I love biscuits, but I’m not much of a baker, so we typically don’t enjoy them at home very often. Well, never really. When I saw the following recipe in the November 2008 issue of Bon Appetit, it looked so easy that I just had to try my hand.
I couldn’t believe how simple this recipe is. You just mix a bit, play cookie cutter and sprinkle a bit, then bingo! These biscuits are firm and cakey, without being too crumbly so the biscuity goodness ends up in your mouth and not all over your lap.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup chilled buttermilk
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus additional for sprinkling
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, plus a tablespoon melted butter
Coarse sea salt, we used PC Memories of Sicilia coarse sea salt which has a wonderful spicy hit to it
Recipe after the break
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Recipe
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425 deg F.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine buttermilk and green onions in a bowl.
Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper in another, larger bowl.
Add the chilled butter to the flour mixture and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add buttermilk mixture and stir until moist clumps form.
Gather the dough together and turn it out onto a floured surface and knead gently 3 or 4 times to combine.
Roll dough out to 3/4 inch thickness.
Using a floured 2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter (or a mason jar like I did), cut out rounds. Reroll the scraps and cut out more rounds.
Place rounds 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with black pepper and sea salt.
Bake biscuits until golden and tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. (Ours took 18 minutes). Cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature.
Bon Appetit says the prep time is 15 minutes, which wasn’t too far off given that I’m not all that comfy with baking. Overall, a simple recipe that has introduced me to the joys of biscuit makin’.
The rest of this issue has lots of great new ideas for fall side dishes and turkey techniques, so if you haven’t picked it up yet, you need to!
