Buttermilk Biscuits

This is Homesick Texan's recipe and when I saw it today when I was looking at her strawberry shortcake recipe, I just had to try them. I have never pounded and folded my dough like that before and I really wanted to try it. Sam had a lot of fun helping me beat the dough. We used our hands because its more fun that way. Also, he got some of his own dough to make his own biscuits which turned out quite well! I am amazed at what all the pounding and folding the dough does...it makes flaky layers! Kind of like the texture of the Pillsbury Grands biscuits! I know that Homesick Texan would cringe that I said that since she doesn't think biscuits from a can are real biscuits at all, but for me...home made biscuits have never turned out good. They have always been dense and dry! So I rarely tried to make them. Until now. These biscuits are the best Ive ever made. They were so moist and rose almost 2 inches high! I served these with some grilled chicken breast and a nice salad. But I ate 5 of them, so that made this meal very fattening for me. Doh!

Homesick Texan's Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 Tbps baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, cold (8 tbsp)
3/4 cup buttermilk, cream or half-and-half (I used half-and-half)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients together.
Cut the stick of butter into pieces, and work into the flour mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until it resembles pea-sized crumbs.
Add the liquid, mixing until a bit loose and sticky.
Pour dough out on a floured surface, and knead for a minute. Dough should be smooth and no longer wet. You can sprinkle more flour on the surface if you find it’s sticking.
Take dough into a ball, and hit it with a rolling pin, turning it and folding it in half every few whacks. Do this for a couple of minutes.
Roll out dough until it’s 1/4 of an inch thick, and then fold it in half.
Using a round cutter (can use a glass or a cup if don’t have a biscuit cutter) cut out your biscuits from folded dough.
Place on a greased baking sheet close together (so they rise up not out), and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Makes 10-12 biscuits.

If you don’t want to roll and cut them out, after kneading and beating the dough you can drop the dough onto the baking sheet with a spoon. They’re not as symmetrical (dropped biscuits are also known as cat head biscuits) but they’re no less delicious.