The Biscuit to End All Biscuits
Yum.
I’m in North Carolina right now, enjoying the warm(er) weather and some great food. Our hotel has a 24/7 ‘ice cream room’ right on our floor! But what I’m really excited about is all the places that serve biscuits.
While I’m out trying new bites, here’s one of my favorite biscuit recipes for you, courtesy of my friends at NY Times Cooking. They’re easy to make, tasty, and you’ll want to serve them at casual meals and big feasts. I served these at Thanksgiving last year! I should have made a double batch.
You’ll need to gather these ingredients:
1 ¾ cups low-fat or whole buttermilk
½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 ½ cups/300 grams all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons/16 grams baking powder
1 tablespoon/12 grams sugar
2 teaspoons/6 grams kosher salt
Then do this:
Step 1
Set out the buttermilk to come to room temperature.
Step 2
Heat the oven to 450 degrees with a rack in the center position. Place the butter in an 8-by-8-inch baking pan (preferably oven-safe glass or ceramic) then transfer to the oven to melt, about 6 minutes. Keep a close eye on it so the butter doesn’t burn. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Step 3
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the room-temperature buttermilk until just combined, with no visible streaks of flour. Do not overmix.
Step 4
Transfer the batter to the baking pan with butter and spread evenly with a spatula. The butter will rise to the top. Using a sharp knife, cut the batter into 9 equal-size squares. (You won’t get perfect cuts as the batter closes up.) Go over the cuts a couple of times, wiping your knife in between each cut.
Step 5
Bake until the edges start to crisp and the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Allow the biscuits to cool for about 3 minutes; they will soak up the butter bubbling in the bottom of the dish. Run a knife along the sides and through the cuts, then serve.
If I find a better biscuit in North Carolina, I’ll let you know!
P.S. You can get the full recipe here.