Buttermilk Biscuits

Is there any better sensation than waking up on a lazy weekend morning with the buttery smell of biscuits wafting into your room?  Could there be a more wonderful way to begin the day? I don't think so.

With just a little bit of time and a few simple ingredients anyone is able to create something that will almost instantly bring joy and comfort to others.  So, if someone you love is in need of a more pleasant weekend wake-up, consider making them biscuits.  And sure, you could use the pre-made dough that is vacuum sealed in the cardboard tube, but instead take about ten minutes longer and make these.  You won't regret it

It all starts by throwing some flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.

Whisk it all together, then add some butter. I like to cut the butter up into little cubes to make it easier to incorporate. 

Work the butter into the flour with either your fingers or a pastry blender.  You want the mixture to be coarse with small pebbles of butter still intact.

Next add the buttermilk and stir until it just forms a craggy mass of dough. You want to avoid over-mixing this dough. 

When it starts to come together, use your hands to gently knead it into a solid ball of dough, and then move the dough ball to a lightly floured surface and pat the dough into a slab about 1/2 inch thick.

Using either a biscuit cutter (if you are fancy) or a drinking glass about 2 inches across, cut the biscuits out by  pressing straight down into the dough.  You want to avoid twisting as you cut, so as not to seal the sides closed resulting in a flat biscuit. 

You can gently push any remaining scraps together to get another biscuit out of the dough. But it may not rise quite as much as the original biscuits.

Now all that is left is to pop them in the oven and wait an excruciating 12 to 15 minutes until they are golden brown and delicious!

These can be dressed up to be sweet with either honey or jam, or they can take a walk on the savory side as the base of a breakfast egg sandwich or smothered in gravy.

This biscuit recipe was taken from one of my very favorite blogs smittenkitchen.com 

If I can't convince you to give these a try then take a look at Deb's post, and see if that changes your mind. 

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

9 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter

3/4 cup buttermilk* 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda) together in a large bowl.  Incorporate butter into the mixture with either your hands or a pastry blender until the texture resembles a coarse meal.  Pour in the buttermilk and stir to form a shaggy dough.  Use your hands to gently knead the dough together, and then transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into a slab about 1/2 inch thick.  Using either a 2 inch biscuit cutter or drinking glass cut out the biscuits by pressing straight down.  Place the cut out biscuits on your baking sheet and put them in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.  They are ready to take out when they are golden brown and smell like heaven. 

*If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute a milk and lemon juice mixture.  Before assembling the other ingredients, pour 3/4 tablespoon of lemon juice into a 3/4 cup measuring cup. Then pour the milk on top of the lemon juice to completely fill the measuring cup.  Let this mixture sit for at least five minutes before using.