Fast Fresh Fluffy Flaky Biscuits

Posted on 29 December 2008  

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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

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19 Responses to “Fast Fresh Fluffy Flaky Biscuits”

  1. 1
    HoneyB says:
    December 29, 2008 at 9:04 am

    Ok, so now everyone is making biscuits and making me want to make them too!

    Reply
  2. 2
    Culinary Cory says:
    December 29, 2008 at 9:37 am

    These biscuits with sausage gravy and they would be a brunch made in heaven.

    Reply
  3. 3
    HangryPants says:
    December 29, 2008 at 9:45 am

    These biscuits look amazing! I’ve made buscuits using WW pastry flour and they come out great – just as fluffy as with white flour. Favorite topping? I don’t have one. I eat them plain. :D

    Reply
  4. 4
    VeggieGirl says:
    December 29, 2008 at 9:45 am

    Wonderful biscuits!! Can’t go wrong with a jam topping, in my opinion.

    Reply
  5. 5
    Megan says:
    December 29, 2008 at 9:49 am

    Biscuits are the best and yours look absolutely delicious!

    Reply
  6. 6
    Erin says:
    December 29, 2008 at 10:30 am

    These look fabulous! Perfect for a cold December morning. I’m actually a little disappointed now that I have bread baking, instead of biscuits — if you can believe that.

    Reply
  7. 7
    ttfn300 says:
    December 29, 2008 at 10:38 am

    plain jane, or jam :)

    Reply
  8. 8
    zestycook says:
    December 29, 2008 at 10:45 am

    HoneyB- Go ahead and make some :)

    Cory – I do agree!

    HangryPants – very interesting… send me the recipe if you have time, I would like to try them

    VeggieGirl- Thanks so much – I do love homemade jam

    Thanks Megan

    Erin – I would not be disappointed… homemade bread is amazing.

    Reply
  9. 9
    Heather McD (Heather Eats Almond Butter) says:
    December 29, 2008 at 12:36 pm

    Warm biscuits + butter + honey or apple butter = HEAVEN

    Reply
  10. 10
    RecipeGirl says:
    December 29, 2008 at 1:26 pm

    They look so light and fluffy. I’ll have to bookmark as a must-try biscuit recipe. I like to make a big crockpot of pulled pork and use biscuits to make mini-sandwiches for football games. Sweet potato biscuits are good for that too.

    Reply
  11. 11
    Mara says:
    December 29, 2008 at 2:18 pm

    I just made apple butter… I think I need to make some biscuits to go with it!

    Reply
  12. 12
    Southern Plate says:
    December 29, 2008 at 3:22 pm

    Alright Zesty, as a Southerner I have to second the apple butter but I must add that nothing on this earth beats chocolate gravy on a fresh homemade biscuit!

    Reply
  13. 13
    Biz says:
    December 29, 2008 at 3:58 pm

    Yum! Those look like my grandmas! I’ll definitely give these a shot.

    Reply
  14. 14
    Jenn (eating bender) says:
    December 29, 2008 at 11:20 pm

    Oh my. There aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe just how much I love biscuits (or any type of bread for that matter)! I’ve never made homemade biscuits before, though! I always cheat with the Pillsbury Doughboy :) Thanks for the recipe, Zesty! My favorite topping is butter and jam.

    Reply
  15. 15
    Victoria says:
    December 30, 2008 at 1:12 am

    My husband LOVES biscuits and gravy. You can take the boy out of Indiana…., but I prefer them just topped with some strawberry preserves.

    Reply
  16. 16
    Rachel (Short[dis]Order Cook) says:
    December 30, 2008 at 9:50 am

    I love biscuits too, but I have to admit I have yet to get them exactly as I want them. They’re always too flat or too tough. It’s a lifelong practice till I get them right. I don’t want to be looked down on for the rest of my life for using canned biscuits!

    Reply
  17. 17
    Natasha says:
    February 7, 2009 at 1:05 pm

    These look perfect!

    Reply

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