Fluffy Homemade Biscuits

Biscuits are a staple of Southern hospitality. I like them soft and fluffy with butter.

I have The Joy of Cooking to thank for this simple biscuit recipe, and I have only tweaked it the slightest bit.

The biscuit I'm going for here is not the all-wheat healthy version. This is the melt-in-your-mouth-delicious edition that is perfect for fattening up your dinner guests.

Fluffy Homemade Biscuits

(Makes about 12 large biscuits)

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (I typically add this in for a little depth of flavor).
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP baking powder
5 TBSP butter (cold!)
5 TBSP shortening
Approximately 1 1/4 cups milk

1. Mix together the dry ingredients.
2. Add the butter and shortening.
3. "Cut" the butter and shortening into the flour mixture. I use a pastry cutter, but you can also hold two knives close together and use them to cut in the fat.
4. The final mixture should resemble coarse crumbles.

5. Next comes the milk. Since we are going to roll out the biscuit dough, you don't want to add too much milk. Add enough so that the dough forms a ball and you don't have a lot of excess flour in the bowl. But don't add so much milk that the dough is super sticky. I've found 1 1/4 cups of milk to be about right. When you add the milk, don't overstir. For biscuits to be soft and fluffy you don't want to over-handle them.

6. Dump the dough onto a floured surface.

7. Then knead the dough gently, folding it over on itself about 8 times. Don't put all your energy into this part or your biscuits will turn out heavy and tough. Trust me, they don't require copious amounts of kneading.

8. Next, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. I like my dough abut 1/2 inch thick. That way they still get large and fluffy without browning too much on the top.

9. I use a glass with a floured rim (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter) to cut out the biscuits. Then place them on an ungreased pan and bake at 450 degrees for 10-13 minutes. I check for done-ness by opening one biscuit up and making sure it's not gooey in the middle.

Oh yes.

10. Eat with Butter. And honey. Or jam. Mmmmm.

These are also lovely along with soup, such as the homemade cream of mushroom soup pictured.




Linked to Top Ten Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesdays At The Table, and Delicious Dishes.

Fluffy Homemade Biscuits