Best Buttermilk Biscuits

This recipe is playfully dubbed "The Killer B's: Best Buttermilk Biscuits!"


Okay, you might think that sounds a little silly, but after you taste these biscuits you just might change your mind. The recipe is quite simple and the result will have your family and guests raving...be ready because they will definitely ask for more!


Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups buttermilk or sour milk
         *(Prepare sour milk by adding 2 T. vinegar to 1 1/8 cups milk. Let sit for five minutes.)
1/2 cup cold butter
1/4 cup frozen butter (Yes, FROZEN) chopped into pea-sized pieces
2 1/2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar

Turn the oven on to preheat to 425 degrees.

Place the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Sift these ingredients through a sifter or a fine sieve to ensure they are well blended and there are no lumps.

Cut the cold butter into nickel-sized pieces and add to the flour mixture. Using your hands, blend the butter into the flour until the butter is well-incorporated into the flour. Leaving the butter a little bit lumpy is just fine.

Add the milk to the flour and butter mixture, stirring to mix well.

Sprinkle the counter top lightly with flour, rub some flour onto a rolling pin, and roll the biscuit dough out to about 1/2 inch thick.

Chop the frozen butter into pea-sized pieces and sprinkle evenly over the rolled out dough. Fold the dough in half, then in half again over and over until it is back into a flat ball.

Re-flour the counter top if necessary and roll the dough out to about 1 inch thick. Using a glass, cup, or something round and about 2 inches in diameter, cut the dough into rounds and place them onto an UNgreased baking sheet. Quickly re-roll the leftover scraps and cut the same way until the dough is all used up (You should have 12 biscuits).

Bake the biscuits at 425 degrees for 11-12 minutes. Biscuits are done when they are nicely browned on the top. Cool on a wire rack or towel.

**These biscuits are not necessarily sweet, so are excellent for serving with gravy, as the bread for an egg breakfast sandwich, or simply with butter. Adding honey or your favorite jelly is always a treat.

**"So, why the frozen butter??", many people ask. The answer is the texture of the finished biscuit. That flaky, layered, obviously buttery finish is achieved through that frozen butter. When you roll it into the dough, it holds its form as the biscuits go into the hot oven...then melts as the biscuits bake. This preserves the layers and flakiness of the biscuit ad results in a crispy, browned crust on top.

**This biscuit dough keeps very well in the refrigerator for several days, wrapped snugly in plastic. So, go ahead and make a double batch and keep half for baking later in the week or on one of those sleepy weekend mornings!

As usual, I welcome your comments and I wish you a blessed meal!