Monday, October 15, 2012

Drop Biscuits

Growing up, my mom had an old recipe for baking powder biscuits that we all loved.  Soft and fluffy and flaky, perfect with jam or honey or even just butter.  I've made the recipe myself a few times, but don't have the recipe available just now. These drop biscuits aren't a replacement for the old cut-out biscuits I love, but they're an easy substitution, especially for a leisurely morning.
  • 2/3 C flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp sugar
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/3 C buttermilk, cold
  • 2 Tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus 1 tsp extra for brushing the completed tops
1.  Preheat oven to 450°F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.  In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.  In a small bowl, combine chilled buttermilk and melted butter until butter forms small clumps.  Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined and dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
3.  Using a greased 1/4 C measure or #16 scoop, drop four mounds of dough onto prepared baking sheet (see notes, below), about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Bake 12-15 minutes until tops are golden brown and crisp, turning pan halfway through baking.
4.  Brush additional melted butter on tops of baked biscuits, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool for 5 minutes, serving warm.

Robyn's notes: I used a 1/4 C measure to scoop the dough onto the baking sheet, and got exactly three biscuits.  The original recipe gives a yield of four, so it's up to you whether to scoop the dough into four equal portions or measure out in 1/4 C amounts as instructed.  Be aware that smaller biscuits will cook faster.  These came out slightly dry for my taste, but I strongly suspect that my oven thermostat is wrong and that they were baking at a temperature higher than the oven claimed.  Since I haven't found my oven thermometer in any of the boxes we have here, I can't check it yet.  The biscuits were still good, easy to pull apart and tasty both with jam and just with dabs of butter.  

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently