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Sunday, December 16, 2018

Sunday Brunch/Biscuits

One of my most precious memories is making biscuits in the morning with my grandmother. She would make up the dough, roll it out on waxed paper, and then I would get to cut the biscuits with her biscuit cutter. All the little leftover pieces went into my very own tiny little cast iron skillet. Of course, those little bits and pieces of biscuits were the best! In her simple way, my grandmother taught me to love to cook.


Earlier this year, Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper fame, published a cookbook, Magnolia Table. I was curious, and happy when I found out that our library had a copy.  


There are lots of lovely recipes, but not enough of what I like to eat for me to purchase the book. I was curious about her biscuit recipe, so I decided to give it a try. You can find the recipe HERE.

It begins with 4 cups of self-rising flour, 2 tablespoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 1/2 cups of butter. The butter is cut into the flour as if you were making pie dough.    


2 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk are than poured into the flour mixture. 


The eggs and buttermilk are then mixed until a sticky dough is formed. At this point, the dough is to be covered and placed in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, and can be left overnight. It is important that you don't skip the refrigerator time as it does make a difference in the dough.
 

Once the dough has sat, it is then turned out onto a floured surface. No rolling, just mashed down with your hands, and then cut into biscuits. You can see my grandmother's biscuit cutter below :)


Rather than greasing a pan, parchment paper should be used. The biscuits are to touch each other in the pan. They are then brushed with 1 beaten egg, and 1 tablespoon of buttermilk.


Place the biscuits in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. They really are quite lovely when they come out of the oven.



The recipe makes up a LOT of biscuits. But, the nice thing is that they can be frozen and used later. I frozen mine and will be baking them for Christmas. One job completed!!! I placed the biscuits on waxed paper, and then wrapped them in foil for freezing.  


The result is a very flaky biscuit. I poured honey over mine :)


My husband thought the biscuits were great. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, but I think I like my grandmother's biscuits a bit more. I haven't made them in quite a while, but I will this week. If I'm right, look for the recipe next week. 

Enjoy!
Rhonda



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6 comments:

  1. I love the old fashioned baking powder biscuits my mom used to make, haven't thought about them in ages! Mom let us dip the scraps in cinnamon sugar and bake them in the same oven as the biscuits (we did the same thing with pie crust scraps). Of course back then we made them with lard, which may not be healthy but it sure does make delicious baked goods.

    Thanks for a quick trip down memory lane. You helped me feel closer to my mom, who I still miss 40+ years after she passed.

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    1. So happy that I was able to bring back some sweet memories :)

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  2. Oh I love biscuits. I use a very simple recipe from the Fannie Farmer cookbook (the old original one, not the new revised book) and there are no eggs in the dough. Just flour, baking powder, salt, and butter cut in, then milk added to make it stick together. I find they have to be eaten right away, if left overnight, the baking powder begins to taste bitter. Well, that's my excuse for finishing them off anyway. I wonder if your grandmother's recipe is like that one.

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    1. My grandmother's recipe is similar. There are no eggs. She used oil rather than butter, and always buttermilk. Then, she did something interesting...she cooked them in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove. A lid was put on the skillet, and a very low flame. She taught me to do the same. It's a great way to "bake" biscuits.

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  3. Just to be clear, did you do the refrigeration time then pressed and cut the biscuits then froze them? Did you thaw before baking or bake from frozen? Thanks for the tips. Anxious to try this recipe!! :)

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    1. Hi Michelle,
      Refrigerate the dough prior to cutting out the biscuits. After the dough had been refrigerated, I put the dough out on a floured surface, pressed it down, and then cut out the biscuits. The biscuits that were left, I placed on a piece of waxed paper, wrapped them in foil, and then placed them in the freezer. When I am ready to use them, I will let them thaw and then bake them. Hope that helps!

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