Buttermilk Biscuits

When I was visiting my mom last month I tried getting a family biscuit recipe out of her.  Wow...that was a task!  My Grandma was one of those cooks that didn't measure, you know the kind, they just throw it together and cook by sight and feel.  Mom says, "She just made 'em! She didn't have a recipe!"   So that didn't work...

So mom and I dug up some of her old biscuit recipes, and several from different Aunts.  Even one from a great-Aunt.  I took detailed notes and plan on making each and every one of them.

I'll let you know the result of each here...as soon as I make them.

So in the meantime, I still wanted to make us some biscuits!  I grew up with her biscuits and gravy...although I not a fan of the gravy part...at least not on my biscuits.  I love the fluffy, moist interior slathered with butter, or jelly....yum!

So my sister, Sue, gave me a cookbook for Christmas that I had been eyeing....The Clinton St. Baking Company.  Fabulous book. (Thanks Sue, great choice!!)  It was a sign...the first chapter is about "Buttermilk Biscuits"!!! Yippee!!

So I made these, exactly like the recipe (I'm a purist for recipes, at least the first time around...they work for a reason!) and they came out AWESOME!  I mean really really AWESOME!  Tender, moist, big and fluffy, and tasty too!

So much so I had to share them with you.  Now, I hope you go buy the book.  It's good to support our great chefs and authors!  This book is so cute.  It's written by the wife and the husband is the cook.  She writes as if she is telling a story, about them, about the recipes and how they came to be...it's really a great book!

Also, please please try these biscuits...they will not disappoint!  Oh, and let me know how they come out.

Here's how to make them:

Start with cold unsalted butter and cold shortening.  Cut both items in to cubes.

Place the flour and other dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Add the butter and shortening and mix together until they resemble small peas.  (The recipe tells you to use a mixer but there is also a note that you can use your hands for this step.  I opted for the hands!)

Then you add the buttermilk, and mix until moistened.

Turn the dough out on to a floured board and knead 2-3 times.  Form in a rectangle with high sides.  Thickness should be about 1".

Cut out 4 biscuits.  A note was to "not" turn the cutter back and forth.  Depress and cut, no turning!  Turning prevents the biscuits from rising to their full height. (who knew!)  Take the scraps and mold them together, making them smooth and seamless.  Cut out the last two biscuits. 

Place them in a pan.

Cook for 15-17 min. in a 350 degree oven.  Mine took about 17 min. to fully brown. 

Enjoy the deliciousness!

Buttermilk Biscuits

By:  Clinton St. Baking Company

Makes 6 Biscuits

2 cups All Purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 Tablespoons of baking powder
1 1/2 Tablespoons of sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
3 Tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled and cut in to small chunks
3/4 cup buttermilk 

These biscuits can be prepared and then rested overnight for baking the next day.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the 2 cups flour and other dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until combined.

Add the butter and shortening to the bowl and mix on low speed until the dough reaches a crumbly texture.  The butter and shortening should be the size of peas.

Turn off the mixer and add the buttermilk to the bowl all at once.  Mix very briefly on low speed until the dough just comes together (this should take less than 10 seconds).

Turn the dough on to a floured surface and form in to a ball.  Lightly knead the dough two or three times until combined.

You can bake the biscuits the next day.  Dust a sheet pan and the top of the dough with flour and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, overnight.  Then bring the dough back to room temperature.

Pat out the dough to a 3/4" to 1" thickness.  Shape the dough in to rectangle, making the side high.  Using a 2" round biscuit cutter, cut out 4 biscuits.  Place them on a sheet line with parchment paper and dust with a sprinkling of flour.  Gather the dough scraps, using your hands, tuck in the bottom of the dough so there are no wrinkles, much like making a bread roll.  Form the remaining dough in to a rectangle with high sides and cut our 2 more biscuits.

Place the pan in the preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through.  Halfway through the baking process, rotate the pan for even browning. 

Serve warm with butter and our Raspberry Jam (page 160).