Biscuits for Breakfast

I can't think of anything more comforting then hot, buttery biscuits coming out of the oven. Which is precisely why my fridge used to be stocked with the Pillsbury Cylinder Biscuits. You know what I'm talking about. The ones that go POP! when you tear at the edge of the casing to get inside. The ones that cause a minor (major) freak out as you squint your eyes and tilt your head away when you open the case. Not unlike what happens when opening a bottle of champagne.

POP!

Ya dig?

Okay. I'm glad we're on the same page.

As an avid lover of biscuits and a frequent buyer of Pillsbury Cylinder Biscuits, not too long ago I thought to myself, "What don't I make these myself?" And make them I did.

For a recipe, I turned to a tried and true baker friend, Joy the Baker. (Sidenote: We're not actually friends. You know, the real-life kind. She's just my imaginary, internet-land friend whose blog I read religiously. Whose book I'm c o u n t i n g the d a y s for. Who I will stalk welcome when she comes to Portland for said book release signing. Whose voice is in my ears regularly when I'm on the I-5. This is what relationships with imaginary, internet-land friends go like. So what?) 

These biscuits come together in a jiffy and are best served warm and enjoyed with someone you love on a rainy Sunday morning.


Buttermilk Biscuits

from Joy the Baker

Ingredients

3 c. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp and 1 +1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 tsp. salt
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1/2 c. shortening, cold and cut into cubes
1/4 c. butter, cold and cut into cubes
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1 egg, beaten
3/4 c. buttermilk cold

Instructions

Let me start by saying this: I absolutely love when recipes call for COLD ingredients. "Cold" is so much easier than "room temperature". More natural. Faster. Typically, when making doughs, you want to use room temperature butter, eggs, milk so that everything incorporates well and mixes smoothly. But when it comes to biscuits and scones, we're working with a whole different - and might I add, crumbly - animal. And I like it. I think you will too.

Let's do this thing.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients (flour through salt). With the mixer on medium-low, add the cold shortening and butter cubes and mix until the dough is mealy (crumbly).

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and buttermilk. Add the wet mixture to the dough at once and mix enough to form a cohesive dough.

On a well-floured board (and with well-floured hands!) transfer the dough and knead it about 15 times. Roll (or pat with your hands) the dough until it is about an inch think.

Cut the dough into 2-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter (I find that a wine glass works really well, too) and transfer biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Continue to rework the excess scraps.

Bake for 12-15 minutes and serve warm.

If you're feeling really adventurous, fry up some bacon, make some scrambled eggs, and have a party.

I saved my extra biscuits in a Ziploc bag and they kept extraordinarily well in the refrigerator for about a week. Just a quick zap in the microwave, a little butter, and I was in heaven.