Saturday, February 4, 2012

Perfect Biscuits

Posted by Christine Pack


Please be advised that the title of this post is straightforward and is not designed in any way to draw the reader into a deeper theological discussion about the dangers of leaven, the bread of life, etc., etc. Sometimes a biscuit is just a biscuit. The recipe below is simply instructions on how to make.....drumroll, please......Perfect Biscuits. (Note: Whenever we use the word "perfect" in our household, one or both of my sons will exclaim "You mean, as perfect as anything can be in a fallen world!" and then crack up laughing. Okay. End of theological discussion. I promise.)

I am thrilled to have found this recipe, courtesy of Cook's Countrymagazine, and in fact, I will go further and confess that, prior to having found this recipe, I had never made a decent biscuit in my entire cooking career. All my attempts at biscuits have resulted in (alternately) rubbery, doughy, dry, tasteless discs that might be better to be repurposed as paperweights. And this is no small thing. To be a Southern woman (which I am) and to be unable to cook a decent biscuit is to have your very Southerness called into question. So I have guarded my shameful secret very carefully, with the aid of Mary B's frozen biscuits, and the pretext of checking on the ham whenever the topic of biscuit recipes came up. But at long last, the brainiacs at Cook's Country have broken the code on biscuit making. And for that, I am deeply indebted.
Perfect Biscuits 
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
16 ounces of sour cream
7 tablespoons of butter, melted & cooled to room temp (divided 5/2) 
Preheat oven to 425°. Grease a 9 x 12 rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. Stir in sour cream and 5 tablespoons of the melted butter, and stir just till combined. 
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray, scoop out biscuits and place 2 inches apart of baking sheet. Spray measuring cup with cooking spray between each scoop for easy release (the dough is pretty sticky). Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter, and bake till golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Serve warm. 
(Quantity: 12 biscuits)

 Additional Resources 

Mother's Day and Chocolate Cake