Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Cream Biscuits

Somewhat shamefully, this was my first time making biscuits. While I was making them, I was thinking of the recently departed Carol Fay Ellison aka the Loveless Cafe biscuit lady. Some of you might recognize her name from Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Even though Bobby Flay won that episode, we all know that Ellison made the best biscuits.

I was really pleased with how easy these biscuits were to make. This recipe calls for a grand total of 6 ingredients. I decided to cut them small as a kind of homage to sliders, and they went perfectly with a dab of preserves alongside our quiche, country ham, fruit salad, and hash brown casserole for Mother's Day brunch.

Cream Biscuits

Ingredients
3 tbsp melted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter in a small pot or microwave dish, and set aside. Sift two cups flour, the baking powder, salt and (if using) sugar into a large bowl. Fold in 1 1/4 cups cream. If the dough is not soft or easily handled, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, little by little.

Turn dough onto a floured surface, mound it into a ball and, using your hands, press it to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut into rounds, 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Gather dough scraps and continue to make rounds. Dip the top of each round in melted butter and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or flash freeze for future use. [Biscuits can be baked straight from the freezer, and additional few minutes baking time will be needed, usually around 3 to 5.]