to brush on top of the biscuits.  And, the taste and texture were quite similar to the original.  I, however, never remembered to buy club soda, so it was on rare occasions that I made them. 
Life became busier, and I was more apt to eat eggbeaters on light wheat toast than biscuits.  Years passed before biscuits returned to my life.  When Andrew was about 2, he soon recognized that biscuits were little rounds of deliciousness; just like me, he was all about the biscuit.  Sadly, for a couple of years I bought these, as they were better than the refrigerator type and quick.  One day, though, I had an "aha" moment.  Why didn't I just make the biscuits myself?  They would taste infinitely better, and really, they didn't take that much more effort than frozen.  Enter White Lily Self-rising flour - the lovely base of my quick, easy, and homemade biscuit.  The recipe on the back of the bag calls for chilled buttermilk or regular milk and shortening; just like club soda, shortening is not a grocery item that I remember to buy.  Butter, on the other hand, is always in my refrigerator.  So, I subbed butter for shortening, and as I have yet to buy shortening, I have continued as such.  These bake up tall, with a fluffy inside - pure deliciousness, decadent, yes, and only on the weekends, but pure deliciousness.

Buttermilk Biscuits Printable recipe
2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 to 3/4 cup buttermilk or milk
2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing the tops (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a medium-size bowl, measure flour and cut butter into flour with a pastry cutter until there are lumps the size of peas.  Slowly pour in the buttermilk, using a fork to combine the flour and buttermilk, don't overmix, you want a shaggy-looking dough.  Liberally dust the counter with flour, and scrape the dough onto the flour.  Give the dough a few turns, no more than 4, and pat into a circle about 1/2 inch high, although I think I usually make mine about 1" high.  Using a floured biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, close together, but not touching. 
Place in 450 degree oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
Brush with melted butter immediately, if desired, and serve with extra butter and strawberry preserves.
Enjoy!

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Posted by Louanne Bertrand at 08:47
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