Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

Hmmm…I really seem to be on a roll with the bread recipes lately. And here I go with yet another, Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits! I am very excited to share this recipe with you because not only is it very quick and easy but it also yields up some of the best buttermilk biscuits I have ever eaten. And it is not only me who is saying so, but also the husband, who happens to be a bit of a biscuit connoisseur. He whole-heartedly agrees. These biscuits are rich and buttery with a tender, moist crumb and a golden crisp crust.

I often make these biscuits in a mini size and serve them as appetizers (perfect for all of the Holiday parties happening now), topped with a bit of country ham, Bourbon Bacon Jam or Drunken Granny Apple Butter. But I have also made them into full-sized biscuits, great along side a bowl of soup or when stuffed with sausage, eggs, cheese and hash browns (what?…) for an awesome, eye-opening breakfast biscuit.

Now there are a few tricks you should keep in mind when making biscuits. The best flour to use is a low gluten flour, like cake flour. But I know not everyone has cake flour on hand and part of the beauty of this biscuit recipe is that it can be whipped up quickly. So by cutting a little corn starch into all-purpose flour that you undoubtedly have in supply, you can achieve the same high rise and tender crumb as a cake flour biscuit. The cream cheese addition to these biscuits not only gives them an extra richness but also encourages rise and flakiness. And always remember when you cut out biscuits, push the cutter straight through the dough. Do not twist. Twisting will inhibit biscuit rise.

So with a few tricks of the trade, you can have these fluffy, buttery golden beauties on your table in about 30 minutes. It’s a good thing that you can make these up so quickly because I guarantee you folks will go wild (otherwise known as “biscuit frenzy”) and you will find these biscuits gone before you know it.

• Servings: 12 regular sized or 48 -50 appetizers sized biscuits
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe slightly adapted from: Once Upon a Chef

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ chunks
• 2 Tablespoons cream cheese
• 3/4 cup cold buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Pulse a few times to mix.

Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the cream cheese and pulse a few times until incorporated with a few pea-sized pieces of cream cheese intact. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl.

Add the buttermilk and stir with a spoon until dough comes together into a craggy mass. Do not over mix.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with a bit more flour and bring together gently into a loose ball. Pat the dough into a 3/4 ” thick rectangle.

Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into thirds. Stack the pieces on top of one another and pat out into a 3/4″ thick rectangle again, flouring the surface lightly as needed to prevent the dough from sticking.

Cut the dough into thirds again. Stack the pieces on top of one another and pat into a 1/2″ thick circle if you are making appetizer biscuits, a 1/2″ thick rectangle if you are making regular biscuits.

Dust a 1 1/4″ biscuit cutter with flour and cut out as many appetizer biscuits as you can. Gather up the scraps, pat into a circle again and continue cutting out biscuits until no dough remains. Or if you are making full-sized biscuits, dust the blade of a sharp knife with flour and cut the dough into twelve even squares.

Transfer dough to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 12 – 15 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly golden on top and a deeper brown on the bottom.

Enjoy!

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)