Fast Fresh Fluffy Flaky Biscuits

Good morning!  The Christmas rush is slowing down and the New Year’s rush is picking up.  I hope you had a great weekend.  I had a great Christmas break and I cannot wait to share some new and exciting recipes with you.

When it comes to homemade biscuits…. I love them! I grew up around biscuits and I certainly can pack a lot of them away.  Warm or cold, butter or Jam… you name it Zesty loves them.

I thought I would share this very simple recipe biscuit recipe.  This is one of the first things I learned to bake when I was a youngster.  The biscuit is very easy to make yet very rewarding to taste.  These take no time to make and go great with almost everything.

Mixing of the ingredients is crucial in producing an excellent biscuit.  I prefer to mix the dough by hand using either a pastry blender, two knives or just your fingertips.  Mixing by hand helps to prevent over mixing of the dough.  My mother-in-law adds the cream of tartar to keep the biscuit very white during the baking process however the topping will encourage the outside to become golden brown and delicious.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 Tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
• 1/2 Cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 Cup milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/8 Tsp. Cream of Tartar

Topping:

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 F (205 C) and place rack in center of oven.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar and sugar.
4. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (use pastry blender, two knives, or fingertips).
5. Add the milk, slightly beaten egg and stir until just combined.  (The texture should be sticky, moist and lumpy.)
6. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently until it comes together and is a smooth dough.
7. Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.
8. Cut out biscuits with a lightly floured cutter of your choice ( I use a small glass ).
9. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg and milk mixture and bake for about 10 – 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown
10. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
11. Serve warm with butter.



12. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: I cannot stress enough that this dough should not be overworked and that a light hand is needed.  The test will be in the results.  If you end up with a hard and doughy biscuit, you will know to mix the dough less the next time.

So I have to ask… What is your favorite biscuit topping? I get so excited when I ask this question because I am so in love with biscuits that I am dying to hear what you have to add.  Has anyone tried whole wheat biscuits?  I’ve tried them in the past but I found them a little too heavy.

Have a great Monday and by all means I am open for suggestions… Anything you want Zesty to bake, cook or prepare?  Let me know and I will try my best to make it happen.

Take care

zesty

Tagged as: baking, biscuits, butter, flaky