Breads: Biscuits

November 7, 8:02 PMSt. Louis Budget Meals ExaminerJennifer Pedro

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Flaky, buttery biscuits
 

There are times when meal planning just doesn’t work out. For example, the other night I was planning on making shepherd’s pie. Whenever I make shepherd’s pie, I make an extra large batch of the meat and vegetable base (I use ground turkey, celery, onion, and carrots) so I have plenty to freeze. Therefore, my plan on Thursday night was to defrost some premade shepherd’s pie base and whip up some potatoes to top it. There was only one problem—I didn’t realize we were out of potatoes until after the base was completely defrosted. In a pinch, I decided to make biscuits to individually top our bowls of shepherd’s pie.

I think biscuits are quite tricky. Until recently, I’d never been able to make a light, fluffy, flaky biscuit. My biscuits would always turn out dry and compact. But then one of my coworkers—a working mother from Georgia who often makes a quick batch of biscuits when feeding her family of seven—gave me two tips for making good, flaky biscuits. First, do not overwork the dough. Barely stir it until just mixed and still very lumpy. Second, cook the biscuits close together so they rise up and not out. I followed her advice, and my husband and I had warm, delicious biscuits to top our shepherd’s pie. The biscuits worked really well with the meat and vegetables, and I was thrilled with how light and flaky they were!

Drop biscuits

3 cups flour
4-1/2 tsp baking powder
½ TBSP sugar
¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp cream of tartar
¾ cup of butter, cut into small pieces
1-1/2 cup buttermilk (I used fat-free milk mixed with 1 tsp of lemon juice)

Step 1: In a very large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.

Step 2: Using a fork or a pastry blender, cut in butter.

Step 3: When mixture looks like coarse sand, make a well in the center of it.

Step 4: Pour all of the buttermilk into the well, and stir with a fork until just moistened. DO NOT OVER STIR!

Step 5: Drop dough by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Place the spoonfuls close together—no more than one inch apart.

Step 6: Bake until golden (about 10 min) in a 450 degree oven.

Step 7: Remove biscuits from baking sheet, and serve warm.

Enjoy!