Recipe Revisit: Buttermilk Biscuits

This wonderful recipe for basic buttermilk biscuits, my interpretation of Harry’s grandmother’s southern recipe, is still just about the only biscuit recipe that matters to me. I recently made it into smaller biscuits to feed a crowd (a large enough crowd to make my house feel pretty “cozy”). They were presented as accompaniments to pots of hot soup on a frigid early January night, and it seemed that they were gone in seconds. Success!

But as I was baking them, I noticed that it was taking significantly longer to properly cook them than had been indicated in the recipe I posted years ago. I had apparently adjusted baking times as needed without really thinking about it, waiting to pull the biscuits out of the oven until I knew they were good and done. I can’t think of anything more annoying to a recipe reader than secret instructions. A quick re-visit was in order.

The concocting portion of the recipe needs no revision, although I do think that kneading the dough more deliberately, if still gently, makes it easier to work with when it comes to cutting out the biscuits. It does take more time for the biscuits to get to the desired just-beginning-to-brown stage than what is stated the original post (and possibly the original handed-down recipe. I can’t remember.) I simply increased that time in the instructions below. It’s still best, as always, to prepare to exercise your own judgement, a skill that is essential in the making of a good baker. The biscuits will be done when they are done, and oven temperatures can vary across households.

While this biscuit batch is for about twelve 2 ½ to 3-inch biscuits, you can use this recipe for more, smaller biscuits with good results. It’s likely that the baking time will be slightly shorter for smaller biscuits.

I still think there are ways this can be varied to include whole grains or more flavors, and I did do such a thing with this cinnamon raisin version. Southern-style white flour buttermilk biscuits are classic, however, and their charm would become more elusive with unnecessary changes or additions. As they are, they’re simple, quick to throw together, satisfying on their own with butter or jam or ham and cheese, and great accompaniments to so many things.

Grandmama’s Buttermilk Biscuits

3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon fine salt
5 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup cold butter (1 stick)
1 ½ cups cultured buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Sift or whisk together to combine.

2. Cut the butter into small chunks. With a pastry blender, knives or your hands, cut or work the butter into the flour mixture until it is well-distributed and the butter pieces are smaller than peas and coated with flour. (I usually end up using my hands.)

3. Add the buttermilk and stir gently until all of the flour mixture is moistened. Add a little more buttermilk if the mixture is too dry.

4. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. Gently knead the dough a few times and shape it into a rough disk. Gently pat the disk out to about 1 inch thick, dusting the flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Cut the dough into about 12 biscuits with a round cutter or an inverted glass. (I used a 2 ½-inch biscuit cutter.) Place the cut biscuits on a baking sheet. (I line my baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.)

5. Bake at 450 F for 15-18 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Serve as soon as they are cool enough to eat. Leftovers are nice when warmed in the microwave. The biscuits also freeze well.

Makes about 1 dozen biscuits.

Other recipes like this one: Barley Flour Scones, Cheddar Jalapeno Scones, Cinnamon Raisin Buttermilk Biscuits

23 Pies for National Pie Day

Today, for some reason, is National Pie Day. I would have thought March 14 (3.14) would be a better candidate, but I guess not everyone geeks out on math stuff. Any reason to celebrate delicious pie is okay with me, however, so I offer you a list of all the best pies posted to The Messy Apron Archives over the years.

As it turns out, this compilation of pies, sweet and savory, came out to a list of exactly 23 recipes. Perhaps there is a reason January 23 is Pie Day after all. And it’s directly tied to my humble little web log! Coincidence? I think not!

Anyway, whether they’re sweet, fruity, chocolaty, rich, savory, or packed with vegetables, pies are great, as evidenced by the fact that I have the perfect number of recipes here, even though I’m not that great at making pie. Here they are, grouped into sweet or savory bundles, presented without regard to seasonality.

Sweet pies including lots of different fruits, chocolate, crumble tops, and multiple styles of crust:

Berry and Rhubarb Galette

Bourbon Vanilla Pumpkin Pie

Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Pie with Graham Cracker Crust and Marshmallow Topping

Cranberry Lemon Cheesecake Pie

Open Face Blueberry Pie

Pear and Blackberry Galette

Pear Apple Crumble Pie

Apricot and Raspberry Tart with Crumble Topping

Peppermint Brownie Pie

Plum and Grape Galette with Almonds

Rhubarb Custard Pie

Apricot Strawberry Tart

Savory Pies including vegetables of every season, custard fillings, and various cheeses:

Butternut Squash Pie with Feta and Mint

Chard Tart with Feta Cheese and Olives

Corn and Green Onion Tart with Bacon

Corn and Tomato Pie

Morel Mushroom Galette with Easy Cream Cheese Pastry

Ricotta Tart with Peppers and Onions

Roasted Cherry Tomato and Olive Galette

Summer Squash Galette with Ricotta and Feta

Winter Vegetable Galettes with Cheddar, Mustard, and Caramelized Onions

Savory Carrot and Ricotta Pie

Whether it’s pie for dessert or for breakfast, lunch or supper, this particular food group deserves to be celebrated whenever we get the chance. Pie on, good bakers!

Another post like this one: National Peanut Butter Cookie Day

19 Favorite Recipes with Winter Vegetables

It seems like sweet and tender spring and summer vegetables are easy to sell. They’re fresh and bright and everyone can feel good about eating seasonally when tomatoes and beans and asparagus and zucchini are abundant in local markets. The gnarly and thick-skinned cousins of those warm-weather darlings don’t always get so much love, though, and that’s a darn shame. Especially since there’s a good chance that our ancestors survived a winter somewhere back in history thanks to long-stored winter vegetables.

This year, I subscribed to a CSA winter share, something I had not done in several years, and I’m finding myself with more winter vegetables than I can easily remember what to do with. A perusal of The Messy Apron Archives, however, helps bring back good memories of the fun and fabulous ways I’ve been loving winter vegetables.

Here is a list of 18 favorite Archive recipes that celebrate everything from winter squash to all kinds of roots and tubers, plus some members of the cabbage family. Chopped, shredded, or pureed winter vegetables are surprisingly versatile and I’ve presented a variety of recipes styles here. There are salads, soups, roasted dishes, dishes with pasta and noodles, stir fries and curries, and a few other flavorful offerings. I hope you find something you absolutely love!

Winter vegetables can make great salads, whether they are utilized raw as in this Creamy Parsnip Slaw with Peppers and Olives or roasted and cooled as in Wheat Berry and Squash Salad with Seeds and Sage

Or Roasted Autumn Vegetable Salad with Molasses Mustard Vinaigrette.

Long simmering soups built to warm us on cold days are natural places for winter vegetables, whether they be creamy soups like Creamy White Onion Soup

And Root Vegetable Soup with Mustard,

 

Or brothy soups like White Bean Soup with Bacon, Squash, and Kale.

Probably the greatest percentage of the winter veggies I acquire end up in a roasting pan at a high temperature in the oven. Roasted Vegetables and Roasted Vegetables with Sausage (which I have been making with chickpeas in place of the sausage) are go-to meal items in my kitchen just about every week throughout the winter.

I also love Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Olives

Winter vegetables play well with pasta, too, like in Macaroni and Cheese with Sweet Potatoes and Green Onions, Pasta with Shredded Winter Vegetables, and this Tomato Sauce with Root Vegetables, which is as versatile as any other favorite pasta sauce.

A stir-fry or curry may take a little longer to cook when loaded with winter vegetables, but their flavors are worth waiting for. Winter vegetables love spice, so they are delicious in dishes like Spicy Cabbage and Noodle Stir Fry,

Spicy Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry,

And Winter Squash and Onion Curry with Yogurt Sauce

Shredded roots and squashes are great enveloped in crust to make pies like Winter Vegetable Galettes with Cheddar, Mustard, and Caramelized Onions

 

And they’re good in Beet and Carrot Burgers

 

And, finally, pureed winter vegetables may be great on their own as a mashed potato-like side dish, but they’re fabulous in things like Parsnip Soufflé (which could probably be made with other vegetable purees) and Winter Squash Risotto. (Don’t feel like messing with a squash? Try this recipe with canned pumpkin!)

Yes, seasonal vegetable love is easy in the middle of summer, but I’ve really learned to enjoy the roots and fruits that can last through the cold months. Whether they’re sweet, bitter, bland, or sharp, all kinds of winter vegetables nourish us well through the cold and dark. Give them a chance, won’t you?

Other posts like this one: 13 Hot Soups for Cold Times, 21 Favorite Winter Salads