Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Ah the biscuit, so many forms, flavours and textures you can find with these. A biscuit can be a mile high, flaky, golden and fluffy, all at the same time if you do it right. If you over mix even just a bit too much they can be dense and hard like a rock. Let's all admit we have all had some like that.

When I served on my mission in West Virginia and Virginia there was a place that sold the most amazing southern biscuits, Tudor's Biscuit World, they were always super flaky, golden and crispy on the outside, I can't even express to you how good they were. My husband served in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia as well, so the amazing part is we both get a hankering for certain foods from down there. I only allow biscuits and gravy once a year because even though it is so good, it is a heart attack on a plate. Plus if I am going to make it I make it right, my southern friends would be so proud of me!

Making just the biscuits though I don't feel too bad making them more often. They are great with soup, or on the side with chili, they are also so so so amazing as a breakfast sandwich. Funny story, they brought a biscuit breakfast sandwich up here to Canada at McDonald's. I was beyond excited, and ate a few of them when I was pregnant with Olivia. When I was pregnant with Colton, I could not stop craving them, so I pulled up to the McDonald's drive through and went to order one... they had the nerve to tell me they just got rid of them in Canada. I said to the poor kid over the speaker "You mean to tell me, a 6 month pregnant woman, who has been craving these for 2 months and tried to ignore it so I wouldn't gain too much weight. That when I finally wanted it bad enough that you don't have it! I have been drooling about this stupid sandwich for months!" The poor kid was "I am sorry ma'am, can I get you something else?"... "No no you may not, I am mad at you, I am going to Tim Horton's where I know they have biscuits. I hope you know you broke my heart today". When I drove past the window I didn't even look at the kid but he was standing looking at me saying "I am so sorry". Hahahaha seriously though I was so sad, and honestly the Tim Horton's one just wasn't the same as the McDonald's one.

Okay story time over! These biscuits I found at Food.com, but to be honest they are almost the exact same recipe as an old old cookbook someone gave me that has all these amazing heritage recipe from West Virginia. They even have a recipe for squirrel gravy in it. 

Southern Biscuits:

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of pink Himalayan sea salt (or regular salt)
6 tablespoons of very cold butter (I used salted butter)
1 cup of buttermilk (if you do not have buttermilk use one cup of milk and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, stir and let sit for 5 minutes)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450F.

In your food processor add all the dry ingredients, pulse a few times to incorporate ingredients evenly.

Add the butter to the dry ingredients, pulse the food processor around 3 to 4 times, or until the butter has been mixed in and looks like coarse meal.

Add the buttermilk, pulse again 2 more times or until the mixture is just barley combined. It should look very wet.

On a counter top, flour it generously, dump the dough out onto it. Gently pat the dough out to 1/2 inch thick. DO NOT use a rolling pin, use your hands as it causes less mixing and the gluten doesn't activate.  

Fold the dough about five times together, I go from side to side, then top to bottom, then fold in half. Pat the dough back down to 1 inch thick.

With a floured covered round cookie cutter, cut out the biscuits. Once cut out there will be some dough let over, you can re pat it together and cut out some more. Those last ones just might not get the same height as the first round. 

On a baking sheet lined with a silpat or even just lightly greased, place the biscuits. If you want them more golden and crispy all over place them with some space in between. If you want them to rise even higher and have softer sides place them so their sides are touching. 

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the oven, or until the tops are a beautiful golden brown and the bottoms are golden brown also. 

Remove from the oven, with some melted butter brush the tops of the biscuits, and allow to cool for a few minutes, or if you are like me and can't wait just make sure not to burn yourself while busting them open!

You can make these by hand, I have made biscuits by hand many times, but it is so easy to over mix by hand. In the food processor I found it just super easy to control hold much the dough got handled, which helped the gluten not activate as much. It makes for a nicer higher rise.

I think I might use a bigger round cutter next time and also try them closer together. I was so happy with how they turned out anyways, the height on them was awesome and made me so excited when I saw them baking! If you want a great cheese biscuit recipe my mom's yogurt cheese biscuits are super tasty as well.

These were so good with some homemade blackberry jam I canned this summer, and some fresh butter! My husband came home and ate like four of them with honey and butter, he LOVED them!

Happy cooking!
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